So the cans arrived on Wednesday Nov. 30th. Since the insides of the cans smelled of the solvents from the petrol-proof coating, I left them open in my garage for a couple of days to finish drying and/or the smell to dissipate. By Thursday evening the smell seemed to be completely gone. I poured one ounce of Sta-Bil 360 in each can and closed it up, then placed the four cans in my truck. My plan was to go to BJ's in Manchester after the family dinner out Friday night and fill the cans as well as top off my truck's fuel tank. We got out of Texas Roadhouse about 8:40 PM and the BJ's closed at 9 PM, but the restaurant was less than a mile away, so plenty of time. The BJ's gas station is normally a zoo, except late at night. I drove right up to a pump, got my fuel and got out of there before closing time. The person that pulled up behind me didn't have to wait long. I was done with the cans and part way through filling my truck when she pulled up behind me. No disgusted looks as someone has to wait until I am done getting all my fuel like normal. If anyone was ever to actually get out of their vehicle and start bitching at me, I would just tell them they should have gotten off their ass and come earlier.
Having to work Saturday, I left the filled cans in the garage. I got up early on Sunday morning because we were going out to breakfast and then cutting fresh Christmas trees with friends. I brought the cans down to the barn to be permanently stored with the others since I had to go down there and get my chainsaw. I now have 60+ gallons of fresh, treated gasoline on hand for emergency generator use. That is above and beyond the full fuel tanks on my vehicles and motorcycle I would tap into during a regional disaster where buying gas might not be available for some time.
So referring only to my dedicated generator gas; I have enough on hand ready to go to run my generator at full capacity for 15 hours a day for 8 days. My generator fuel consumption at that rate is exactly 7 1/2 gallons per day. If not the depths of winter or in the middle of broiling in the summer, that could be stretched out significantly. For the first six years I owned the generator it only ran for preventative maintenance. So far, we have had three or four major outages lasting a week or more since 2011 and each one left electric power available in the vicinity along major state roads and power feeds. Gas was definitely easy enough to get. Living along a back country road, we aren't the very last customers to get power back, but if our road has utility infrastructure damage we won't get it back for days.
My wife won't ever understand the need to keep so much fuel on hand until the day comes where we need it and it's available. I don't believe we need to stockpile any additional gasoline, although I would not be opposed to doubling my current supply... or even more. I used to rotate it all at once, but with current self-inflicted gas prices I do 10 or 15 gallons at a time, dumping it into and using it in our vehicles. Since all the cans are tagged it is easy to keep track of which ones are filled and when, as well as spreading out the financial pain..
I have used these for years. Store the cans on a wood pallet, never on the ground or on concrete. The filled cans will sweat, and the water will cause rust pin holes on the bottom. Spray bed liner on the bottom is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI must admit to being stupid. Oh, not just about this, but a bunch of other things. But only this for now.
ReplyDeleteI have a generator, that I had problems with, would not start. I had someone take it to try and fix it. Long story short, he was not reliable, and brought it back after 3-4 months.
I now have a generator sitting in my shed, with a tank full of gas that has gone bad. I don't know where to dispose of bad gas, and of course, now that I don't live in the country, where I would just dump it on the ground, or burn it somehow, I can't just do that here in the city. I am certain that any attempt to do that, even in the rural areas of our city would be met with a lot of anger and fines.
I have the house wired to use the generator while not causing any danger to linesmen working on the power grid. So I am sort of concerned about the entire issue, especially with the winter coming on.
I actually live in a trailer park, although a nice one, with a nice home, not one of the old ones you think of when you think of a trailer. I put a new furnace and AC unit in 3 years ago, a new roof a year ago, a new water heater 5 or 6 years ago. So I keep the place up, as we bought it with the idea of living in it forever.
I have to find someone who will take it and fix it. For less than the cost of a new one. This one is 4k Watts, which will keep our home going, of course you have to pay attention and not try and run everything all at once.
I have to say thanks, because you have reminded me that I need to get off my backside and get the things done that need to be done. The money is actually not the first consideration, although that always is important. But like I said, I was stupid in not taking care of this, when weather was decent. And now, I have to pay the stupid tax.
@pigpen51: I am a little OCD about this kind of stuff, so it's easy for me to keep on top of it all. Good thing, because I know how easy it is to put it off and fall behind. Fall too far behind and it becomes overwhelming. I see it all around me. An example; when our long time fire chief retired after 19 years, his replacement became so inundated with the paperwork and regulatory requirements that he just basically abandoned his post. For a year we were a rudderless ship. It is the same keeping up with equipment maintenance. I had a co-worker that had a generator stuffed in the back of his garage forgotten for the better part of 10 years. He found himself S.O.L. in 2012 when "Super Storm Sandy" clobbered the east coast. Even after that, I tried to get him to get his generator squared away, but last I knew he never did. I personally learned what NOT to do with gas powered equipment from my Dad. He never understood using good stabilized fuel, fuel/oil mixtures, priming, choking, etc. I have his little Poulan chainsaw which he could never start or keep running. I have had it now for years, and keep it well maintained. It starts easily and cuts some pretty big wood with a little 18" bar. I hand file the chain when it stops throwing chips, and keep brand new spare chains on hand when there isn't enough metal to file.
DeleteBTW... my nickname at the firehouse is "Captain Anal."
Fuel cost pain still not good but not so bad currently. Good timing.
ReplyDeleteI am not called Capt. Anal, but I am sure that I am called asshole a lot. Actually, since I spent over 35 years making steel, and was pretty much the only one who spent the majority of my time on the melt floor, I became the one who everyone sort of leaned on to give advice and training when it came to deciding if a ladle or a furnace was still good to go, or if it needed to be taken out of service, because I had seen it all, and had good judgement. The problems started when they brought a new team from corporate in, who did not have any experience with our equipment, but were only interested in getting product out the door. I knew what would happen, as I had seen it happen before. When you need to make a judgement call, you have to be intelligent about it. And you have live with the results. These people were usually the types that sought to place the blame downhill. You can imagine just how the people under them wanted to excel for them, to make them look good.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned that I needed to get my generator fixed and back online. I put an ad in Craigslist. I had an almost immediate response, and had a guy come out today, who was a writer for our local news paper, and also had a gig on the side, working on weekends fixing anything with an engine.
He was not only a very good tech, but he did the job the way he said he would, and also gave me a short lesson on how the one I have works, and how to both use it, and how to drain the fuel out of it, plus how to check it with a meter to ensure that it was working the right way, so I would not spin my wheels with it not actually running but not generating the correct electricity and such.
He charged me 250$, which some might thing is a lot, but for what he did, from a carb rebuild, to draining the fuel, an oil change, and replacing the gas with all new gas with gas without any ethanol, plus Stabil, in addition to training me, I thought it was, if not cheap, at least within reason. I had spoken to my wife and we had decided on that 250 as the highest we would go, before we would just buy a new generator. I hate to spend money on anything but the fact is, my wife and 26 year old daughter both have health issues that require them to have stability as far as their temperatures are concerned. So now I not only have the ability to maintain that part of our home correctly, but I also have been trained in the proper use of the generator to help it continue to run for a decent number of years.
And I have gotten a poke in the ass to remind me that if I get lazy, I will pay for it. I know it, but I sometimes have to be reminded of it. That is the one thing that I have that is a bad part of my makeup. The tendency to procrastinate. When I was young, in high school, I forced myself to work hard, because I somehow knew that I had that within my life, that tendency to procrastinate. Now at 62, who would have thought I would still procrastinate? It drives my wife nuts. Hell, it drives me nuts, but it is what it is.
As always, have a great day, you all. And stay safe, and watch out for the crazies.
Nice blog,sir....arrived after noting your comment @ Kenny's place...
ReplyDelete@Soapweed: Thanks for your kind comments. As a newcomer I welcome you to my blog. I write it mostly for myself as a place to vent and to keep my writing skills (as well as my gray matter) from turning to crap. The fact that people read what I write, get something out of it, and take the time to comment means a lot to me. Feel free to give the blog a follow and you'll get notified when I drop a new post.
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