I have been thinking of buying E85 in bulk (200 - 300+ gallons). The farm that I work at has several old fuel barrels that have not been used in a long time. Can I use any old fuel barrel, or do I need a special container?

 

FM, I think you could use almost any fuel barrel, but you might want to watch a couple of things. There are some plastics that seem susceptible to deterioration when exposed to ethanol. Steel would be fine. One of the things to keep in mind is that ethanol is electically conductive. So while ethanol itself is not corroive, you have to be carefull about galvanic action. Ethanol is also more atractive of water than gasoline, so you'll need to keep the container sealed. You may also want to have some way to run the stuff though a Zeolite filter when you draw off the tank. DinosaurFan @ his Dad's house

 

I would be careful, when Iowa first went to E10 ~20 years ago, we found out the ethanol does a nice job of cleaning out old fuel tanks, depositing the sludge in the engines. You might find the same to be true in your case, only on a larger scale. Clean 'em out first if you can, e85 would be a good solvent! :-)

 

The only container that can be used with ethanol is stainless steel. The cost of installing an E-85 pump at a gas station is between $30,000-$60,000 in Oregon.

There are only 2 manufacturers in the US that make fuel pumps and neather will certify their units for E-85. There are many studys available that show SS is the only option. The new double wall fiberglass tanks that have been installed the last few years won't work either.

E-10 and E-20 are not as bad, but E-85 is a different story.

 

I think this has already been said, but needs repeating:

"Keep the water out of it!"

 

FabMan, where are you getting these numbers ? According to the steel tank institute, it costs less than 500 $ to make a filling station ethanol ready. The E85 stations that I have seen are using the same tanks and pumps and hoses as they did selling gasoline. And whose studies show that stainless is the only way to go ? I will agree the fiberglass tanks sound scary when filled with ethanol, but mild steel doesn't have any ethanol problems that I have heard of. Are Oregon's reg's tougher than some other places ? DF

 

Oregon has some of the toughest in the country, but I do have links to the studys and will post them as soon as I can find them[maybe in work computer].

FABMANDELUX.

 

Sorry it took awhile, been busy. Try this one first, You can see the issues are mainly with E-85 and higher. I'll post the rest I have when I can find them, The one that delt with tanks and pump islands was from Oregon state if i can find it..................

Edit; found another one. http://www.e85fuel.com/pdf/e85_technical_booklet.pdf
FABMANDELUX.

 

THANKEE!!! Well I have read the bulk of that article and it is some good stuff. I am not sure about using Buna-N and Neoprene with alcohol tho. I will have to check on the latest formulations and specs for those materials.

EDIT- Actually the charts show both are OK for Ethanol but Neoprene would not be good with Gasoline. -Hmmmm

I knew there was something about at least one of those. Another name for Buna-N is Nitrile.

I have seen Buna-N (Nitrile) come apart with Gasohol at elevated temperatures. It is probably OK at the temperatures the dispensing equipment is operated at tho.