How bad is it to store race fuel in a plastic container?

[Kintore]

Hey guys,

just for the upcoming season. How bad is it storing 110+ octane in a plastic jerry can?

I know it mostly comes in metal containers,

does this lose octane??


Any ideas/suggestions would be great!
josh-

[atctim]

Found this for a fellow Beatner - hope it helps


Correct Storage

One critical area is the type of container used to store and transport fuel. It is recommended that fuel be kept in 55-gallon steel drums.

“Plastic jugs are very poor storage containers for a number of reasons,” says Art Brown, technical and operations manager for Sunoco Performance Products. “For one, they can’t be sealed tightly.” In addition, Brown says, the white containers are bad about allowing the light to hit the fuel, and that’s detrimental to the gasoline.

Racers should make sure their containers meet Department of Transportation standards for transporting fuel. Approved containers will feature an embossed stamp on the bottom.

“Some of those plastic-type materials are insulators and don’t allow for the dissipation of any of the static charges that might be built up,” Brown says. “It’s always better to use a metal container, though the colored containers will work fine if handled correctly and if they’re not used as storage containers for long periods of time.”

Wusz agrees that plastic gasoline jugs should be used sparingly, especially when storing fuel at the shops.

“I suggest steel containers as the way to go,” Wusz says. “Plastic jugs are a poor way to store fuel because the sunlight or the florescent lights in the shops can get to the fuel and that does two things: it deteriorates the level of lead in the gasoline and it also attacks the dye of the gasoline that is there for identification purposes. If you have a clear white jug sitting around full of red gasoline for a couple of weeks, it’s not going to have the same red color that it should have.

“The dark-colored jugs are better than the clear jugs. If you can see the level of gasoline in the jugs, then you don’t want to store it in them for very long. If worse comes to worse and the white jugs are all you have, put a blanket over them to shield them from the light.”

[Mosh]

I just bough 5 gallons of VP 110 and it was shipped from VP in a black 5 gallon plastic bucket.

Before that, I always filled my regular plastic jug with Sunoco 110 and used it over 2 months.
I never noticed any problems, but I would try to use it within 4-6 weeks time. No longer than that.
I have read steel cans are better, but I never used them for 110 and it was always fine for me.

[SWIGIN]

I have used the same red plastic gas can since the late 80s with no trouble. And back then I used it to hold my CAM2 110oct.

[3Razors]

Metal is better because it does not let the sunlight through the container, when that happens it lowers the octane. And everytime you open the jug whether be plastic or metal and you hear that "hisss", thats all the good stuff going out.

[SWIGIN]

Metal is better because it does not let the sunlight through the container, when that happens it lowers the octane. And everytime you open the jug whether be plastic or metal and you hear that "hisss", thats all the good stuff going out.

um......you don't read so good i take it?

It says right in the 1st post that that is an old wives tale. And since I never noticed a difference using my plastic can I believe it.

[3Razors]

um......you don't read so good i take it?

It says right in the 1st post that that is an old wives tale. And since I never noticed a difference using my plastic can I believe it.

Just because something works for you doesn't mean its the best. I don't know what you read but the article said the same thing I did. When sunlight hits the fuel it lowers the level of lead from it, when you lower the level of lead it lowers the octane. Also since plastic containers don't seal as tight the vapor escapes along with the octane. For long term storage metal is the way to go. Ask any racing fuel company like Sunoco in the statement above and they say the same thing.

[3Razors]

Here is VP racing fuels answer:

How long will VP fuels last in one of your plastic fuel containers?



I would personally use it within 2 to 4 weeks. A plastic container is designed for fuel transfer, not storage. If you are going racing for a week or weekend, it's OK to put your fuel in the plastic containers. I just recommend that when you get to your shop you put the fuel back in the drum and seal it. This will keep it fresh. Plastic is porous. Even though the liquid fuel doesn't leak out, the light ends of the fuel can evaporate out of the plastic. Plus the sun's UV rays can penetrate plastic and the lead may drop out. Again, plastic containers are designed for transfer, not storage.

http://www.vpracingfuels.com/index.html?Action=Question&ID=1979

[SWIGIN]

so lead = octane?

what about lead free race fuel?

I wouldn't store any high octain fuel in any can for long periods of time.

[3Razors]

Yes, Tetraethyl lead (Tel) is added to race fuel to increase its octane value and resistance to detonation. All of the popular 110 octane fuels like Sunoco standard 110 or VP C12 are leaded. The unleaded race fuels typically do not go above 100 octane and are oxygenated to get the octane needed. All the extreme performance fuels are leaded. The length of storage depends on the type of fuel, you can go 2 years on non oxygenated and about 1 year on oxygenated if it is stored indoors in a sealed metal container.

[jensenracing77]

the plastic containers suck!

[Mosh]

As much as Kintore rides, I dont see where it would be in a plastic container for much more than 4 weeks.