Gasoline Storage

I was a young boy in the 1970's, but I still remember seeing news reports about gas lines, gas rationing, and spiking prices. I recall being at my cousin's birthday party one Saturday afternoon and listening to my uncles complaining about gas prices rising to 88 cents per gallon. We would all love to purchase gas for 88 cents a gallon today, but due to the rising-prices-over-time scenario popularly referred to as inflation that is highly unlikely to every occur again.

There are examples of gasoline shortages that do occur on a regular basis. In the aftermath of a hurricane, many gas stations in Florida are unable to pump gasoline due to a lack of electricity. Recently, hurricane Sandy created gas shortages that have been covered widely in the media.

Imagine tens of thousands of people fleeing the forecasted impact zone of a major hurricane. When Hurricane Ike impacted the metropolitan area of Houston, TX several years ago many people quickly discovered gasoline is a valuable necessity. Some people didn't have enough gasoline to evacuate the area. Imagine coming back following the storm and not having a source of gasoline to run generators and other power equipment to assist with the clean-up efforts.

I'd like to have more capacity for storing gasoline at my home, but for now I have about 11 gallons on hand. Based on my vehicle getting 40 mpg on the highway, that's enough gasoline to get me well away from impending danger, but far, far less than I would realistically need after an event that lasted longer than a two or three days.

To get started with gasoline storage, these 5 gallon gasoline storage containers might help.

I have two of these and at some point, I'll probably add another one. For storing a larger volume of gasoline, there are other options like this 14 gallon container.

Storing gasoline has it's own inherent risks. Whether the risks are worth the reward is a personal decision. Ventiliation, proximity to flame, heat build-up are some factors that must be carefully considered. Caution is warranted. If you decide to store gasoline in your home, be very, very careful. Make sure you are willing to accept the risks involved.