Storing petrol at home: the 30 litre rule and the right containers

A petrol generator, chipper or log splitter needs fuel, and most owners end up keeping some at home. HSE explains that storing petrol is covered by law because petrol is highly flammable and gives off vapour that can easily be set alight by a naked flame, an electrical spark or similar — and that the rules apply to private homes as well as workplaces.

The law is the Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 1 October 2014. Here is what HSE’s guidance says for homes.

Up to 30 litres: no need to tell anyone

HSE says you can store up to 30 litres of petrol at home (or at other non-workplace premises) without informing your local Petroleum Enforcement Authority (PEA). You can keep it in:

• suitable portable metal or plastic containers;
• one demountable fuel tank;
• or a combination of the two, as long as the total is no more than 30 litres.

HSE notes that “premises” include motor vehicles, boats and aircraft.

Which containers you can use

The regulations allow:

• plastic containers holding up to 10 litres;
• metal containers holding up to 20 litres;
• a demountable fuel tank of up to 30 litres.

HSE gives UN-approved containers as an example of suitable containers. Search Amazon for UN-approved metal petrol cans — check the listing states the approval and the capacity.

Where you can keep it

HSE lists the storage requirements that apply at home:

• not in your living accommodation;
• no dispensing — petrol isn’t pumped, manually or electrically, from a storage tank at your storage place;
• if the storage place isn’t in the open air, it needs a direct exit to the open air and ventilation to that exit;
• take all reasonable precautions to prevent sources of ignition or heat that could ignite the petrol or its vapour;
• don’t use petrol in the storage place except in the fuel tank of an engine, or in small amounts (no more than 150 ml at a time) for cleaning or as a solvent for repairs.

For integral garages, HSE says that if the fire-resistance requirements in the previous legislation were met, the arrangement is still acceptable under the 2014 regulations.

Petrol in vehicles

HSE says the petrol in the fuel tank of your car (or boat or aircraft) doesn’t count towards the total you are storing. But you can carry up to 30 litres in a maximum of two suitable containers in a vehicle, and that does count towards the total you can store at your premises.

More than 30 litres

To store more than 30 litres and up to 275 litres at home, HSE says you should notify your local PEA in writing, giving your name and the address where the petrol is kept. HSE notes this is a long-standing requirement carried forward from the old law. The same container rules and storage requirements apply.

More than 275 litres

Above 275 litres you need a licence from your local PEA. HSE says a licence can be granted for up to three years, isn’t transferable and can carry conditions about how the petrol is stored. You also need a licence before you can dispense petrol into a vehicle’s tank at your home. HSE points to the Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration for a list of PEAs: APEA.

Using petrol safely around machines

Storage is half of it. Honda’s safety advice for its generators adds the refuelling rules: petrol is extremely flammable and its vapour can explode, so refuel with care and let a hot engine cool first, and keep flames and sparks well away — HSE’s storage guidance makes the same point about ignition sources.

It is also worth checking which fuel a machine takes. Draper, for example, says its Expert 2000 W generator is compatible with E5 and E10 petrol; check your own machine’s manual.

A simple home set-up

1. Keep no more than you need — and no more than 30 litres unless you have notified your PEA.
2. Use proper containers: plastic up to 10 litres, metal up to 20 litres.
3. Store them outside the house, or in a ventilated garage or shed with a direct exit to the open air — never in living space.
4. Keep heaters, flames, sparks and electrical equipment away.
5. Refuel with the engine off and cool, away from flames and sparks.

Petrol machines bring the extra risk of carbon monoxide too — read generators and carbon monoxide. If you would rather avoid fuel altogether, see machines that run on batteries in no mains socket needed.