Transporting 20 gallons of gas in your trunk and storing in your back yard in the open air question

EPA web site says nothing about any specific volume for long term gasoline storage.

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Using and Storing Gasoline In the summer, lots of portable containers are used to store and transport fuels for lawnmowers, chainsaws and recreational vehicles. These portable containers can emit hydrocarbons; in addition, spills can leak into ground water. Here are some tips to follow to reduce these concerns:

Use Proper Containers Use only containers approved by a nationally recognized testing lab, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Containers should be fitted with a spout to allow pouring without spilling and to minimize the generation of vapors. Always open and use gasoline containers in a well-ventilated area away from children and animals.

Fill Cautiously Fuel equipment on a hard surface such as concrete or asphalt and use a funnel and/or spout to prevent spilling or splashing when fueling lawn and recreational equipment and always fuel outside where there is adequate ventilation to disperse the vapors

Store Carefully Store as little gasoline as possible and be certain to keep your gasoline container properly sealed. Store the gasoline in a cool, dry place and never in direct sunlight. Store at ground level to minimize the danger of falling and spilling. Do not store gasoline in a car trunk. There is a threat of explosion from heat and impact. Do not store gasoline in your basement.

Avoid Spills Avoid spilling gasoline on the ground, especially near wells. If a small spill occurs use kitty litter, saw dust or an absorbent towel to soak up the spill, then dispose of it properly Dispose Properly Do not dispose of gasoline down the drain, into surface water, onto the ground, or in the trash. You should check with your town concerning using your local household hazardous waste collection for safe disposal of excess or old gasoline.

Reply to
LM
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OSHA says the cans need to be 5 gallons or less in order to transport.

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But they say nothing about how many you can transport at the same time or where you have to put the cans.

Here's what it says.

OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1926.152(a)(1) states "Only approved containers and portable tanks shall be used for storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids. Approved safety cans or Department of Transportation approved containers shall be used for the handling and use of flammable liquids in quantities of 5 gallons or less.

Anytime the word "shall" is used in a regulation, it means that this rule is mandatory and must be followed.

What is an approved safety can or DOT gas can?

A safety can is (29CFR1926.155(1) an approved, closed container, of not more than 5 gallons capacity, having a flash arresting screen, spring closing lid and spout cover and so designed that it will safely relieve internal pressure when subjected to fire exposure.

Approval is given by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, for example, Underwriters' Laboratory, Inc.

Gas cans can only display DOT approval markings when they meet stringent Department of Transportation requirements. Here is where it gets confusing, inexpensive plastic gas cans may meet EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requirements, but they do NOT meet DOT rules. Some gas cans may say they meet CARB spill-proof regulations in certain states or AQMD (Air Quality Management District) rules. Again, this doesn't help when trying to comply with OSHA. None of these other regulatory agencies are the same as DOT. They are not interchangeable.

If your head isn't already spinning, one last point. If you are looking for a UL "approval", you will see the following words on the product, UL Listed. If your can has a UL Classified marking, this is not the same as UL Listed (approved). If you want more information about UL markings, go to

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Reply to
LM

OSHA regulations exerpts from

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1926.152(a)(1): Approved safety cans or Department of Transportation approved containers shall be used for the handling and use of flammable liquids in quantities of 5 gallons or less ... 1926.152(b)(1): No more than 25 gallons of flammable or combustible liquids shall be stored in a room outside of an approved storage cabinet ... 1926.152(b)(2): Quantities of flammable and combustible liquid in excess of 25 gallons shall be stored in an acceptable or approved cabinet meeting the following requirements ... 1926.152(b)(3): Not more than 60 gallons of flammable or 120 gallons of combustible liquids shall be stored in any one storage cabinet. Not more than three such cabinets may be located in a single storage area. Quantities in excess of this shall be stored in an inside storage room.
Reply to
LM

CARB (California Air Resource Board) states

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CARB/OTC Portable Fuel Container & Spout Regulation Updated Apr 2008

State: Transition Date: Full Compliance Date California Jan-01-00 Jan-01-01 Phase II regulation: Jul-01-07 Delaware Jan-01-02 Jan-01-03 Maryland Jan-01-02 Jan-01-03 New York Jan-01-02 Jan-01-03 Pennsylvania Jan-01-02 Jan-01-03 Maine Jan-01-03 Jan-01-04 Virginia Jan-01-05 (specific counties only) Connecticut May-01-04 May-01-05 Washington DC Jan-01-05 Jan-01-06 New Jersey Jan-01-05 Jan-01-06 Texas Jan-01-06 New Hampshire Mar-01-06 Mar-01-07 Ohio Jul-01-07 Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is awaiting implementation of the U.S. EPA nation-wide Portable Fuel Container Rules scheduled for January 2009. Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is awaiting implementation of the U.S. EPA nation-wide Portable Fuel Container Rules scheduled for January 2009. Vermont The VT DEC (Dept of Environmental Conservation) is awaiting implementation of the U.S. EPA nation-wide Portable Fuel Container Rules scheduled for January 2009. Illinois The IEPA is currently awaiting implementation of the U.S. EPA nation-wide Portable Fuel Container Rules scheduled for January 2009. National EPA Administrator signed proposed rule similar to CARB's revised rules. Implementation date is January 2009

Reply to
LM

Actually, the possibility of a leak might be a bigger risk than any fire hazard.

Your neighbor doesn't know how leak proof your containers are. You might be able to prove it to him.

But think about it. If he has a well, and you drip a little gasoline into the groundwater, he just lost his water supply.

Even if no well, if you contaminate the groundwater under his property, he can no longer sell his house. You're probably liable for his property loss as well as an environmental cleanup.

And if you're storing your gasoline perfectly, but the guy before you dripped gasoline into the groundwater, you may have trouble proving it wasn't you.

Of course that's true if you keep your gas cans in the shed too. But your neighbor won't know.

Reply to
TimR

EPA Final Order

Control of Hazardous Air Pollutants From Mobile Sources; Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Rules and Regulations

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Reply to
LM

Autoignition Temperature: 833 degrees F / 444 degrees C

Gulf unleaded gasoline material data sheet (MDS)

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Reply to
LM

Transportation of Hazardous Materials - Recent Laws & Regulations

HM-200; TITLE:"Hazardous Materials in Intrastate Commerce; Technical Amendments"; Final Rule; Effective Date 02/18/98; Published 02/18/98; 63 FR

8140.

SUMMARY: On January 8, 1997, RSPA published a final rule which amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to expand the scope of the regulations to all intrastate transportation of hazardous materials. ... In this final rule, RSPA is: Correcting a date for States to develop legislation authorizing certain exceptions recognized in the HMR; clarifying packaging requirements for hazardous materials transported for agricultural operations; correcting size requirements for identification number markings; and clarifying that the provisions for use of non-specification cargo tanks apply to transportation of gasoline.

Reply to
LM

Don't know about storage. Others are citing rules. I keep plastic 5 gallon, 2 gallon and 1 gallon containers in my garage, tucked away under the workbench. One of each. The 2 gallon is for filling the lawn mower. Easy to handle and not spill gas. The 1 gallon has the 2-cycle mix for the weed whacker. The 5 gallon only comes out to replenish the others. As to your question, the simple answer is one at a time. No reason you have to transport all the gas at once. Though I don't see moving 4 5-gallons jugs in the trunk as an issue if they are reasonably secured and you don't travel far. But I'm less than half a mile from a gas station. If I had to travel more than a couple miles I'd probably carry one at a time. When I do the yearly half-mile trip with my 3 jugs it's a dedicated trip and I'm aware of what's in the trunk the entire time.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

I looked on the California DOT site and searched for hours.

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Even a genius couldn't find what you're looking for on the California DOT web site.

Reply to
LM

-snip-

Just curious-- Do you ever weld, solder, grind, hammer metallic things, or use power tools at that workbench?

I keep a 10-20 gallons gas in my garage, too-- but it is in a no-work zone between two garage doors. Even at that I think I would be smart to move it to its own little shed.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

We kept 5 gallons of gas on hand to replenish the 6-gallon tank on the generator. Seemed sufficient.

Then Hurricane Yikes came along and knocked 4 million people in our city into the no-power zone, including every gas station for fifty miles! For TEN FREAKIN' DAYS!

I now have a LOT of six-gallon gas cans.

The next time a hurricane heads this way, I'm gonna fill every blessed one of them! I'll stack 'em in the garage along with lawn chairs, pot plants, garbage cans, the dog, and anything else that might blow away in 80 mph winds. If the door-to-door gas-can inspector comes by, I'll lie or plead exigent circumstances.

Reply to
HeyBub

Good point. Only thing you mentioned is I do have my bench grinder at the end of that bench. That bench is really 8' x 1 "x 6" boards I tied into the studs with 3

1" x 4" supports cut with 45 degree miters from the studs to the outer edges providing support. Extra lumber I had around. Real strong and open underneath except for the 3 angled supports. Good place to roll my floor jack out of the way, store jack stands and those jugs. Sparks shouldn't get near the gas jugs, but now that you've mentioned it, I could get them away from there, and will. Thanks. But I'm not moving my kerosene jugs!

I feel pretty much the same, but never smelled fumes, and the jugs have never popped a vent open. Now you've got me thinking that getting a little shed would be a good idea.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

Hehe. Those with generators and hurricanes have to look at it differently. Once electricity goes out widespread, everything is shot to hell. Had a 2 day outage here once. Seemed like the end of the world. Personally, I'd probably prefer just getting out of town to someplace civilized when such an outage happened, but you do what you gotta do.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

And your point is? That there is no ignition source during a vehicle crash?

What is the temperature from a spark from a electrical wire, a bursting tail light, or steel dragging on the pavement? Is it over 833? I would think it is less, but still, a very effective ignition source. Electrical fires after collisions are common, even if they are not the spectacular variety. There's lots of hot melting wires and sparks.

No?

Reply to
Steve B

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>

I was an associate safety professional. Yes, you may cite OSHA all day long.

But you said containers of less than five gallons re: storage. What about transport? You say nothing about that.

Point is, 5 gallons, 25 gallons 60 gallons (see above), any regular guy who's been around the block a couple of times knows you can get in one hell of a mess with a cup of gasoline or less. I knew two guys who had their faces altered for life with less than a cup of gas.

Steve

visit my blog at

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Reply to
Steve B

"Vic Smith" wrote

I hate two words. Should and probably.

Steve

visit my blog at

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Reply to
Steve B

"Steve B" wrote

NO, sorry. You cited about 5 gallon containers for handling. Nothing stated there about storage.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Some plywood, 2'' by 4's, padlock, and paint = outdoors shed for storing gas.Be safe, not sorry. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

They're different.

"Should" implies a moral and superiority judgment on the part of one's self-appointed betters.

"Probably" is a dispassionate evaluation of the circumstances by a logical mind.

Reply to
HeyBub

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