[fruit loop]

It's about to get cold and I use my kerosene heater to keep the electric bill down (as well as when the power goes off). My toolshed is pretty far from the new house (BIG yard) and I hate carrying the cans back and forth to the house, but I'm really not comfortable with five gallon cans of kero sitting inside my house, either.

Somebody said keeping kero in an unheated toolshed isn't a good idea either.

Where should I put it? Is it okay to keep it in the tooshed all year long, or is it really not that dangerous to keep it in the house? (It's well away from electrical outlets, heat, appliances, etc)

[Kimber]

I'm guessing that the comment about not storing it outside in Winter might have been because of water accumulation in the kerosene. Perhaps there is some type of a stabilizer you could add.

I'm not a fuel guy, but I recall that PRI-D (diesel) and PRI-G (gas) work for those fuels. And there is a product called Stabil. I don't think these were designed to work with kerosene. However, maybe there is something similar?

David

[Seldom Seen]

I don't like having fuel in my house,although I do have several pounds of butane in here. All my gasoline and propane stay outside. Kerosene lasts a long time and I wouldn't think you'd have any problems storing 5 gallons outside, especially as you'll be using it. I'm no expert tho. Maybe make a test with a gallon. Store it outside all winter and see how it works in late March.

[Hamilton Felix]

Although I do have some PRI-G and PRI-D around here, I can't see needing it for seasonal storage of diesel, stove oil or kerosene.

In general, contamination happens when the container "breathes," due to temperature changes. You've probably seen plastic gasoline cans bulge in sunlight, and partially collapse when it gets cold. You don't really want the container "sucking in" moisture-laden air. And you certainly don't want it giving off a lot of flammable vapor. As a general rule, I'd say store it out of the light and in a fairly temperature-stable environment, if you can.

I do tend to have kerosene and/or diesel in my shop (which is only heated when we build a fire in the stove. I prefer to leave the gasoline cans outside where the ventilation is better. I'll leave them in an open unfinished garage at another location.

BTW, I've seen underground tanks of leaded gasoline last a LONG time, even without stabilizer. There's something to be said for stable temperatures.

[fruit loop]

The kerosene is in those blue plastic five gallon cans. I put them in a corner of the kitchen, out of the way. The propane I moved to the shed. I think it'll be okay out there......asked Home Depot and they said they never move the cans inside. They stay out in the locked "corral" all year round.

Just wasn't comfy having large quantities of flammable liquids inside the house.

If anyone is interested, I highly recommend the Kero-Sun heaters. I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1347 square foot house and it radiates from the living room throughout very quickly. Heats up faster, in fact, than the brand new heat pump system does!!!