Storing petrol and diesel safely on a rural property

You know the feeling. You’re halfway through mowing the paddock, the generator’s going, and that’s the moment you find out you’re out of fuel. On a rural block, keeping some petrol or diesel on hand isn’t a luxury, it’s just how the place runs.

Where and how you store it is the part that matters, and it’s the part most people work out by having a fright. So here’s the straight version.

1. Never store fuel in a makeshift container

It’s tempting. There’s an old drum in the corner and it looks like it would do the job. It won’t. Petrol and diesel attack the wrong plastics and find every weak spot in rusted metal, and a container that fails is a spill at best.

Use containers made for fuel. In Australia the portable ones are made to AS 2906, and the marking is on the can, so look for it before you buy. Something tough and UV-stable matters if it’s going to sit anywhere the sun reaches it.

2. Keep it cool, dry and out of the sun

Petrol in particular does not like heat. It builds pressure, which means vapour release when you crack the lid and, in a bad case, a container that lets go. So store it:

• Somewhere well ventilated and shaded.
• Off the ground, on a pallet or a platform.
• Away from anything that makes a spark or a flame, including the barbecue, the workshop grinder and the incinerator.

A section of a barn or a lockable steel shed is a good answer. Lock it, because curious visitors come in two legs and four.

3. Label everything, clearly

Somebody goes to refuel the ute and comes back with a question. “Was this the petrol or the diesel?” That mix-up is expensive in a diesel engine and worse in a petrol one.

Colour-coded cans are the easy answer, and a weatherproof label on each one costs nothing. Keep the two apart physically, and keep the nozzles and funnels separate too, because a funnel is exactly how the wrong fuel ends up somewhere it shouldn’t.

4. Fuel goes off, and sooner than you think

Petrol lasts roughly 3 to 6 months stored properly. Diesel will usually go a year, although it grows its own problems in the form of water and microbial growth if the container breathes.

If it smells sour, or looks cloudy, or has particles drifting about in it, don’t put it in an engine. Never pour it down a drain or onto the ground either. Your council waste transfer station takes it, and that is the right place for it.

For anything that only runs at one end of the year, a fuel stabiliser is worth the small cost, because gummed-up carburettors are what stale petrol actually does to you.

5. Fuel storage belongs in your fire plan

Keeping fuel on the place is often necessary and it comes with a responsibility attached.

Scale the setup to the quantity. A few 20 litre cans in a locked, ventilated steel shed is an ordinary domestic arrangement. A bulk diesel tank is a different thing, and it wants real separation from the house and the sheds, a cleared area with no vegetation around the base, and a check with your council and the Country Fire Service about what applies to your block. Those rules exist because a fuel store near a building changes the whole shape of a fire.

6. Make the check a routine

Work it into the week. Once the mower’s parked and the tank’s topped up, spend 5 minutes on it. Eyeball the lids, look for stains on the floor under the cans, and have a sniff. A split container found now is a small job. Found later it is not.

The honest bonus

Fuel prices move about and keeping a month or two on hand means you’re not driving 40 minutes on the worst possible day to pay whatever it costs. That only works if the fuel is still good when you get to it, which is the whole reason the rest of this list exists.

One last thing

Living on the land means planning ahead, and a sorted fuel setup is one of those quiet wins that stops a drama before it starts. Next time you go to top up, have a squiz around. Think about where the fuel actually lives, how long it’s been sitting there, and whether the container has seen better days.

Shop related products

• Jak Max 2 stroke universal multi mix, 1 litre. Mixes to the ratio your gear wants without the guesswork.
• Jak Max SA 30 four stroke engine oil, 1 litre. For the machines the fuel is going into.
• Jak Max 10W30 four stroke oil, 1 litre. Multigrade, for gear that runs across the temperature range.
• Autoking 13 LED marine torch. For checking lids and looking for stains in a dark shed.

Did you know we stock 5 litre and 20 litre jerry cans, Scepter 20 and 25 litre squat fuel cans, a squat diesel can, jerry can pourers and fuel line hose in the shop. Most of it isn’t listed online, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what’s on the shelf. There’s more in our automotive range.

Keep reading

• What to have on hand for fire season. Where the fuel store fits in the wider plan.
• Evacuation planning for remote homesteads. Including what to do with the fuel on your way out.
• Troubleshooting ride-on mower problems. Stale fuel is on that list for a reason.

I label my cans with a paint pen because every sticker I have ever used has fallen off in the first hot week.

Candeece

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