While lines were wrapped around blocks, cyber security experts warn the Colonial Pipeline breach exposed a threat that goes well beyond the pump.
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That incident didn't affect me at all.
Shortly after we moved here, that same pipeline was shut down due to a fire and there wasn't a drop of gas in Macon County for a few days, and I was caught short with only an eighth of a tank.
Right after that, I started buying and filling 5 gallon cans in case something like that happened again - and it did.
Now I maintain anywhere between 40 and 50 gallons of gas in my shed, rotating it out on a regular basis to keep it from going bad.
One word: Stabill. I use on my bike over the winter, and it works.
ReplyDeleteYou can also add aviation gas, which is unleaded and uncut with alcohol. The problem with pump gas is it's hydrophilic. Avgas isn't.
"The problem with pump gas is it's hydrophilic. Avgas isn't"
DeleteWhich makes those low-point drains so handy.
I have switched to using seafoam as a stabilizer. I don't know the cost difference, but it performs very very well and doesn't make the stink smell when burned.
DeleteDo you know what 100LL means?
DeleteI keep up to 30 gallons of gas on hand for the generator, or other emergencies. I use it in the mowers during the summer, and refill a container when it goes empty. I only buy the 100% gas with no ethanol, and add stabil to it. I am able to keep it in my mower's gas tank through the winter, and it starts right up in the spring with no problems.
ReplyDeleteThe 10% ethanol in most gas is what makes it hygroscopic. Go to puregas.org to find someone in your area that sells ethanol-free gas. BTW, most small engines (lawn mowers, etc) recommend ethanol-free gas. Some avgas still has lead in it.
ReplyDeleteIf you use plastic fuel cans be aware of this little fucker.
ReplyDeletehttps://citybugs.tamu.edu/2017/04/27/boozy-beetle-the-camphor-shoot-borer/
I recently learned about it from a friend who started getting tiny holes in the gas tanks on his lawn mower, tractor, weed eater, gas cans, etc. They also bore into rubber and plastic fuel lines.
He suspected some kind of insect he'd never heard of and checked with the extension agent. Sure enough, that's what's doing it. They're attracted by the ethanol in the gas.
You can stop them by spraying the outside of the tank or gas can, and fuel lines with a pyrethroid insect killer.
Where's that shed located? Just curious....
ReplyDelete@LuisRunningOnEmpty
I keep around 100. Like the commenter above, I've stored gasoline for well over a year with stabil and it burned like fresh in my truck, mower, chainsaw, etc.
ReplyDeleteOhio Guy
Pipelines and power lines only work in a high trust society that is mostly law abiding.
ReplyDeleteElsewhere they are a magnet for theft and political statements. Nigeria with it's constant leaks and shutdowns is a great example.
This doesn't even get into the built in vulnerabilities of SCADA systems...
SCADA system: I haven't heard those words since I retired 15 years ago. A SCADA system was used to run the potable water treatment plants for the County I worked for.
DeleteSCADA systems are still used to run most municipal water and wastewater systems.
Delete