Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

JWR’s View: Storage Space Planning for Your Stuff

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As a survivalist since age 14–and now 58–I’ve reached the stage of life where I’ve accumulated a deep larder and a lot of stuff. Just writing can’t help but remind me of the classic George Carlin stand-up comedy routine on “A Place For Your Stuff.” (Be forewarned of Carlin’s foul language.) But seriously, every well-prepared family has mountains of stuff. Storage space planning presents three major challenges: 1.) Where to fit it all. 2.) How to keep it safe from deterioration. 3.) Keeping it organized, so you can quickly find, retrieve, and replenish it. I will attempt to address all three …


Guest Article: Fall Chores, by Patrice Lewis

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Editors’ Introductory Note:  This post first appeared in the excellent, long-running Rural Revolution blog. We recommend bookmarking it! We also recommend Patrice’s books. o  o  o Until a few days ago, October was a very dry month for us. Thankfully some much-needed and very welcome rain is moving in. While it’s delightful to walk outside and sniff the fresh moist ground, we weren’t idle during the dry weeks. Among other chores, we focused a lot on firewood, a chief preoccupation for many people this time of year. Summer before last, we had a neighbor come in with some huge equipment and clear …


Living with WVO, by P.G.

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It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Needing fuel for their war machine lead Germany to invent and perfect the diesel engine. It was designed to run efficiently on vegetable oil, and they do to this day. Circumstances forced me to make a move from my East Texas home to the deep Southwest. It was a slow, long process of gradually moving my stuff and my wife to a new homestead. I commuted from Nevada to East Texas for almost three years, at least monthly. Growing up farming, ranching, and trucking, I had a lifetime of …


The Long View- Part 3, by J.M.

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I try to have a long view, one that is both near and far in perspective. We are in the final part of this article, taking a look at the preparations required for a long-term scenario, in the event of a major societal break down. This is part of my routine, as I evaluate my own preparations compared with risk assessments. We have looked at repairs, food, water, weapons, and medical topics in the previous two portions of this article. Now let’s move on to how we keep warm and prepare our food. Heating and Cooking If you don’t live …


The Hidden Danger of Grain Storage, by Z.H.

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Is there an unseen danger in food storage that could render you and your family with serious health conditions when the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) hits? I believe the answer to this important question is yes, and as I sincerely attempt to show you why, I ask that you read this article to its end and weigh it carefully. Glyphosate– The Most Used Weed Killer in the World Round Up, also known by its chemical name glyphosate, is the most used weed killer in the world. Its maker, Monsanto, claims that it is harmless. However, …



Letter: E-85 and Generators

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Hugh, I didn’t have any luck searching for this on your website. May be something you consider for a future article. How well/poorly do portable generators function using “ethanol gas” (E-10 ‘the normal mix”, and E-15 [or higher] which various lobbies seem to want to foist on us)? How about going all the way to E-85 if you can’t obtain/forage/swap for “the good stuff”? Even with stabilizers, the ethanol is very hygroscopic so goes bad fast, but what about a post-hurricane/tornado/etc. scenario where it hasn’t had to sit long in the tank? I got to thinking in the post-Maria coverage …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media, tools, and gear of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week’s emphasis is on auxiliary fuel tanks. (Down in the Gear section.) Books: The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century by James H. Kunstler Fire and Ice, by Ray Kytle Movies: Enemy at the Gates. A highly fictionalized retelling of the battle of Stalingrad. It is from the perspective of a Red Army sniper team. Panic in Year Zero. The corny film that first got me thinking about TEOTWAWKI. It …


Letter: Heating Oil and Kerosene Uses

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Hello Jim: I wanted to write a note about an idea for heating. We use a Nestor-Martin as well as a napoleon oil stove to heat. These are very, very efficient. They burn one and a half to three gallons maximum per day and can heat a 2000 square-foot home. They require no electricity in their gravity fed from oil tank. I’ve heated with wood most of my life. (There is nothing like a wood fire.) To give you an example of how much the world has changed, in the late 70s and 80s as a Boy Scout our troop …


Letter: Canned Gasoline Question

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Hi, I ran across this canned gasoline at my local Walmart that was available in both 2-stroke and 4-stroke. (I’ve included a pic, which also shows the price.) My question would be about the viability of using the 4-stroke as an emergency fuel for my car, keeping one in the trunk “for just in case”and a few in the shed for long-term storage. Although quite expensive, the octane is correct. I am amazed at the claimed shelf life of five years in the can and two years in the tank. I was under the impression the even with Sta-bil added, gasoline would …


SurvivalBlog Resources: Liquid Fuels Storage and Transfer

Introductory Note: The following is the first of a series of articles by JWR that will profile some of the thousands of archived SurvivalBlog articles, grouped topically. Storing and transferring liquid fuels is topic that often comes up in conversations with my consulting clients and in letters from SurvivalBlog readers. There seems to be a lack of knowledge or misinformed voodoo out there in the general public about liquid fuel shelf life, flammability, containers, and how to transfer fuel when the power grids are down. But those questions have all been “asked and answered” in SurvivalBlog, over the course of …


Letter Re: Propane As An Energy Source

A very interesting and informative article, but I’d like to add a couple things. Some 500 gallon propane tanks are fitted with what’s known as a “wet leg”. It is another valve situated on the top of the tank, in addition to the main valve. It’s plumbed to a pipe running to the bottom of the tank, with its purpose being refilling smaller tanks, like 20 lb portables. It requires a specially fitted hose, the shorter and larger diameter the better; 10 feet works well in 3/4” diameter. I mention a short length as disconnecting the hose from the bottle …


Propane As An Energy Source- Part 2, by JB

Storage Tanks and Transfer of Propane (continued) Once the tank is full, the fill hose ball valve is closed (stopping flow into the tank), the tank bleeder is closed (if used), the pump is shut off, and then the tank valve closed, in that order. Double check that the hose and tank valves are closed. The small unloader valve between the hose ball valve and tank is opened to drain the liquid trapped between the two, so the hose adapter can be safely disconnected from the tank. Failing to bleed the liquid trapped between the tank and ball valve can …


Propane as an Energy Source- Part 1, by JB

Propane, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is an excellent energy source for several reasons. It stores easily and has a great shelf life. It’s portable and can be adapted for use in internal combustion engines. It can also be used as a refrigerant, and in some situations a viable weapon. Long after the grid goes kaput and gasoline has turned to varnish, propane will still be usable. Basics of Propane There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of full grill bottles stacked in exchange racks throughout the country. In addition, there’s a multitude of medium and high volume tanks …


Letter Re: Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

JWR & HJL: That was another great article [on Hurricane Matthew]! A suggested alternative that I have adopted is buying a turbo diesel automobile and truck.  The benefits are simple and yet many people still have not discovered the option. Here are a few:My VW tdi as an example gets about 43 miles per gallon, so with a 15 gallon fuel tank it achieves about 600 miles plus on a  tank, and by adding three NATO style 5 gal metal cans (15 gallons total) in the trunk I have a 1,200 hundred mile cruising range. That is hard to beat. …