I keep gasoline around for emergencies. Nothing crazy, but enough that I don’t have to fight everyone else at the gas station when something goes wrong, at least, not for a few weeks.
I also keep propane and firewood. I don’t store diesel or kerosene because I don’t have much use for either. Gasoline, however, powers vehicles, generators, lawn equipment, and plenty of other things I already own, so it’s important.
Of course, gasoline comes with problems – it doesn’t store forever, it’s highly flammable, and storing large amounts at a suburban home isn’t always practical. Plus, there are often city / county / HOA ordinances against excessive stockpiling of flammables.
So, how much gasoline should you store?
I don’t think there’s one number that makes sense for everyone, but there is a number for you.
Figure Out What You Need It For
Before deciding if you need 25 or 100 gallons sitting around, figure out what you’re trying to accomplish.
If your main concern is evacuation, start with your vehicle.
Say your vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon and you want enough fuel to travel 400 miles. That’s about 20 gallons. If your vehicle already holds 18 gallons, keeping the tank mostly full gets you most of the way there. I’m often reminding family members to fill their tanks, and prefer that they keep at least half a tank at all times, but I doubt anyone but me follows that expectation, which is probably why my in-laws wait for me to borrow their car … so I’ll fill it up. 😉
Maybe your concern is running a generator instead. Check your generator’s fuel consumption at the load you expect to run, then multiply that by how many hours each day you expect to use it. But this number can vary substantially based on what you have connected to it. Even so, a generator will run constantly whether anything is drawing power or not.
This is one reason why I don’t like the idea of running a generator nonstop during an outage because it is wasteful. Besides burning through gasoline fast, you’re making noise all day and advertising that you have power. (I don’t know about you, but I can hear a generator from a long distance away where I live, which means other people can hear mine and that’s not good.)
I’ve discussed another approach to generator use here. Running a generator only when needed can stretch a modest fuel supply much farther, but using your car is the simplest and often least expensive option.
Your goal might be simpler. For instance, maybe you want enough gasoline to keep commuting during a short shortage. Or maybe you want enough to make it to a bug out location. Or perhaps it’s enough to keep the 4-wheeler running around your homestead. That’s all fine too. But you won’t know the numbers unless you sit down and do the math.
The point is to store gasoline based on what you’ll do with it, rather than picking a number because I or another prepper stores that much. My needs are not your needs.
Five-Gallon Cans (Mostly) Make a Lot of Sense
For most suburban homes, I think five-gallon fuel cans make more sense than big tanks or drums. Yes, I know they’re getting ridiculously expensive, but…
For starters, they’re easy to move. You can load them into a vehicle, take them to a gas station, rotate them one at a time, and pour them into most equipment without needing a pump or a strong back. Still, gas siphon pumps are helpful here.
There’s another benefit that’s easy to overlook. If you have six five-gallon cans, for example, you don’t have to replace 30 gallons of gasoline at once. Rotate one or two cans, refill them, mark the date, and move on. That’s much easier to manage.
Larger fuel storage can make sense on a farm or rural property. Someone running tractors, diesel equipment, or a large generator has different needs than I do. But in suburbia, storing 100 gallons of gasoline creates problems you may not need or want:
- Where are you putting it?
- How are you rotating it?
- How are you moving it?
- What happens if one container leaks?
- And what does your local fire code say about it? Same question about insurance.
Remember: Don’t assume that because someone online stores a certain amount, you’re allowed to do the same. Local fire rules and insurance requirements vary.
Where Should You Store Gasoline?
This is where I wouldn’t copy everything you read online. People store gasoline in attached garages all the time. But an attached garage isn’t the best place for a large fuel stash, since it’s basically “inside” your home.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says portable fuel containers should be stored in cool, well-ventilated areas. It also says not to store gasoline inside your house or basement, or near ignition sources.
NFPA guidance goes farther and recommends keeping gasoline in an outbuilding, detached garage, or outdoor shed.
That makes sense to me.
Gasoline vapors are a concern because you don’t want leaking fuel or fumes collecting near a furnace, water heater, electrical equipment, or anything else that might provide an ignition source.
And I wouldn’t bury gas cans inside some homemade underground box either (something I’d once considered) because gasoline vapor can collect in enclosed spaces, which trades one problem for another.
Whatever you use, keep gasoline in containers meant for gasoline. Current federal safety standards for portable fuel containers cover containers holding five gallons or less, and modern containers are required to include flame-mitigation features, which if I’m being honest, make refilling annoying at times.
Whatever you do, please don’t improvise with milk jugs, buckets, random plastic containers, or whatever happens to be lying around the garage. That’s just asking for trouble. Be sure gasoline containers are clearly marked as containing fuel because it can be deadly if consumed.
Rotate Your Gasoline
This might matter more than how many gallons you own, although experiences vary from one person to the next.
I mark my gasoline cans with the date and rotate the fuel yearly. I’ve done this for many years, and it keeps me from discovering some mystery can in the corner that I filled sometime during the Obama administration, lol. But it also keeps me from wondering if the gasoline I just poured into my car during a bug out situation is good or bad.
My rotation method isn’t complicated. Older gasoline gets used in vehicles or equipment, and the container gets refilled with fresh fuel the same day or the next. I usually fill one or two containers at a time, that way I don’t wait weeks or months for more empties only for something to happen in the meantime.
I also treat my stored gasoline religiously. I’ve used PRI-G for years, and I’ve had good results with it, though I’ve used Amsoil too. That doesn’t mean stabilizer turns gasoline into a permanent storage fuel because gasoline changes over time, and storage conditions matter. Ethanol content, temperature, moisture, gasoline quality, and how well the container seals can all affect stored fuel in ways most folks don’t fully appreciate. I wrote more about how long stored gasoline lasts here.
Again, I prefer a yearly rotation because it’s easy to remember, and I’m not trying to see how long I can make gasoline last before an engine refuses to run on it. If you prefer twice a year, great. But don’t let it go for years when there’s no reason to.
Metal Or Plastic Gas Cans?
You’ll find strong opinions on this one. Good metal jerry cans have plenty going for them; they can seal well, they’re durable, and they’ll last a long time if cared for. Quality plastic fuel cans work too; it’s what I use because of cost.
I care less about winning the metal-versus-plastic argument and more about using an approved fuel container that’s in good condition, which is why I will occasionally check the caps, seals, vents, and gaskets – especially the gaskets – and replace parts as needed. Sadly, the replacement parts I keep buying are rarely better than OEM, so I keep a small stock of parts on hand.
Remember that if your cans are awkward or heavy, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to transfer fuel before the power goes out. A proper spout, gas siphon, or simple fuel transfer pump (the kind with a bulb) can make life a lot easier. Try it beforehand so you know how your plan will work.
Keeping Your Vehicle Full Is Fuel Storage Too
One of the easiest fuel preps doesn’t involve extra gas cans: just keep your vehicle tank from getting low! I realize that’s easier said than done. I know folks who drive around with the low-fuel light on more times than they care to admit; names shall not be sullied here today.
But think about the difference with a change in mindset. If your vehicle has an 18-gallon tank and it’s nearly empty when an emergency starts, you’re immediately looking for gasoline. But if that same tank is three-quarters full, you already have more than 13 gallons sitting in a container designed to safely carry gasoline. That’s useful fuel storage, and you don’t have to worry if the stations will run out before you get there or fight crazed people for a few gallons.
You don’t need to make it complicated either. Maybe half a tank becomes your new empty; it’s how I look at things. Once you reach that point, fill up. Then, during times when storms, shortages, or other trouble look more likely, keep even more gas in the tank.
Remember other vehicles, too. We have a total of five cars around the house at any one time. To me, this could equate to several dozen gallons of stored gasoline that could be used during an emergency to run an inverter, generator, or whatever should we need it. Granted, I would cut that number in half at any give time, but it’s better than running vehicles on empty all the time and end up doing without.
This isn’t hard to accomplish in practice, but it is a change in mindset.
Don’t Store More Than You Can Manage
This is where I think preppers sometimes get carried away. Fifty gallons sounds better than 25 gallons; one hundred sounds better than 50.
But every extra gallon needs to be stored safely, rotated, secured during an evacuation, and eventually used. Thus, a smaller supply that you maintain is vastly superior to a giant stash you largely ignore.
For a suburban household, a few five-gallon cans may cover most realistic needs. Add fuel already stored in your vehicles, and you could have a decent reserve without turning your backyard into a miniature fuel depot.
You can also reduce how much gasoline you need.
Propane stores extremely well and works with certain generators, not to mention the backyard BBQ. Solar panels and battery systems can handle smaller electrical loads. Firewood can provide heat and cook food where appropriate. Those options don’t replace gasoline for every job, but they can keep you from storing volatile fuels unnecessarily.
That’s more or less how I approach fuel storage.
I keep gasoline because I use it exclusively. I stabilize it, mark the dates, and rotate it yearly. I keep propane and firewood too because they solve different problems, like I noted above.
Again, I’m not trying to store a lifetime supply. I’m trying to have enough that a closed gas station, temporary shortage, evacuation, or relatively short power outage doesn’t immediately become another problem.
How much gasoline do you keep around, and how often do you rotate it? Or are other fuels a higher priority?
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