Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Letter Re: Tropical Storm Ike’s Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio

Hi James! I heard you this morning on WLW [in Cincinnati, Ohio] radio when you did your quick interview. Nice job. It is amazing here in Cincinnati the level of chaos that exists. The power is still out to over half a million people. My power just came back on about 10 minutes ago, but I’m waiting until it stabilizes before shutting down my emergency power system. We had quite a mess with lots of downed trees and power lines, but overall it wasn’t as bad as Houston – thank God! There has been quite a run on gasoline, and …


Energy Dependence and U.S. Military Policy, by Edward C.

“Oil is the world’s most critical resource”, and “without it, nothing works in an industrialized civilization as currently configured”1.“The issue is not whether DoD will be able to obtain the oil it needs to provide for our national defense, because it will”, but “trends in global supply and consumption patterns” serve to further “complicate…the challenge of providing fuel to DoD’s far-flung operations as well as affecting the price DoD must pay for fuel”2. “Historically, no other energy source equals oil’s intrinsic qualities of extractability, transportability, versatility, and cost”3. The qualities that enabled oil to take over from coal as the …


Hurricane Iniki – Some Lessons Learned, by B.

Hurricane Iniki, which struck the island of Kauai on September 11, 1992, was the third-most damaging hurricane in U.S. history and provides some valuable insights into how people react when an entire self-contained community loses most of their creature comforts. By way of background, Kauai is the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago. It, along with a small, privately-owned island off its western coast make up the County of Kauai. The population in 1992 was about 50,000. On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki made a direct hit on the island with winds upward of 150 miles per hour. Approximately …


Four Letters Re: What Will We Eat as the Oil Runs Out?, by Richard Heinberg

Jim: What scares me [in Heinberg’s article] is the use of words like “policy,” “regulations,” “controls,” “comprehensive plan,” etc. At the least, this is government control of the economy. At the worst, of our personal lives. (Population control.) He may have some technical points, but he is a bad sociologist. And a bad economist. A free economy may not be the most efficient, but it works very well when the social side is considered. There are all ready farmers of multi thousand acre places on the Great Plains, both US and Canada that are growing a few hundred acres of …


Stabilized Gasoline From Three Years of Abusive Storage Performs Well

Jim – Last week, I rotated some gasoline that was put into storage ont he 1st of March, 2005. It was in plastic fuel cans with Sta-Bil added, per the directions. They sat in a storage garage subject to midwest summer temps for one year, in an un-cooled basement garage the other years. I poured the fuel into a 1/3 tank of gas in my car. No noticeable difference in starting or running of the engine. Almost 3.5 years – not bad – just wish I could have replaced it for te same cost I originally filled the cans for![It …


What Will We Eat as the Oil Runs Out? (Pt. 2) , by Richard Heinberg

Impact of Biofuels One factor influencing food prices arises from the increasing incentives for farmers worldwide to grow biofuel crops rather than food crops. Ethanol and biodiesel can be produced from a variety of crops including maize, soy, rapeseed, sunflower, cassava, sugar cane, palm, and jatropha. As the price of oil rises, many farmers are finding that they can produce more income from their efforts by growing these crops and selling them to a biofuels plant, than by growing food crops either for their local community or for export. Already nearly 20 percent of the US maize crop is devoted …


What Will We Eat as the Oil Runs Out? (Pt. 1), by Richard Heinberg

The first dilemma consists of the direct impacts on agriculture of higher oil prices: increased costs for tractor fuel, agricultural chemicals, and the transport of farm inputs and outputs. The second is an indirect consequence of high oil prices – the increased demand for biofuels, which is resulting in farmland being turned from food production to fuel production, thus making food more costly. The third dilemma consists of the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events caused by fuel-based greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is the greatest environmental crisis of our time; however, fossil fuel depletion complicates the situation …


Letter Re: Some Practical Experience with WVO Conversions for Diesels

JWR, Some waste vegetable oil (WVO) information for you: My 2001 Excursion 4WD runs on WVO, and I’m presently in the process of converting my recently acquired 1996 Ford F250. For my first conversion, the Excursion, I bought a conversion kit from a company and I recommend that all first timers on straight vegetable oil (SVO) start with a kit from a reputable company. I’m building my second conversion kit on my own and I expect it to cost around $800 for all the conversion parts except for the second tank for the WVO. (I picked up a L-shaped 105 …


Letter Re: Converting Gas Engine Vehicles to Propane

James; I haven’t seen much discussion to date in SurvivalBlog on Propane-burning vehicles as a retreat / bug out / EMP-proof vehicle. From what I understand, Propane combusting vehicles are not as popular in the USA as they have been in Canada, not to say we have a large amount of them running on streets, however, they are here and they are available. I’m looking at a EMP proof vehicle right now which happens to be a 1985 Chevy, 4×4, 1/2-Ton which has been converted to propane. Are their any issues with this that you may or may not be …


Letter Re: What Preparations Should I Undertake Next?

Jim, I just finished your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. Thanks so much for writing it! I just wish I had found it sooner. I’ve always had a survival bent; I guess it started when I was in the Navy going through aircrew training. However in retrospect I realize now that it was kind of how I was brought up. I feel that I’m pretty squared away on the firearms battery , stored ammunition and communications gear. I hunt, fish and camp with my family often and am an avid shooter. Other that these things my wife and I …


Four Letters Re: Advice on Motorcycles

Jim: If you don’t want to mess with mixing gas and oil in a 2-stroke bike engine, try the 4-stroke engine at BikeEngines.com. I’ve got one and it runs like a champ, at a couple of hundred miles per gallon! Regards, – Hawaiian K. Jim: The 2-cycle bicycle motorizing company mentioned also has a 4-cycle gasoline version. With those, of course no fuel mixing oil required. – SF in Hawaii   Dear Jim and Family, Dunno if you’re aware, but methanol required for a mimeograph is a normal fraction from the alcohol still process, usually the upper third of the …


A Reader’s Observations on Preparedness for Hurricane Dolly

Mr. Rawles, As you may remember from our profile we recently moved to new residence in luxury community in South Texas because of a job loss in the Pacific Northwest. Last week my wife and I learned of the tropical wave that ultimately created this storm, immediately we stocked up on gas and purchased some cheap extra batteries. (The pantry is still full). We also threw some clothes together and pre-positioned those in the car. We withdrew some extra money and got ready to board up (Our G.O.O.D. bags were already prepped and a once over was sufficient to add …


Three Letters Re: Advice on Motorcycles

James: I just wanted to forward some info re: motorcycle purchase and operation. I’ve been riding since ’85, have owned four motorcycles (two Suzuki and two Harley Davidson), and keep up with current trends/technology of motorcycles. Here are some fast facts to consider prior to buying: 1. The highest statistic for motorcycle fatalities is individuals operating borrowed motorcycles. Do yourself a favor and be familiar with the bike you ride. Completing a motorcycle training course could be a lifesaver. 2. Both my large displacement Harley Davidson get approximately. 45 MPG each. One operates on premium [gasoline]. The other is carbureted …


Letter Re: Advice on Motorcycles

Good Morning: What’s your opinion about motorcycles for personal transportation in the tough times ahead? Obviously much better on gas but I wonder if I would be more vulnerable to public disturbances? I live in a very rural area but have to commute into the city for my job. Would you spend the money to get one or would that money be better spent on eliminating debt? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. – Dave P. in South Carolina JWR Replies: In a “slow slide” situation where the power grid stays up (“Grid Up”) and law and order are maintained, …


Letter Re: PetroMax Kerosene Lanterns

Hi Jim, I figured I’d better write about my experience with PetroMax (BriteLyt) Kerosene lanterns. I’ve had their 150CP (Candle Power) (100 watts of light) for a couple years now and really like it. BriteLyt is now providing their 500CP (400 watts of light ) to the US Government as Model MR-2 with a federal stock number. BTW they also make a nice 11,000 BTU kerosene stove which they are also making for the government. So I got two of the new USG MR-2s and tried them out. Right away I had a problem! As you know, I’m [living and …