Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Letter Re: Keeping Preparedness in Perspective

JWR I often have discussions with my friends and business associates concerning world events and how they will affect our future and I have also read countless statements from others with similar opinions. I have noticed that many people seem to be narrowly focused on only one aspect of possible future events and are not putting the whole picture into perspective. Many are unable to take the actions that are necessary to deal with the probable coming changes. I would like to offer some of my observations and hopefully contribute something that would help others to move in the right …


Letter Re: Fuel Storage for Survival Retreats

Sir: Just a note on long term fuel storage. I have discovered that fuel both diesel and gasoline stored in 33 gallon plastic drums with the bungs tight has lasted in excess of five years without a stabilizer. The food grade blue drums have white gaskets in the bungs that have swollen slightly but have not deteriorated. The plastic drums were stored inside 55 gallon steel drums and shaded from direct sunlight. My observations are that the plastic drum expands and contracts (collapses) with the fuel. My assumption is that, with no air breathing, the problems of water condensation, evaporation, …


Two Letters Re: Storing Oil and Lubricants for TEOTWAWKI

James, Very interesting discussion of storing motor oil and other lubricants here! Here is the burning question that perhaps yourself or the throngs of Survivalblog readers could answer. Does detergent or synthetic motor oil degrade over time to be less effective than non detergent motor oil or does it just degrade enough that it might not meet the original American Petroleum Institute (API) rating? It sounds like detergent and synthetic motor oils may only degrade compared to the original API rating and not actually become less effective than non-detergent oils. If someone plans on driving an Audi 1.8T post-TEOTWAWKI then …


Fuel Storage for Survival Retreats, by Flighter

The world runs on petroleum. Imagine a post-apocalyptic period when the local gas station is closed, and has been for two years. How will you carry out your daily activities? Generate electricity? Pump water? Plow your garden, or fields? All of these can be done by hand, and have been for thousands of years. Modern life has given us tools to help with these chores, and we can store the tools, and the food for them, for quite awhile. Gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, Coleman® fuel, and other petroleum products – all can be stored. For long term survival …


Four Letters Re: Storing Oil and Lubricants for TEOTWAWKI

Jim: I run synthetic motor oils in all of my vehicles, it’s barely any more expensive any more and it reduces engine wear, especially on tight-tolerance Japanese motors. Mobil (for example) recommends a 5-year shelf life for unopened quarts, but I wonder if any of your readers have any more info on whether this is CYA on Mobil’s part or, failing that, a lead on long-shelf-life synthetics? Also, speaking of oil, if you’re looking for very high mileage on diesel trucks (and I know we all are), bypass oil filters are the holy grail. A quick explanation, they’re very fine …


Storing Oil and Lubricants for TEOTWAWKI

The recent discussion of firearms lubrication reminded me about a subject that I’ve meant to address again in SurvivalBlog: oil and lubricant storage for your retreat.  It is important to think through all of your oil and lubricant needs–everything from motor oil and transmission fluid to firearms lubes. Calculate what you use in a three to five year period, and stock up.  Then anticipate what you might need for barter and charity, and stock up even more. Because most families do not store any substantial quantity of oils and lubricants, they will make an ideal barter item in a long …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Jim: I’m sorry, but that Wikipedia article gave you bad information. It’s describing the situation for E10, not E85. You’ll note it doesn’t give you a reference to a study backing up this analysis. On the other hand, this Wikipedia.page does: Ethanol Fuel Mixtures The key graph is on page 32 of that reference Similar graphs and conclusions agreeing that the sensitivity to phase separation declines as the percentage of ethanol increases are available elsewhere: From the US EPA From Cim-tek Regards, – PNG JWR Replies: Thanks for correcting my error. My humble apologies for not researching my reply more …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Jim: Regarding your statement: :”Even E10 (10% ethanol) blended gasoline is highly hygroscopic and can absorb 50 times more water than traditional non-blended gasoline.” E10 is much more sensitive to the water/alcohol solution separating from the gasoline than E85 is. E10 undergoes separation at around 0.5% water. E85 can absorb about 20% water before separation occurs. – PNG JWR Replies: That is not entirely correct. An explanatory note from the L.U.S.T. Line Report (on Leaking Underground Storage Tanks): “Ethanol will mix with gasoline, but it does so reluctantly. Although gasoline is nonpolar, it can only hold up to 0.2 percent …


Three Liabilities Addressed: Refrigeration, Sanitation, and Fuel, by James D.

One of the biggest problems for the survivalist is the lack of refrigeration, since the cost in energy is just prohibitive, especially in the multi-generational scenario. Normal refrigeration uses an electrically driven compressor to compress a refrigerant (a liquid that boils at room temperature) turning gas to a liquid. For the survivalist, ammonia is the refrigerant of choice, and at the proper pressure (since it is normally a gas), it will act as a refrigerant, although other chemicals may be added to improve performance, including water and salts. When the liquid boils it will cool the surface that the refrigerant …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Jim: As far as I know, [modern] E85 vehicles [with fuel flash point sensing] can run on pure ethanol (E100 fuel). You can assume there will never be a commercial supply of E100, though, since someone would inevitably try to drink the stuff.As you note, alcohol is hygroscopic, and “If enough water is absorbed, the alcohol separates from the gasoline and goes into solution with the water.” For E85, “enough” is around 20%, so this generally isn’t going to be a problem. – PNG JWR Replies: Even E10 (10% ethanol) blended gasoline is highly hygroscopic and can absorb 50 times …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Hi Jim: I’m having a good time filling the tank on my [flexible fuel variant GMC] Yukon XL with E85 [a 85% ethanol / 15% gasoline blend] which is very cheap compared to regular in these parts. I was wondering if you had any storage information for E85? Given it’s high alcohol content, by default do you know if it would it require an additive for long term jerry can storage? Google searched return a lot of useless noise. Thanks, – Eric JWR Replies: In retrospect, I’m glad that more than year ago I started recommending that SurvivalBlog readers buy …


Letter Re: Bad News on Peak Oil: Five Year Slide to a 50% Production Crash

Dear Jim and Family, I have bad news on the Peak Oil front. We’re about five years from losing 50% of our current production, in real world terms. The producing countries are failing in their big fields, many from 8-15% decline a year (Cantarell in Mexico is down 25% from last year, Ghawar is down 10.5%, Burgan in Kuwait down 12%, Iran down something like 16%, Russia down 12%, UK/North Sea no longer exporting). Even if there are no wars and no embargos, we only have about 5 years before we only have around half as much oil (gasoline, diesel …


Two Letters Re: SHTF Shopping

Dear Editor: SF in Hawaii had some good ideas in his post on Imminent SHTF shopping. However, I strongly disagree with his plan to pick up chicks and rabbits at the last minute — “Items that require maintenance that you don’t want to deal with pre-SHTF (i.e. guard dog, male and female rabbits and chicks (for raising meat) and the food and housing that they will require.” It requires skill and experience to successfully raise rabbits and chickens, skill and experience that don’t come in a few minutes time. (It also requires skill and experience to train and handle a …


Letter Re: Macroeconomic Implications of Large Scale Ethanol Production in the U.S.

Hi Jim I have run across some information that I thought might be of interest. I am in the food business and come in contact with a lot of people in the food industry. One of my associates is in the frozen fruit and vegetable business. He has been telling me the effect that W’s ethanol incentives are having on the agriculture industry and it is quite alarming. I have not researched this, so don’t have facts and figures to back it up, so take it for what it is worth. This situation seems to have mysteriously stayed out of …


SHTF Shopping, by SF in Hawaii

There are two types of survivalist [“Schumer Hits the Fan”] (SHTF) shopping. Pre-SHTF, and Imminent-SHTF. Let’s look at both of them . Pre-SHTF These are things you buy now while there is no immediate threat and no mobs of desperate people trying to get the same thing. People who know you think you are eccentric but mostly harmless. The readers of this site already know what kinds of items to store in advance (food, guns, ammunition, etc.) and so it will not be repeated here. Conceptually, these items should have long term storability, and in terms of food be used …