How to (relatively safely) store a small amount (200 milliliters) of gasoline for up to a month?

Question

In my country of residence (developing nation) I sometimes see people stopped alongside the road because they apparently forgot to buy fuel or couldn't afford it. I also would like to be able to push a bit further on my motorbike since the fuel light comes on pretty early. For those purposes I'd like to bring a TINY amount of gasoline with me on the motorbike, in the under-seat compartment. My motorbike does 40 km on a liter so if I bring 200 ML it should be more than enough to reach a gas station. I can just empty it out in my gas tank every month or so, and refresh it, so longevity shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Now I know I shouldn't be storing fuel in inappropriate containers, so what would a decent solution for this be? I cannot find jerry cans of such a tiny size. Glass is not recommended for fuel, but would it matter for a small amount, if not filled to the top? And would a glass jar not leak?

Answer 1

You can use a camping fuel bottle. They are usually made of aluminum, they are made to hold flammable liquids including gasoline, and they do not leak. I have seen them as small as 500 ml, and you might find a smaller model if you search.

Answer 2

One possibility is if you can find small engine gasoline / alkylate gasoline sold in a one-liter container. That gasoline burns very cleanly, can be stored for about 4 years with no degradation and exhaust emissions of that gasoline are very clean. It's about ~98 RON octane usually.

When buying small engine gasoline in such a small container, expect to pay around 6 euros / dollars / pounds for the liter. You can use the gasoline you buy for that money in practically every application and then some, for example it's very good for storing lawnmower during the winter. But what you want is the container. It's a plastic container that can be used to store gasoline, and it's clearly marked as a gasoline container with the appropriate "flammable" signs.

Of course one liter container may be bit overkill for transporting 200 milliliters, but I'm not aware of anybody selling gasoline in smaller containers than that.

And if you don't consume the alkylate gasoline immediately but rather let it stay in that container, you can store it for 4 years, no need to rotate that gasoline several times per year.

One difficulty might be that the one liter bottles haven't been made for refilling, so if you want to store regular gasoline in that you need a funnel, you probably can't fit the gas nozzle in a pump through the bottleneck.

Answer 3

How to carry a spare gasoline:

1. Container made of metal. Steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, any common-use metal will do.

Plastics that can safely contain fuel are expensive and could be fake. The wrong plastic means static electricity and sparks. Sparks and gasoline don't play well.

Glass is fragile and can build up static as well.

Besides containers made specifically for gasoline, some alcohol beverages are sold in metal containers. These bottles are OK for gasoline, too. It is OK for the cap to be plastic as long as the rest of the container is metal.

2. Container tightly closed.

Leaks are dangerous. A small leak can soak its immediate environment and then a single static spark can make fire.

3. Never fill the container to the cap. Always allow about 20% of the container volume to be available for the thermal expansion of the gasoline.

Gasoline expands thermally a lot more than water (it is like 10% form 15C to 40C). It will expand no matter if there is enough space in the container or not. If there is no space to expand anymore, the container will crack open.

The fuel tanks of cars and motorcycles, as well as the canisters made for petroleum fuels, have a complex shape that makes filling all the space with fuel hard or outright impossible. A simple bottle doesn't have such feature. It is up to you to fill it to 80%.

Answer 4

The camp fuel bottle is the way to go. When I still had my dual-sport bike, I carried three 1L bottles in my Wolfman saddle bags. Most of my riding was off-road, and many miles from any gas station. I never had any leaking issues, or issues with the 100+ F Utah heat. Three bottles gave me over 50 more miles.

Answer 5

I have reused a 2L screw-top tomato-sauce bottle for holding petrol, and it seemed to work acceptably. Tomato sauce is a acidic food and any bottle that can hold it should hold petrol/gasoline okay. You may have similar foods in your location.

The lid must be a screw-top that fits tightly and doesn't leak. Clean bottle out well, make sure its bone-dry. Ideally, the nozzle would be wider than the handle at the service station's bowser, but narrower than the one on your bike's fuel tank. Clearly label bottle as "NOT FOR FOOD"

To be sure, try half-filling your candidate bottle with petrol and leave it for a month. Then pour out the petrol through a mesh strainer. Look for discolouration or strings of plastic, and check the smell. If anything seems wrong, then its not suitable.

One consideration is whether your engine needs to be mixed with oil, as in some 2 stroke configurations. Most 2 stroke motorbikes have an automatic oiler, but if not you may need to bring some in an additional container, or choose to go without while on reserve. Storing mixed petrol/oil is another option.

Store whatever bottle you get so the lid is clear of the content, ie, it is standing up. The bottle should not be on the outside of the bike in case of accident, and it should not be exposed to heat either.