[Grimnir]

<pay no attention to the man behind the curtain>

[Grifter]

Well thank you Leanan and Grimnar.

[jdmartin]

Gasoline can easily last 2 years if you add a fuel stabilizer to it as soon as you buy it. Also, if you have a car newer than about '81 or so, don't let your car continuously go down to empty or run out of gas - it's a good way to kill your fuel pump quicker.

As for hoarding gas, I don't see how most people could hoard more than several weeks worth of gas, and to do that you'd have to be using almost nothing. 20 or 30 gallons of gas sitting around is quite a bit, and I'd say most Americans use that in 2 weeks or last (hell, I use 35 gallons a week by myself!). That said, I plan on hoarding enough this summer to get to me to work for 2 weeks or so just in case we have hurricanes, etc that makes gas impossible to get.

[Grimnir]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grifter', 'W')ell thank you Leanan and Grimnar.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SpringCreekFarm', 'I') don't 'hoard' gas. I stock up on so that if there are shortages I will not be stuck. How much does one have to buy and not use immediately before they are accused of hoarding it? The most I have would be about 30 gallons at any one time.

[strider3700]

I keep the truck at least half full and I have about 10 gallons stored in the shed. This is enough for me to drive to the Girlfriends house 100 miles away and pick her up and move her stuff back to my house if need be. She should be moved in soon so this will just be extra soon.

I don't use stabilizers I just cycle it through every 4 months or so.

[SoothSayer]

If I stashed away as much as 30 or 40 gallons of fuel it would probably be visible to others, so I'm sure one of my nice neighbours would blow the whistle as soon as there were shortages.

It would all be confiscated and I would get a BIG fine.

Or it would get stolen.

Or a neighbour would come round saying "Little Jessica simply MUST go to that birthday party, and I have run out of fuel. Please, please could you be so kind as to lend me some. You'll get it back as soon as the shortage is over."

Sheesh. Welcome to modern Britain.

In some ways I feel that a short but hard blast of cold reality would benefit a lot of the pampered people in the West.

[Specop_007]

Gas isnt nearly as sensitive as people would have you belief. Gas can easily last over a year without any stabilizers and still be fine for a car.

[Geko45]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SoothSayer', 'I') think I read a report somewhere that if many people simply top up their tanks to the top, they can totally empty out the filling stations for several days

[Leanan]

I think it depends on when you buy it and how you store it. Gas bought in winter can go bad pretty quickly in summer; it evaporates in hot temps. I've heard metal cans are better than plastic, too, for long-term storage.

I dunno why they recommend keeping the tank half full. It's just one of those things I always see in articles about how to save fuel. I assume it's the usual - fuel pump overheating and sediment at the bottom of the gas tank clogging your filter.

[Anthrobus]

Yep i definitely do.

I did install a 1.000 l tank in our garage and have several 100 l wort of barrels filled up. Its possible because of the nonfossil oil my car consumes, no restrictions for storing here.

This should be nearly a year worth of commuting.

Our domestic heating oil is going to be stocked up to 10.000 l this week, because we anticipate the price to rise further. All of which seems to me a textbook definition for inflation. Oh yes and we got our firewood i still have to pile op.

So, yes we are hoarding alls sorts of fuel. I even dreamed of burying a truckluad of coal in our garden for possible tough times ahead. But there is this story in the bible about the rich guy with his barnes stocked up to the roof with goods, leaning back in relief and feeling secure. Until the mighty spoke, "You fool, this night your life shall be demanded ...".

So, in respect of this impressing lecture, i think, our preparations should be enough ath the moment and there should be more offensive ways to tackle a real crisis.

The old spartans in greece used to say, they didn't needed their city walled, because at their stead they would stand with their bodies.

hm, proud folks they had in these times;

[Revi]

I keep the cars full, mostly because I'm not sure if it'll go up before I have to fill again. Otherwise I don't hoard gas because it goes bad so fast. I have a gallon of chainsaw gas mixed up and a gallon for the lawnmower. I'm getting a push mower, so I won't need that gallon soon. I'll hoard it!

[Daculling]

I see no point. If people see you driving they will steal it from you and locking gas caps will not work, they will punch a hole in your tank to get it. I guess it would work for fleeing from town though.

[Mechler]

Not me, but my dad put in spare tanks back home. They are for emergencies and to keep the chainsaws and other machinery running. Doesn't do much good if it's confiscated or stolen, though.

[shaunpagan]

This is an interesting question because I've had the urge to hoard fuel lately too. However, I make biodiesel, so hoarding fuel just means making a batch sooner rather than waiting for my storage tanks to run dry. I may also be in the mood to make biodiesel because I didn't make any over the winter. I made 130 gallons in September and that lasted me until the end of March. You guys should look into it. Not that it's going to slow down the affects of peak oil, but it sure makes watching gasoline prices climb less painful. I have put on 515 miles on my VW Jetta since filling up last time and I still have 1/4 of a tank.

[linlithgowoil]

i dont need to use my car so i dont hoard fuel. im getting rid of it in september when its due its road tax and mot anyway.

my job is within 15 minutes walk, and all my local shops are within about 10 minutes walk. i could, if i wanted, do all of my business within a 1 mile radius of my house.

[aflatoxin]

Fuel is a pretty broad term.

I keep about 6 cords of firewood on hand.

I also keep about 100 gallons of diesel on hand. I have a diesel pickup that I rarely drive. I use about 30 gallons a year. Diesel has a long shelf life if preservative is added, and the drum is totally full and sealed.

I keep very little gasoline on hand. If I couldn't buy gas for a time, I would drive the truck. If I ran out of diesel, I would burn waste oil or veggie oil in it. If it got to that, I would be hunkered down or bugging out.

I've always felt that food and clean water were a bigger necessity than transportation, so thats where i've put my energies

[RonMN]

I just love the term "hoard"! I'ts always used by the woefully / foolishly unpreparred.

Wait until the grocery stores go empty...we wont be "preparred"...we will be "hoarding" food! Or if the bird flu hits and you have more than 1 N95 dust mask...you will be "hoarding" dust masks. Or the water stops flowing from the taps...Then comes the zombie logic "what right do YOU have to live when those around you are dying?".

At that point it'll be a damn good thing that you were "hoarding" ammo

[Princess]

I'm filling my gas tank when it gets half empty. I also put a locking cap on even though I realize if someone really wants my gas, they'll punch a hole in the tank. It's just one of those things that sort of makes me feel better.

[SoothSayer]

>> I just love the term "hoard"! It's always used by the woefully / foolishly unprepared.

It's used by governments to blame the prepared people!

It's always good to have a scapegoat to blame for YOUR problems ... and in the case of hoarding you get to steal the goods of the prepared for your own use ... totally legally.

It's a win-win situation for the authorities.