Posted: 2/22/2009 10:12:50 AM EDT
| Got a couple cases of oil for the oil lanterns, and have heard rumors about the plastic bottles eventually starting to leak. Figured I'd see what everyone's thoughts are for long-term lamp oil storage. Durability is obviously my major concern, but in a close second is price. Would surplus jerry cans be ideal? |
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I currently have a supply of liquid parrafin in new unused paint cans from H/D in the shed.
I am currenly considering reusing a 1 gallon paint thinner can for more (or White gas, if I had any). The online cost for new containers like that was way to much. They make galvanized containers for this purpose, but I have never located one. Or else a super cheap Blitz style plastic can. |
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Quoted:
So am I correct in assuming the rumors about liquid paraffin leaking through plastic bottles is incorrect info? I went several years with small bottles of liquid parafin without problem in the basement, but before I put the flammibles in the shed, I put them in metal (the paint cans). Truthfully, your thread has me thinking about this, since I don't flinch at all kind of automotive prodcuts in the shed or car in plastic, motor oil, stabil, transmission fluid, bar oil, two cycle oil, etc. I think if the lamp oil bottle is robust enough (like anti-freeze) I might store it in the shed (-7° to 90° F air temps). Howerever, I am still looking for something more robust than the light rigid plastic the bottles from Walmart comes in. Mmmmmmmmmmm, that empty bottle from Prestone Windshield De-Icer fluid fits that description too. I wonder if I have te top? ETA: As you can see, my concern is more the light wieght bottles in the cold shed, not the bottles themselves. |
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Just my opinion and not sceintific at all.
Motor oil and most vehicle fluids come in plastic containers that are not clear plastic. These tend to be very very flexable from the get go. The little bottles of lamp oil I have are clear plastic and not so flexable on day one. I recently found a half empty bottle of lamp oil and put it into my lamps, this bottle was 5+ years old and just the cheap dollar store lamp oil. Squishing the bottle once it was empty caused a whole lot of stress fractures to the bottle and enough cracks that it would not remain air tight, I squish em and put the lid on it before putting it in the trash and later it was back out to its original shape. Walmart had their little kerosene fuel cans on discount and they have a weird little pour spout with an on/off lever I had never seen before so I bought what was left and will be putting my lamp oil in it. It is a bit big to just be able to use it to pour lamp oil into a lamp but I will figure something out before too long I reckon. Anyway, my opinion on the clear plastic containers that I find at the dollar store is that they will last a while but not much past 5 years. Depends on how they are stored of course. I want to put the lamp oil in bigger containers to make it easier to store anyway. I have a lot more faith in the plastic fuel cans than I do the clear plastic the lamp oil comes in. |
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Based on Biere's feedback recently I bought a couple of blue kerosene containers to hold my liquid paraffin. Like him, several of my cheap plastic bottles had become brittle and started cracking. Some of these bottles were well over ten years old though.
I labelled the blue containers with a Sharpie, just so the contents wouldn't be mistaken for kero. |
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Quoted:
Based on Biere's feedback recently I bought a couple of blue kerosene containers to hold my liquid paraffin. Like him, several of my cheap plastic bottles had become brittle and started cracking. Some of these bottles were well over ten years old though. I labelled the blue containers with a Sharpie, just so the contents wouldn't be mistaken for kero. I've got a small kero can that I've been considering using. |
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The clear plastic bottles are Lexan or similar product. Most clear palstic water bottles are Lexan.
Strong when new, but they degrade due to ozone, which you cannot hide them from. When I started making Biodiesel I found that HDPE was the recommended type of container to use for solvents, oils, and methanol. Metal containers would work too, but if your fuel is hygroscopic ( attracts water) the metal may still rust over a long period of time. Also, don't put a metal can directly on concrete for long term storage, palce it on a thin sheet of plywood, or up on 2x4s, or anything. For storing a lot of lamp oil I'd probably use the blue kerosene containers, but the Windshield washer bottles are HDPE, and have worked well as small biodiesel jugs. Biodiesel also makes great lamp oil, for anyone who is interested. It's also a fantastic degreaser/cleaner/solvent. |
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