Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Letter Re: The Pulp Hook–A Labor Saving Device for Moving Firewood

Hi Jim, Several years ago I was hunting black bear in the boonies of Canada. As I came out of the bush I could see a native cutting fire wood. As I walked towards him I watched him at work and he did something completely out of my experience. He had what I thought was a hay hook which he proceeded to snap into a cut piece of birch. He then turned towards his pickup and carried the piece of firewood stuck onto the end of the hook. He got to the pickup, swung the piece of firewood onto the …


Letter Re: Biofuel Problems and Sustainability

Hi Jim, A recent article in Der Spiegel gives us some real insight into food prices. My guess is that if we continue down this path we will see some important events start taking place in Third World nations that cannot afford high food prices. Here is how this can effect us here. It takes 400 pounds of corn to make 25 gallons of ethanol. This might be a weeks worth of fuel for a person commuting to work. It could be many months worth of food for that same person. You may say that you don’t eat that much …


Lessons From Grandpa–Firewood Cutting for Seasonal Employment, by JSW

Grandpa was never one of my favorite people. He wasn’t a bad person, just that I thought he could be more like the grandfathers in the books I was reading. Born in November, 1893, in north-central Minnesota, a World War One veteran and farmer, he moved to his last residence in 1952. So he’d grown up in a rough and tumble era, had a rough life and died owning his home, his truck, and a full baker’s dozen children had been born to him and Grandma- who I did like a lot more. Probably because she made bread daily, filled …


Letter Re: Low RPM Diesel Generator Availability

Dear James – Thanks for the great article link on “growing fuel” and thanks again for all the information at SurvivalBlog! Low speed diesels [that were recently mentioned in the blog] such as the Lister and Listeroid clones are fantastic, but sadly that ship has sailed. The anemic dollar, high metal prices, rising shipping costs and the hassle of US Customs have pretty much halted importation. Also, word is that [the US] EPA will soon (if they haven’t already) re-block importation of these marvels because they don’t meet emissions requirements for stationary engines. As to that, Listeroids are extremely efficient …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing Sterno-Type Canned Fuel

Dear Jim, Does Sterno style fuel have a shelf life? I have come across two cases (48 cans) of Don brand Heat Wick (WX-6) six hour fuel – the type used in catering. The price for the lot is $5. Seems like it’s too good to be true. Is it worth it? Are there special storage issues involved with this type of fuel? Thanks for all the info you put on your site every day. I am using it to get my family ready! Thanks again, – Beth F. JWR Replies: That is a great price! The cans should last …


Letter Re: Gasoline Prices in the UK–a Preview of Upcoming Prices in the US?

Mr Rawles, First, I will be taking the 10 Cent Challenge starting this week, as I get far more than 10-cents worth of information per day from this wonderful blog. Second, I saw this article on the BBC web site. Fuel £1.99 a litre as tanks dry That’s right, for stations that haven’t run dry yet (1970s America all over again?), gas is selling for the equivalent of $14.76 per US gallon. Time to start thinking about what the US would look like at $15 a gallon. Yours, – DLF


After 10 Years–Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper

It was June, 1998. Y2K was a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity went off and there would be no water to drink, and no fuel to move food to the JIT grocery stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight for this nation as a member of the US Army. Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of …


Letter Re: Request for Investing Advice

Mr. Rawles: After reading “Patriots” last year, much like Mr. H., I was decidedly ready to act, but largely unprepared logistically. It can be overwhelming and the feeling that “I had a long way to go” was ever present (it still is and I suspect always will be as my education never ends). I’d just like to remind the author to not worry, you’ll get the stuff; you’ve already taken the first step and done something. But preparedness is more than material, the mindset is most important. Start to live right, be frugal, be healthy. Don’t be reliant on outside …


Letter Re: E85 Ethanol Compatible Vehicles

Sir; I saw 85% Ethanol (E85) for the first time around me at a gas station for $3.49. Plus or minus the lost gas mileage, I will still be paying the same per mile. If I should choose to equip my vehicles with something like FlexTek, which is an electronic module that changes how long the fuel injectors fire, do you think it would be worth it? In other words, do you think ethanol will go up or down compared to gasoline? If the gap continues to separate to more than 50 cents difference, E85 becomes a real option, do …


From David in Israel Re: Some Preparedness Implications of Rapidly Escalating Fuel Prices

James We are all seeing the rise in fuel prices affecting food prices. I would like the readers to do a acres of farm to miles traveled evaluation of their plans when planning for a world with sparse petro-fuels. The current option is to ignore the prices and continue to fuel large SUVs and pickup trucks even for for “pick me up milk” runs. A fuel efficient car or motorcycle makes more sense depending on the number of passengers travelling. Bio-diesel or ethanol from your field rarely makes sense for anything other than a few very important drives per year …


Some Preparedness Implications of Rapidly Escalating Fuel Prices

The recent jump in fuel prices are going to have some far reaching effects on our economy. There is speculation that crude oil may soon spike to $150 to $170 per barrel. As prepared individuals, we need to adapt our plans, accordingly. It is noteworthy that many of us long hence foresaw these dark days, and installed underground fuel tanks, bought alternate fuel vehicles, multi-fuel generators, and at least one vehicle just for the sake of fuel economy. (If you look at the Retreat Owner Profiles–most of which were written in late 2005 and early 2006–you will see a remarkable …


Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Although I think there is a lot of mindless drivel on television, I wouldn’t have know about your blog site if I hadn’t watched [the news story on CNN [that mentioned SurvivalBlog] yesterday. I was on the computer all afternoon yesterday reading information you have posted, as well as visiting the sites of some of your advertisers. You are right on your opinion of Alaska, [regarding its unsuitability for most people as a retreat locale]. We live in a coastal fishing community (population under 3,000 year round, double that in the summer when the cannery workers & tourists come to …


Two Letters Re: How To Adapt To High Gas Prices

Hello, I am a daily SurvivalBlog reader from France. I’m writing this in response to Joel Skousen’s article on “How to Adapt to High Gas Prices.” I own a Volkswagen with a diesel engine (TDI). Here in France (and elsewhere in Europe) common rail [diesel engine] technology became really popular (about 60% of the new cars that are sold here use common rail technology) since it provided better mileage and better performance than conventional gasoline engines. However, there is at least two drawbacks to common rail: Firstly, the diesel fuel quality has to be super high. It passes through a …


How To Adapt To High Gas Prices, by Joel Skousen

In one of the most outrageous examples of price gouging ever witnessed, fuel prices have risen almost 10 cents per gallon per week now for more than a month. The American consumer is being held hostage to an economic and personal lifestyle that was established a century ago based upon an abundance of cheap oil and is now locked into our economic infrastructure. Most people have no ability to escape what is now upon us and getting worse. All of our cities are developed around the commuting lifestyle, allowing Americans to live in rural or suburban openness to escape pollution …


Letter Re: Can I Burn Home Heating Oil or Kerosene in a Diesel Engine?

Hello Jim, This is in response to the gentleman’s question about using kerosene in diesel engines. Yes, it can be done. I had two 55 gallon drums of kerosene that were reaching the end of their storage life. I also have an old Mercedes diesel car and ran the kerosene with some added lubrication in the vehicle and it worked very well. You are correct that kerosene doesn’t have the same lubrication values of diesel but that is solved by simply adding vegetable oil or biodiesel to to the fuel. I used a 10-to-1 ratio as recommended by another poster …