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Site LPG, petrol and diesel storage safely

LPG, petrol and diesel are needed for cooking, generators and machinery, but they cause fires and explosions when stored badly. Rules differ by country, so use these as examples and follow your local code.

How

  1. Store LPG cylinders upright and outdoors in a well-ventilated place at ground level. UK supplier Calor says never store them below ground, such as in a cellar.
  2. Understand why: UK HSE explains that LPG is heavier than air, so a leak sinks and gathers in low spots such as drains and basements, where it can explode or cause suffocation.
  3. Keep cylinders away from drains and building openings. Scottish building standards, as one example, ask for cylinder valves at least 1 m from openings and flue outlets and 2 m from untrapped drains or cellar hatches unless a low wall separates them.
  4. Stand cylinders on a firm level base and chain or strap them to an outside wall, as the Scottish standards describe.
  5. For fixed LPG tanks, follow your local separation distances. Scottish standards, for example, set 2.5 m from buildings and boundaries for a small tank up to 0.25 tonnes, rising for larger tanks.
  6. Keep LPG tanks and outbuildings clear of flammable vegetation (see safety-4).
  7. Store petrol and diesel in approved containers in a ventilated outbuilding away from the house and ignition sources. Check your local limits on how much you may store.
  8. Keep the right extinguisher near fuel stores (see safety-12).

Safety: If you smell gas, turn off cylinder valves, avoid switches and flames, ventilate, move away and call your gas supplier's emergency line.

Do these first

Sources

  1. Storing Gas Bottles. Calor Gas (UK), accessed 2026-11
  2. Building Standards Technical Handbook 2017 Domestic: 4.11 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage. Scottish Government, accessed 2026-11
  3. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Issues. UK Health and Safety Executive, accessed 2026-11
  4. Defensible Space. CAL FIRE (Ready for Wildfire), accessed 2026-11
  5. About liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). UK Health and Safety Executive, accessed 2026-11

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