Old Fuel

[bigpaul]

most people in Britain drive on empty only filling up when the fuel warning light comes on.
in a SHTF situation they are all going to be queueing up at the filling stations and going nowhere.

[Mortblanc]

(17 September 2021, 15:45)Pete Grey Wrote: An acquaintance of ours has a speed boat, I have not seen it and do not know what make or type of engine is fitted. The boat has been parked up in his garage for at least five years. He tells me he fitted a new battery and it fired up on the third try, this should give us all encouragement on how long petrol lasts, as no fuel additives had been used.

I had the same experience a couple of years back with my Jeep Cherokee.

I filled the tank and then had the computer die. Since it was a backup vehicle I let it sit for a year before repairing it. When the repair was completed it fired up as normal after the fuel had sit for a year.

While sitting the brakes lines and hoses had dissolved(23 year old parts) and I let it sit for another year as I did a complete brake replacement over the course of a second year.

This was using the E10 fuel we get over here. I note that many myths are being forecast about the use of E10 in GB at the moment.

I can affirm that it will last for at least 2 years in the tank and work fine.

I also have, at this very moment, one scooter that is half full of E10 w/fuel stabilizer left over from storage last winter. I have not ridden that scooter but 50-75 miles this season so it is on 11 month old gas. It still fires up and runs fine.

All of the motorbikes got a full tank and a splash of stabilizer last fall and there were zero fuel related problems this past spring. They did not even run strangely with the additives added.

For short term storage, of less than 2 years, I would not even worry with the additives.

Small engines and carbureted devices(gen-sets, chain saws, mowers, weed whackers and such) I would add the stabilizers since the E10 might have more effect on the small passages in the carbs of those devices. I generally drain the tanks of small engine tools completely and let the engines run themselves dry.

[bigpaul]

we have just started using E10 fuel in my area, have seen some complaints in the newspapers of it affecting some vehicles but our older cars seem fine with it.

[Pete Grey]

I don’t keep much petrol in stock, just two 20 litre jerrycans, I figure if TSHTF no one will be going very far, maybe to BO or if out on the road, home to bug in.

The petrol has no stabiliser added but I have a couple of bottles in stock just in case I need to stretch it’s life, but it will probably outlast my driving time (due to age and health).

The vintage car has a full tank, and as it was made for leaded petrol, now not available, I use a lead replacement additive so this fuel is reserved for the old mower.

The camper is diesel and I also keep two jerrycans for that, however at the end of the day even though we probably won’t be driving I can’t get out of the habit of keeping fuel.

[Mortblanc]

I think that after last year we all realize that the revised concept of SHTF involves immediate shut down of travel, so a huge reserve of fuel is a meaningless prep.

Especially when moving around in a "no travel" world makes you a target for both scavengers and the government. Predators always notice movement.

I do store fuel in the sense that I have a LOT of petrol powered machines around the house and there is a constant demand for fuel. That demands the two 20L containers be kept full for chainsaws, gen-sets and other tools.

As a secondary consideration my vehicle has an 80L fuel tank. That is always at the half way level or above and can be allocated to other uses if needed.

There is also the fact that I have the motorbikes and they extend my range of travel/gallon by a great margin. My scooters give me 125m/g by your gallons and my big cycles give me 100 m/g. So transferring the fuel from the Jeep to the scooters would give me 2,000 miles range with nowhere to go anyway.

I have no diesel vehicles or equipment but I have always considered that liquid an excellent cleaner, light lube and solvent. Additionally it can be used in paraffin or hurricane lamps and works well in improvised lamps. It also takes the guesswork out of fire starting.

[bigpaul]

post SHTF movement be it people or be it vehicles will be noticed by both Police and any predators.
if the UK govt survives there is a policy of shutting down the major highways and banning ALL civilian traffic, we will probably go into some form of lock down as well.
storing petrol or diesel other than whats in the vehicle tank is probably a waste of time, money and storage space.

[Pete Grey]

Yes MB we will still need petrol for the genny.

BP if ALL civilian traffic is shut down i’m sure the OH will still expect me to mow the bloody lawn .

[bigpaul]

(20 September 2021, 10:51)Pete Grey Wrote: Yes MB we will still need petrol for the genny.

BP if ALL civilian traffic is shut down i’m sure the OH will still expect me to mow the bloody lawn .

we got rid of all the grass when we moved here 12 years ago, got better things to do than mow lawns.

[Mortblanc]

To cut down on fuel use I am considering going the goat route.

I can buy a goat for $2-$3 in the spring and tether it to a 10M lead and let it graze in a circle. Move the picket every day and keep the lawn under control.

In the Autumn I can kill it and eat it rather than feed it all winter.

[CharlesHarris]

This site has some wonderful goat recipes. https://caribbeanpot.com/jamaican-curry-goat-recipe/