Oil Storage General Advice

Outdoor storage should be avoided if at all possible for both bulk and containers.  Weathering can obliterate the labels on the containers, leading to possible mistakes in selecting lubricants for specific applications.  Furthermore, widely varying outdoor temperatures may lead to leakage and wastage.  The likelihood of water contamination is also increased.  In many cases water has leaked into tightly closed containers by being sucked in past the bungs as their contents expanded and contracted.

When containers must be stored outside, the following general precautions are advised.

• Lay barrels on their sides, positioning them so that the bungs are at 9 and 3 ?o?clock to ensure they are covered by the drum contents, thus minimising moisture migration and drying out of the seals.
• If drums must be placed upright, tilt them slightly away from the bung to prevent water from collecting around the drum tops.
  
• Keep bungs tight. Before removing the bungs, dry the barrelheads and wipe them clean of any contaminant that might get into the lubricant later. The importance of keeping grit and sand out of the oil used in expensive equipment must be kept in mind.
• Bulk storage tanks are best located inside a building and should be vented to the atmosphere.
  
• Galvanised containers should never be used for storing and transporting. Many of the industrial oils used today contain additives that would react with the zinc of the galvanising to form metal soaps, which would then clog small oil passages, wicks and filters.
  
• Lubricants should not be stored with strong oxidising agents.
  
• Extremes of temperature should be avoided.
  
• There are no unusual hazards in using lubricating oils and greases, provided ordinary care is taken to keep them off the skin and to avoid breathing their vapours and mists. However, repeated and prolonged skin contact with petroleum products may result in skin irritation, dermatitis and low-incidence long-term skin disorders. Unnecessary skin contact should be avoided, the use of barrier creams, or oil resistant gloves, encouraged.

Storage Time:
It is recommended that after two years of storage in original sealed containers, products should be sampled and checked prior to use.