I have a large shed now but was thinking of building a cinder block room/building for a gen and fuel storage. How do you all do it.
Presently I don't. With the exception of a half dozen or so five gallon jugs. I am a little nervous about storing gas. I have thought about picking up some used gas tanks off of a 18 wheeler, and build a cradle for them or just store it in 55 gallon drums. I have an uncle that has a little gas distribution company so I might ask him what he might want to get rid of that is laying around the shop.
Gasoline has additives in it these days that are unstable in the sense that the effectivness sorta deteriorates with time. If storing for very long (meaasured in months) add some stabilizer to the container. Failure to do so will usually lead to unpleasant operating characteristics (such as not starting and simliar minor grievances.) Witness your motorcycle after the winter is over, or the first few trys to get the mower started in the spring. Fuel injected engines are particularly susceptible since the injector holes will gunk up readily. The message? Use stabilizer and rotate stock --
I have a shed far from the house. It's in a shaded area in a corner of my property. This way it stays cool naturally. I've also installed one of those roof turbines that turn with the slightest breeze for extra ventilation. I only use Scepter MFC's to store my gas. IMO the product Stabil is a poor choice. It doesn't really last long. I prefer Prig-G. It costs more and is a little more difficult to find, but the results are worth it. Generally I rotate my gas every 6-9 months thus ensuring a fresh product.
I have 10 military fuel cans that I keep full in the garage. When the vehicles get empty, I fill them from the cans and then take the cans into town and fill them. This keeps the fuel rotated constantly without need for STABIL. It also keeps me informed on how my donkey dicks are doing and holding up. I don't like the fuel in the garage, but until I build my shed, the only option I have.
For your consideration: My Grandfather made his shed completely out of railroad ties. It held/holds all the family's preparedness items. I do know that it maintains a pretty great temperature for storage, year round, and is kept in the soggiest of climates, yet has presented no damage to that which it holds.
Tracy, that is an outstanding idea since there are a ton of old railroad ties just down the road from me. Been wondering what I could do with them!
...and if you wanted to be extra safe you could do it up like a powder shed where you would have the real strong walls and say a lite tin roof so that if there is ever a problem that leads to an explosion it is all funneled up rather than blowing shrapnel/debris everywhere. Personaly I just keep a couple 5 gallon cans in the bed of my truck.
A few years ago I checked into using railroad ties to build a cabin.I called the local EPA office to inquire if there were any health hazards with the creosote.They told me that several people had been using them for home construction and that they had done a study on it and found absolutely no adverse health effects. A local company sells them and thier office is built from ties that they had split at a sawmill.The cut side is the interior walls and when varnished makes a beautiful finish. Also for retreat construction, they are extremely bullet resistant.
You might want to consider adding vents to the storage shed when using fuel, and keep all sparking items at least 18” off of the floor.
You haven't lived until you've had a creosote burn. It's like a bad sunburn. Had it on my ass once as a kid from sitting on ties on a hot day and the creosote was absorbed into my jeans.
"for commercial use only" and has been outlawed in Lousiana for the most part . If it is outlawed in lousian then u dont want it in or around your home... yes you can buy telephone poles and used railroad ties cheap but they aint good to have around...espically with kids ... Lousiana says they are bad then they must be bad.... this is the state that still hits the kids in school... {with a regulation paddle of course}
"Someone I know" uses them as walls and roofs over underground storage...extremely strong and really no rotting worries (at least for the first 25 or so years, I can't speak from personal observation for longer than that.).