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Gasoline

Sld1959

Sld1959

Hellcat
15 years ago was the big blackout, hard to believe it's been that long. In my area power was down for over a week and we made it ok, but learned some valuable lessons we could use for many survival situations.

One was the need for a method of emergency gasoline storage. Most stations here were down for at least a few days and the ones with generators, well the lines were bad, real bad. Lucky my wife worked after noons and I could drive her and get fuel late or at night.

I recognized the need for at least a small store of fuel beyond the 2 gallon container for my mower or snow blower.

Obviously any storage is dependant upon a safe place to store it.

In my back shed I keep five, 5 gallon cans. This gives 25 gallons on hand which is enough to fill both vehicles and the Gator or bike from half full. Giving us enough storage to reach our cabin in an emergency.

I have made it a habit to every night fill both vehicles from a can, and fill the can when it is empty, rotating cans as I go so there is no need for fuel additives.

Yeah it's a bit of a chore, but it's a relatively painless one, and keeps us ready for emergency situations and not dependant immediately on gasoline station availability.
 
Biggest thing is keeping it from spoiling. Sea Foam is excellent for that.

My main vehicles are diesel, and 4 wheel drive. I have gassers, but those are my "toys" - sports cars, motorcycles - and not needed if we have another energy apocolypse / shtf situation.

My truck (2001 Cummins Dodge) is "old" diesel - no exhaust filters, no emissions, and I can run it on heating fuel if need be, without damaging any mechanical parts - and I have 500 gallons of that in a tank under my yard, for an unused oil boiler / hot water baseboard heat unit that has since been supplanted by a heat pump. I also have 200 gallons in a smaller tank out back, that I moved from a duplex I own, when I removed that furnace and replaced it with two heat pumps (one for each apartment).

If we have a serious problem...my grass can get unkept. I'm good with that. My diesels will get me out and about if needed. And I can always fire up that boiler if it happens during winter.
 
Rotation is the key to avoid using additives so it sounds like you have a good plan. Remember it’s the ethanol in the gas that goes bad not the petroleum product itself and also avoid vapor buildup, just one spark and 25 gallons and it’s a bad day.
 
I have gone through this drill before. One recent winter we lost power for 7 days, it came back on for a day and then was out for another 4. I have a whole home gas generator with a generator transfer panel. When the power goes out I will use it as needed and not run it 24/7. I think I used about 10 - 15 gallons during that entire time so I didn't think that was bad. I have enough gas stored in various places to keep me running for awhile. I do use additives and rotate every 6 months.
I looked into a propane system. (don't have gas in the area) They wanted 12K for that system and figured it out to run around 50 hours on half load. That run would cost me $600 at the then going rate. Certainly better for my wallet to stick with gas and it has worked for us plenty of times in real world situations.
 
Yeah, if I ever get a whole-house generator it'll be a diesel. No gas in my area (rural), and relatively good power system so outages are rare. Although if SHTF...that's all up in the air.
 
In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit NJ and there were mass outages due to high voltage lines getting knocked down. For the first 3-4 days, many gas stations had no power so they couldn't pump their tanks. The NJSP and eventually National Guard was called to keep order at the few gas stations with power. Everyone thought they were slick with their shiney new generators, but few realized you couldn't get gas if gas stations had no power..

As long as you can safely store it (shed or detached garage) rotating 5 gallon containers is a good start. In the event of a bigger event, your need for refrigeration will probably diminish as you'll consume this food, and either need to relocate or break out the canned goods. Enough fuel for 1 week of limited generator use (fridge, phones, heat) is probably sufficient. Beyond this, you've got much bigger problems.
 
Yup, Hurricane Sandy did a number here on the eastern side of PA. I lost power for 36 hours, but down the hill (100 yards or so), they lost it for 8 days. Most gas stations around me but one, couldn't pump. A buddy from NJ went to that one and spent hours on line. I even heard that several people traveled 100 miles or so to find a working station. I fortunately filled up 2 - 5 gallon cans, 1 - 2.5 can, 1 - 2.0 can and my Tacoma truck before the storm hit. I have a portable generator (5 gallon tank already filled that can run 10+ hours on one tank), and the truck has a 400 watt inverter. Together the generator and truck were able to run my TV/DVD/Sound system, refrigerator and separate freezer. I was even able to do a load of wash by temporary unplugging the refrigerator for the washer and then reserved it when done. The storm hit end of October, and I lost heat & hot water (boiler) with the loss of power. In November I had a wood pellet stove installed, and the following year a full house 17KW LP Gas generator installed. Since I installed them, I've lost power one time for 26 hours and then several two hour outages due to thunder storms tripping power pole fuses. The Generator & transfer switch is nice to have for those occurrence and I have the portable 5KW Gen for back-up.
Good post Sld1959. (y)
 
If your going to store gas, make sure you put STA-BIL fuel stabilizer. I have used this when I stored my ATV over the winter months.

www.goldeagle.com

STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer

America's #1 Fuel Stabilizer Treatment Keeps fuel fresh for long term storage - up to 24 months Eliminates the need to drain fuel prior to storage Ensures quick, easy starts by preventing gum and varnish build-up* Effective in Ethanol and Non-Ethanol gasoline For use in all gasoline e
www.goldeagle.com www.goldeagle.com
 
Annihilator said:
If your going to store gas, make sure you put STA-BIL fuel stabilizer. I have used this when I stored my ATV over the winter months.

www.goldeagle.com

STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer

America's #1 Fuel Stabilizer Treatment Keeps fuel fresh for long term storage - up to 24 months Eliminates the need to drain fuel prior to storage Ensures quick, easy starts by preventing gum and varnish build-up* Effective in Ethanol and Non-Ethanol gasoline For use in all gasoline e
www.goldeagle.com www.goldeagle.com
Click to expand...
Yup, I use it in my lawn tractor for winter storage and Snow Blower for summer storage. I also throw it in my one car I stow away in the winter. Good advice Anni.
 
Propane, it never goes bad, if you can convert an old truck to propane and get propane generators your set. Think about all the propane tanks everywhere, right there available in an emergency
 
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