5 gal Cans of Kerosene from Lowes

[OLDBEAR]

A couple of questions about storing cans of Kerosene. Lowes sells 5gal cans of K-1 for $38, I know kind of expensive per gallon.  Is it worth to have a sealed can from factory for long term storage or buy a plastic can and stabilize the kerosene you get at the pump?
Will the factory sealed can of kerosene store well if it is kept at stable temp and dry conditions?

thanks for the help

[ColdHaven]

I use a variation on the 'store what you eat and eat what you store' when it comes to kerosene. I have a kerosene heater. If I am not mistaken it takes a year for kerosene to start breaking down. I store about 10 gallons of kerosene, but I use it, and therefore rotate it. If I do it right then the kerosene will not be there for a year. It might be different for you because you might be storing more kerosene than I am.

[phargolf]

Heat is the major enemy of all hydrocarbon fuels, so stored in a reasonably atmosphere will greatly extend the life of fuels. That said, Kerosene is one of the most stable hydrocarbon fuels, it will store approximately 10 years with little problem (probably longer under ideal conditions). The only fuel that stores longer is propane, which has an almost indefinite shelf life. Hope this helps. phargolf

[Taylor3006]

I am still using kerosene that I bought back in 1997 or so and it burns just great. I put some fuel stabilizer made for kerosene from Walmart back when I filled up the container. I burn it in lamps and a heater and like I said, seems to be as good as the day I got it. We can buy kerosene locally for $4 a gallon and the fuel stabilizer costs $2 a bottle that treats 20 gallons of fuel. Of course I am in Texas, if you are in Kalifornia it probably costs much more. BTW the Home Depot in Terrell has K1 kerosene in a 5 gallon metal can for less than $20, I believe it was around $18 when I saw it 6 days ago. I only vaguely remember it because when I saw it on the shelf, I laughed to myself that anyone would pay that much for it.

[bartsdad]

IWe can buy kerosene locally for $4 a gallon and the fuel stabilizer costs $2 a bottle that treats 20 gallons of fuel. Of course I am in Texas, if you are in Kalifornia it probably costs much more. BTW the Home Depot in Terrell has K1 kerosene in a 5 gallon metal can for less than $20, I believe it was around $18 when I saw it 6 days ago. I only vaguely remember it because when I saw it on the shelf, I laughed to myself that anyone would pay that much for it.

$20/5 gallons= $4/gallon. Same price you are paying. $18/5 gallon=$3.60/gallon. Less than you are paying. Just FYI

Remember to get your 10% coupon from a USPS moving kit when shopping at either Lowe's or H-D. It's a Lowe's coupon, but H-D honors competitors coupons.

[jpommer]

Wow!! The big boxes around here are still at last year's insane prices.... $44 to $50 for that 5 gallon can!  The local feed store dispenses into your container, but I haven't followed through to find out what the cost is. I have a kero heater to back up the wood stove and several oil lanterns, and no fuel stored for them. That's been bugging me.

[JGreene]

Remember too, that buying the 'filled container' includes the cost of the container which are around $15 for a 5 gallon jug  right?

I heat with Kerosene, so I have a 250 gallon tank.  I fill it once a year, so it works out fine.  Now if I could only find a portable generator that runs on Kero.

As stated before, it is stable over time, not like gas.

[Taylor3006]

$20/5 gallons= $4/gallon. Same price you are paying. $18/5 gallon=$3.60/gallon. Less than you are paying. Just FYI

Remember to get your 10% coupon from a USPS moving kit when shopping at either Lowe's or H-D. It's a Lowe's coupon, but H-D honors competitors coupons.

Oopps yes my mistake, thanks. They sell it in 3 gallon containers. Like everything else, the packaging gets smaller and the price goes up.

[Shadowrider]

Does anyone know why bulk clear kerosene is no longer available in Northern CA? (I realize the answer is, "Well, it's CA" but I'm wondering if it's economics or silly legislation.) We've used kerosene as back up heat for years and always bought in bulk. All that is available now is the dyed version, which stinks up the house and sends soot up the wall. Gross! DH refuses to buy the overpriced cans of clear at Home Depot and wants to buy the dyed in bulk, so we are at an impasse and running low.

(When we went to buy last year and were told that the dyed would soon be the only choice, the bulk service supplier said to take the heater outside, light it, then carry it back in. I'm guessing he's never carried a full kero heater before. There's that little trip thingie in it that shuts it off when it's off balance, not to mention I really don't want to carry the heavy lit heater around!  )

[AC]

Kero's like $4.50 a gallon at Rotten Robbie's. That's a Bay Area chain of gas stations.

I swear I saw it for a cheap price in a metal container at OSH during the summer, if I see it again this summer I'm stocking up.

I *think* kero = JP1 jet fuel, but it's not much cheaper looking online at the airports. And they may expect you to bring a jet to fill up.

I've learned to HATE modern plastic gas cans, if you can get kero in metal containers, allow at least $10 for the container, hence a 5 gallon can of kero at OSH for $30 would be a deal.

[Shadowrider]

Hi AC.

Is that the dyed kero at Rotten Robbies? That's all we can find. We're more NE of the Bay Area, so not shopping there actually. But I do know gas stations that sell dyed kero in our area, just not clear kero. Even the big distributors in our area only have dyed kero.

I assumed it was a CA thing (no clear kero in bulk), but I might very well be wrong.

[AC]

Nope it's clear kero.

[Shadowrider]

Thanks for the info, AC. It's not CA then, just my area. I'm going to start asking at gas stations around us.