Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Letter Re: Advice on Engine Oil for Motorcycles

Jim: Regarding the letter on motorcycle engine oils, you are correct about most motorcycles using a wet clutch and the need for extra additives in the oil, but there are a couple of other issues of importance. First off, cars use a separate oil supply for engine and gearbox, which allows the oil manufacturer to customize oils for each application. Motorcycle engines on the other hand usually use a common supply for both, which means that motorcycle oils need the additives in them for both engine and gearbox applications. The problem is that being in an engine destroys the additives …


Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA

I’d like to share a couple of things I’ve learned through the recent hurricane seasons in Florida, being hit directly by one, indirectly by three or four more (I’ve lost count). The following assumes you’re staying put, not bugging out. Typically my wife will take the kids and bug out, while I stay home for security and damage control if needed. This can also apply to some of the severe storms that other parts of the country experience throughout the year. 1. Water – In Florida, I travel with a case of water in the back of my car. You …


Letter Re: Questions on Maximizing Gasoline Storage Life

Jim, Sorry to bug you but I searched your site and couldn’t find the info [I was looking for]. In your experience what’s the best brand of gasoline stabilizer I can use? Are there any tricks to help the gas last longer like buying a higher octane & doubling up on the amount of stabilizer? Is 1 year of storage about the max the fuel will be at it’s best. Thanks, John T. Plumeraye JWR Replies: I describe the degradation of stored gasoline fairly well in my novel “Patriots”. Adding a gas stabilizer does prolong the storage life. The Sta-Bil …


Letter Re: Advice on Engine Oil for Motorcycles

James, I’ve been reading your oil/energy columns. Very informative, thank you. It seems I am getting some less than adequate answers to my question posed to my local motorcycle dealers. I have two motorcycle’s (both about 45-50 mpg). Buying ‘motorcycle 20W-50 oil’ or “Harley Davidson [brand] 20W-50″ motorcycle oil is more expensive versus just 20W-50 oil. If you have time, is all 20W-50 the same or should I pay the extra at the motorcycle shop since motorcycle engines run at higher rpm’s and the oil does need to have whatever makes them more resistant to the heat and stresses associated …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Retreat

James: A note about an article you have posted – by David T. It is absolutely not correct. I realize that SurvivalBlog is not dedicated to diesel technology – but since you posted it, I figured I’d comment. I was a Stanadyne pump technician since the 6.2 diesel engine was invented ca. 1982. That’s the engine he’s talking about. I am also well versed in the history of that diesel pump, both in civilian use and in the U.S. military. Our military has had a miserable time with early failures – since the 6.2 and 6.5 diesels power many Humvees …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Retreats

Jim: In case anyone questions the source, the injection pump tip that I mentioned came from a large rebuilder who has seen the interval between rebuilds dropping to as low as six months on pumps with standard parts. Older pumps were designed to be lubed by high sulfur Diesel fuel. Since I was buying a rebuilt injection pump for my veggie oil non-turbo 6.2L Suburban, he strongly recommended the stainless version, which cost 50% more. Lubricity of veggie oil is far higher than any Diesel fuel, but in cold climates we start and stop the engine on straight Diesel. In …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Retreats

Hi Jim, I was a reader of Patriots before the [Y2K] rollover. Thank you!. Here in the Northern New England, I made the same calculations, and decided to stockpile off road diesel and kerosene. The other major component is used vegetable oil, usually available free from restaurants, who otherwise pay to have it hauled by a recycling outfit. My 20 h.p. Listeroid diesel runs fine on waste vegetable oil (WVO). So does the 13hp Hatz backup generator, along with an ’85 Diesel Suburban and ’82 Diesel Rabbit. Filter the big stuff out using more coarse filters like a pillowcase. Filter …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Homes and Retreats

Jim, I am taking the 10 Cent Challenge and have made a contribution. I have been reading SurvivalBlog for about a month and intend to keep making my contribution for the next foreseeable future..This is an awesome site. I have been wanting a solar array to add to my survival plan, According to the calculations I need to have the capacity to produce about 1KW adjusted to .75 KW. In order to adequately provide for my housing needs, minimal water pumping, lighting, small appliances, computer, phones, network, some TV, battery charging , fans for sleeping. We are in Mississippi along …


Letter Re: A 250 MPG Bicycle Gasoline Engine

Jim, This is an unusual bike engine that uses standard gasoline (no oil mixing!) and delivers something in the neighborhood of 250 MPG, with a top speed of about 25 MPH. It might be just the thing to turn one’s emergency bike into a viable vehicle, despite hills to climb. Although the tank will only hold about 23 miles worth of fuel, it’d be a simple matter to carry extra fuel to get one 50-to-100 miles. While probably not the perfect way to “bug out”, it’d be nice to have motors like this on hand, “just in case”. – Hawaiian …


Letter Re: Questions from a Newbie–Where Do I Start?

Mr Rawles- I’ve been a reader of your blog for maybe the last nine months or so and I know I need to stop reading and get to doing something. So I was wondering if you could advise me on where I should start my preparations. I’m a city boy so I don’t have many of the skills that I think would be useful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I don’t know how to shoot or farm or fix a diesel engine. While I could start buying equipment in order to be prepared, I think that the first thing I should …


Poll Results: Why are You Preparing to Survive?

Here is the second round of responses to this question: Those who are well educated enough to see a societal collapse of some sort or another in the making fall into two groups, the merrymakers and the preparers. The merrymakers don’t see life worth living post-SHTF, so they live it up now. We on SurvivalBlog are the preparers and have chosen to survive, but why? Our children? To rebuild civilization? Because the collapse will only be temporary? Because we can and we’re stubborn with a stronger than normal will to survive? The following is the second batch of responses. A …


Letter Re: Advice on Diesel Vehicles–Motorcycles and ATVs?

Dear Mr. Rawles: I already had a diesel Ford tractor, so I took your advice and got a diesel pickup, and I’m shopping for a used [diesel] Mercedes. Those things run forever. And as my budget allows, I’ll also plan to buy a diesel generator to replace my gasoline backup generator. So now I have logistics problem: I have two types of fuel to store, since my motorcycle, Polaris ATV, and my Husqvarna chainsaw all use gasoline. Diesel stores way longer than gas. But I guess that there is no way to avoid having some gas vehicles and tools. JWR …


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 …