Storing/traveling with gas for portable gen

[Jbrowland]

Hello all. Thanks in advance for the advice and insight you folks always offer.

I recently switched from a class C with a built in gen to a travel trailer to pull with my truck and after buying portable generator and a 5 gallon gas can I realized I may have an unsafe situation according to the 5 hours of reading I have done on the internet concerning storing and traveling with a portable gen and gas can with gas in them.

Here's my specific situation. I live in a townhouse in the middle of the city with a two car garage below the living area where I am currently keeping two cars along with my new generator (holds 1.6 gallons of gas) and a 5 gallon can of gas (red plastic No Spill version) filled about 95%. I do not have any other place to store the gas can away from the house (like a shed etc...) and yes, I have a water heater with pilot light in the garage as well. Not ideal.

I am leaning towards NOT storing the gas can in the garage and emptying the generator but then where will I keep the gas can and how will I fill up the gen before trips and so much for using the gen in case of an emergency? What do you all do and what would you do in my case to mitigate the potential for safety issues?

Also, how do you all travel with portable gas cans for your gens in your trucks? I used to mow lawns when I was a kid and most of these things were kept in the garages of several houses in my hood and no issues.

My trailer is stored at a private storage facility about 15 miles away. I have a 25 foot parking space at the storage facility with RV's on both sides of mine.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts. There are so many positives with the trailer over the class C but this issue is one I didn't really think about until it was too late. My bad.

[Dave_H_M]

When a electric water heater calls for heating the water a electric contact is made that powers the heating element.

We are in the ozone layer now. If the contacts spark it is inside the outer jacket and also covered with insulation inside that jacket.

Happy trails.

[SidecarFlip]

Simple answer.. Rotapax

[SoundGuy]

Jbrowland wrote:
I am leaning towards NOT storing the gas can in the garage and emptying the generator but then where will I keep the gas can and how will I fill up the gen before trips and so much for using the gen in case of an emergency? What do you all do and what would you do in my case to mitigate the potential for safety issues?

Also, how do you all travel with portable gas cans for your gens in your trucks?

I always stored my Honda EU2000i in my heated workshop by keeping it in a custom Rubbermaid storage bin that sealed in any fumes - pics start here. When camping this bin traveled in the back of my truck but with no odour it could have easily traveled inside the camper. Garden variety plastic gas can, cheap or not, always worked fine for me, 'though I did keep it in the outer part of the garage and would only carry it in the truck, never the camper. Those RotopaX containers may be your best answer to that issue.

[GordonThree]

Why do you feel the need to store gas? Buy what you need and use what you buy. Anything left in the can after a weekend trip, empty it into the tow vehicle. If you're a prepper, well, a urban prepper forum might have some ideas for you.

[TomG2]

I carry "Canned" gasoline in my pickup camper. It is expensive and caps can come off yada yada yada. Another plus is that it is Ethanol free and has a much longer shelf life than gas station fuel. Thirty or forty dollars buys some piece of mind, for me.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Ok, hears the deal. A gas container is a gas container. Whether in a car a truck or a non vented can.

The problem is most gas cans now days are junk. Just garbage. If you buy 1 or 2 of these you will have no problem with fumes. These are very solid so you can roll and ATV and not blow up or catch on fire. This is what you want.

[colliehauler]

Dave H M wrote:
co0llie, I don't get it.

a gas water heater with an open flame pilot light is always on. If it is modernized so it does not have an open flame pilot it still has flames when heating.

So where are those electrical sparks going to come from if everything is operating properly and the water heater is electric?

When a electric water heater calls for heating the water a electric contact is made that powers the heating element. This creates a spark, same with a light swith. Most gas water heaters use a electric spark ignition same as most furnaces.

The only way to have a explosions proof room would be to go with intrinsically safe appliances.

[wanderingbob]

You store twp autos full of gas and think nothing of it , a generator should be as safe . Can of gas is a different thing all together , as a new firefighter yrs ago my first fire call was a can of lawnmower gas in a closed garage !

[Dave_H_M]

co0llie, I don't get it.

a gas water heater with an open flame pilot light is always on. If it is modernized so it does not have an open flame pilot it still has flames when heating.

So where are those electrical sparks going to come from if everything is operating properly and the water heater is electric?

[colliehauler]

Dave H M wrote:

Mandalay Parr wrote:
You could always convert to an electric water heater.

My initial thoughts exactly, open flames give me the heebie jeebides with flammables around.

That may just give you the piece of mind you are wondering about.

Gas vapor can be ignited with a electric spark just as easy as a open flame.

[Dave_H_M]

Mandalay Parr wrote:
You could always convert to an electric water heater.

My initial thoughts exactly, open flames give me the heebie jeebides with flammables around.

That may just give you the piece of mind you are wondering about.

[Mandalay_Parr]

You could always convert to an electric water heater.

[tinner12002]

We store both in the garage, never really have fumes from either. Garage door is opened and closed enough to keep plenty of fresh air in there. As for hauling them, both ride in the back of my toy hauler, as I said before there are no fumes from either. Had there been fumes, I could open the side vents in the toy hauler garage but haven't had to do that as of yet. Oh I forgot, mower and snowblower is in the garage also!

[craig7h]

I would first off stop by your local fire station and ask the experts. Those are the folks who know.

I myself would store the gen in the garage its about as sealed as anything else. I would keep it as far away from the hot water heater as possible however. As for the gas can, might check into a metal can, or store it in the bed of your truck.

[westend]

I wouldn't store any gas powered small engine or a gas can in a garage that has an appliance with an active flame. There is just too much risk with the combination.

A few alternatives are: Mounting the generator in a box secured to the RV. Use a metal jerry can that can be locked and is also secured to the RV. You could drain the generator and the gas can and store them in the garage but you would still have some risk.

I know some folks are going to post that since you park a car inside the garage and the car has gas in the tank, storing the genset and the gas can should be no different. IMO, there is a difference. The cars have little risk of leaking gas or being tipped over. The same can not be said for a small gas engine or a gas can.