What did we learn in the recent fuel shortage?

[Mark A]

For those of us in the affected area, did you find any holes in your plans? I was in pretty good shape on gas. I have 12 cans numbered 1-12. I dump one can each month into one of the cars (this month was #10, next month is number 11...) and fill it with fresh gas. I'm fortunate to work right by a gas station that sells 100% gas so that is what I store. It seems to store better than 15% ethanol. I don't treat it with anything. When I first started I stored ethanol gas because that was all I could find. At first I pulled sta-bil in it but then tried it for a year without and it did just fine.

My hole was diesel. I have an old dodge that is relegated to farm duty. It was only about 1/2 full when the shortage hit. At the time I had about 30 gallons stored but digging ditches, clearing brush and generally running the tractor for 10 hours a day each weekend put a dent in that pretty quickly. I decided to move to the same 12 month rotation I use on gas. I bought 5 more cans with the intention of filling them up one per month but filled them all tonight when I heard about the shutdown again. I have hundreds of feet of trench to dig this weekend and the price I pay for being the world's worst backhoe operator us it takes me a long time and I burn a lot of fuel.

BTW, I use the word trench loosely. It is more a series of deep holes with little connecting shallow ditches. Hopefully with a few hundred more years of practice I will get better.

When I first did the gas cans I bought 1 per month and filled it up. In 12 months I had 60 gallons built up without taking a major hit to the wallet. After that it costs nothing to rotate the gas on a monthly basis.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out you need to not store this in your garage. It needs to be in an out building. Storing that much gas will void most home owners insurance policies if you have a fire.

 

Mark

[hipower]

Very good plan. I did something similar just before the Y2K farce. But not with as many cans. I really should start that again.

What type of cans do you use for gasoline?

[Grand Torino]

I hear the same pipeline had an explosion on it again yesterday.

[Mark A]

I buy the cans from Amazon. Somehow, the new EPA mandated nozzles keep getting lost in shipping so I have to buy the regular replacement and add a vent. I know that means I'm stuck with the same old cans I've used for decades but I'm learning to deal with it.

If you had access to buckets made out of HDPE you could use those. They make a valve (bung?) That you can put in the lid. This could be a cheap source of storage container.

One more thing. As an old fart I'm beginning to hate dealing with the weight of 5 gallon cans. My wife really can't deal with them. I bought some fuel hose and a couple of marine grade squeeze bulbs like you use with outboard boat motors and made some siphon hoses. I can get the can to the toolbox on my truck and set it there. I made the hoses long so I can stick one end in the can and the other into the filler hole on the truck. A couple of squeezes and everything starts flowing. For my wife I bought a 1 gallon can. She can lift the 5 gallon can on to a step in the garage and siphon into the smaller can. It takes a while but this gives her a way to deal with fuel if I'm not home to take care of it.

Mark

[peejman]

I learned people are stupid and panicky.  I didn't need fuel for the duration. I can commute on my motorcycle for 3 weeks on a single 2.4 gallon tank of gas. 

[hipower]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

I learned people are stupid and panicky.  I didn't need fuel for the duration. I can commute on my motorcycle for 3 weeks on a single 2.4 gallon tank of gas. 

Yes,,,but you don't have Nashville drivers to contend with. lol

[MP5_Rizzo]

Common sense is not so common with a lot of folks!

[peejman]

2 hours ago, hipower said:

Yes,,,but you don't have Nashville drivers to contend with. lol

And there's a good reason for that.  

[monkeylizard]

14 hours ago, hipower said:

What type of cans do you use for gasoline?

I use metal jerry cans from http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html Those are the real deal. Mine were made in Latvia, not China. Full seam welds all the way around and fully painted inside and out as they should be. That seller used to have the real can spouts (aka Donkey D***s), but I don't see them listed any longer. Just the stupid EPA ones. Look around on the web though and I'm sure you can find the regular ones too.

 I add some PRI-G to each can before filling with non-ethanol gasoline and it works great. Lab-tested to be far better than Stabil. http://www.kansaswindpower.net/PRI lab_tests.htm. I've had fuel sit in them for quite a while and still work just fine, even in small engines like mowers.

Edited November 1, 2016 by monkeylizard

[hipower]

18 minutes ago, monkeylizard said:

I use metal jerry cans from http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html Those are the real deal. Mine were made in Latvia, not China. Full seam welds all the way around and fully painted inside and out as they should be. That seller used to have the real can spouts (aka Donkey D***s), but I don't see them listed any longer. Just the stupid EPA ones. Look around on the web though and I'm sure you can find the regular ones too.

 I add some PRI-G to each can before filling and it works great. Lab-tested to be far better than Stabil. http://www.kansaswindpower.net/PRI lab_tests.htm. I've had fuel sit in them for quite a while and still work just fine, even in small engines like mowers.

Thanks. I have 2 of these with the orginal spouts. Wish I had bought more. lol Paid half of the current price for them.

[Mark A]

Big fan of PRI-G & PRI-D.Really good products that I've used for years.

[2.ooohhh]

4 hours ago, monkeylizard said:

I use metal jerry cans from http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html Those are the real deal. Mine were made in Latvia, not China. Full seam welds all the way around and fully painted inside and out as they should be. That seller used to have the real can spouts (aka Donkey D***s), but I don't see them listed any longer. Just the stupid EPA ones. Look around on the web though and I'm sure you can find the regular ones too.

 I add some PRI-G to each can before filling with non-ethanol gasoline and it works great. Lab-tested to be far better than Stabil. http://www.kansaswindpower.net/PRI lab_tests.htm. I've had fuel sit in them for quite a while and still work just fine, even in small engines like mowers.

You can still get the european produced ones without being forced to buy the goofy EPA spout from deutsch optic. makes the cost per can MUCH more reasonable, especially for storage since you don't particularly need 1 spout per can.

http://deutscheoptik.com/20-liter-jerry-can-set-of-four.html

[monkeylizard]

I didn't realize Lexington Container was up to $80/can. Just last Spring I think I paid about $55/can.

[2.ooohhh]

1 hour ago, monkeylizard said:

I didn't realize Lexington Container was up to $80/can. Just last Spring I think I paid about $55/can.

They were forced to by the CARB & the EPA. You can't sell "fuel containers" now without spouts that stop flow automatically to "prevent spills and contain vapors". Completely disregarding the fact that most of the new "EPA approved" cans spill as much if not more fuel when attempting to refuel any actual equipment.

Wavian (the ones LCC sells that are manufactured in Latvia) chose to make all their U.S. cans CARB compliant by forcing the purchase of a carb compliant spout with each can. Still great cans albeit with "redesigned" spouts that belong in the nearest dumpster.

Deutsch Optik found another NATO supplier to purchase from in bulk via Poland though rather than a spout redesign for US import this manufacturer chose to emblazon each exported can with “Not for Fuel Use” which got them around the "fuel can legislation" for now at least. I fully expect CARB to eventually amend the regulation, and EPA to enforce it nationally to not allow “Not for Fuel Use” cans into the US.

If you value being able to move fuel around in a real container that can be lashed down, turned upside down, and handle altitude changes without having to worry about spillage or vapor leakage you may want to buy now before it's too late.

If you don't already have one deutsch still has the non EPA spouts for use with these cans as well.  

http://deutscheoptik.com/flexi-jerry-can-spout.html

[TennesseeCamper]

I don't store gas. I try to not let my vehicles get under a half tank, then I top off. No worries about the current pipeline explosion. The last time I didn't even use a half tank of gas before the thing was fixed. No commute for me... Just a few errands during the week. Retired  Worse case I have a walking shoes and a bicycle.