I put some of the winter generator gasoline in my vehicle today to use it up before the heat of summer gets here.
One of the down sides of being prepared for an outage with a gasoline fueled generator is the rotation of fuel.
I had 20 gallons of high-test gasoline stored in eight 2.5 gallon plastic gas cans with a regular dose of red Sta-Bil, for use in my 2,200 Watt Generac inverter generator during the winter if it were needed. I only used about one gallon for one outage and the power was back on before that tank of gas ran out. The fuel is stored outside on a cement pad with a roof where the sun can not shine on it, and under a tarp. In the past I have seen the red plastic gas cans bulge some when the lighter hydrocarbons in winter gas turn into gas vapor and create pressure in the spring, but I was surprised at how much these were bulging. If they bulge this much at only 75 F it will be good to get it use up before the real heat of summer gets here.
There really is a big difference between summer gasoline and winter gasoline. I can see why some cars with big engines and a lot of heat under the hood use to sometimes have vapor lock from gasoline evaporating too much.
I used a number 4 size coffee filter in the Pep-boys gray long fuel funnel with the lip that helps hold fuel on the half of the top of it that is oriented towards the ground when I put the fuel in my car today. I saw a couple of the small flying insects around the funnel while the gas was going in but I was surprised at how many were in the coffee filter in the funnel when I was done adding the fuel. A coffee filter in a fuel funnel is a good idea.
I only store a few gallons in the summer. Even if there is a outage I should be able to travel to get gas in the summer. It is not like a winter storm where the roads can be unusable for a couple of days, and here in Pittsburgh PA we do not have to be ready for a hurricane like some of the southern states. In late June when the stations are sure to have summer gas I'll get a few gallons and add some Sta-Bil.
One of the down sides of being prepared for an outage with a gasoline fueled generator is the rotation of fuel.
I had 20 gallons of high-test gasoline stored in eight 2.5 gallon plastic gas cans with a regular dose of red Sta-Bil, for use in my 2,200 Watt Generac inverter generator during the winter if it were needed. I only used about one gallon for one outage and the power was back on before that tank of gas ran out. The fuel is stored outside on a cement pad with a roof where the sun can not shine on it, and under a tarp. In the past I have seen the red plastic gas cans bulge some when the lighter hydrocarbons in winter gas turn into gas vapor and create pressure in the spring, but I was surprised at how much these were bulging. If they bulge this much at only 75 F it will be good to get it use up before the real heat of summer gets here.
There really is a big difference between summer gasoline and winter gasoline. I can see why some cars with big engines and a lot of heat under the hood use to sometimes have vapor lock from gasoline evaporating too much.
I used a number 4 size coffee filter in the Pep-boys gray long fuel funnel with the lip that helps hold fuel on the half of the top of it that is oriented towards the ground when I put the fuel in my car today. I saw a couple of the small flying insects around the funnel while the gas was going in but I was surprised at how many were in the coffee filter in the funnel when I was done adding the fuel. A coffee filter in a fuel funnel is a good idea.
I only store a few gallons in the summer. Even if there is a outage I should be able to travel to get gas in the summer. It is not like a winter storm where the roads can be unusable for a couple of days, and here in Pittsburgh PA we do not have to be ready for a hurricane like some of the southern states. In late June when the stations are sure to have summer gas I'll get a few gallons and add some Sta-Bil.