FUEL!!! get yours while you can!, My adventure to get a surplus! Options

[Jake Raby]

Here is a cross post from my forum.... Go fill your tanks up folks- all the stations here are 100% dry!

I heard the local radio station warn that our fuel supply system that brings fuel into Atlanta from the Gulf was screwed and that by Monday the entire area may be out of fuel I knew we'd be screwed on the dyno unless I got my ass in gear!

So I grab the old Military ammo trailer, throw in 3, 55 gallon drums and haul ass to the gas station...

I get there and basically had to cut off some jackass in a lowrider to secure a gas pump... I start filling the drums and after I get the first one almost filled the attendant cut me off and came out yelling... The jerk in the lowrider went in and started whining! So she pretty much ran me off- I paid and left...

So after that I knew that I had to be a bit less conspicuous if I planned on getting enough fuel to hold us over for a while on the dyno.... So I toss the two empty drums INSIDE the bus with me... Find a station that still had some premium and start filling up. Of course I had the bus parked so no one could really see that I had two drums inside it.... The tinted windows really helped!

So I get about 100 bucks worth in the first drum, attendant comes out and asks me what I'm doing... I replied that it was an extended range fuel tank for my bus.... She let me finish filling it up!!! BUT I ran the tank out of gas before it was full to the brim..

So I had back to the shop, drop off the trailer and the one full drum and head off looking for more fuel... I find another station that has some 93 left, whip the bus in and start filling the drum... a line ends up forming behind me and people start getting pissed, but they can't see what I'm doing- it takes a while to pump 55 gallons of fuel! One guy gets out of his car, comes over and starts whining... About that time I get a big gulp of air comes through the hose and the pump ran out of gas!!! I acted like I was finished and drove away!

On the way back I stopped back by the first place that ran me off and filled up the bus and topped off the final drum and headed back to the shop... Grabbed the 912E and filled it up, then the Blue Bug and filled it up.....

All in all the bill came out to about 575.00 to fill up enough to last us for maybe a month on the dyno....

So if ypu are one of my engine customers, you'll be looking at a fuel surcharge added to your tab- thank god I was able to even get the fuel.... It was a pain in the ass though, people get furious when they see you filling up a drum with fuel.

Don't think I'm a hog- we can't work without fuel!

[jd74914]

That's wicked funny. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

Though I would get pretty pissed if I was behind a guy filling up 55galon drums with gas.

[tdgray]

Shit Jake, you freakin kill me (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[Jake Raby]

Yeah- I would too... I didn't argue with anyone I just filled up and left! if it got too heated I'd go find another station and do the same thing.

The attendants got insanely pissed...

Hell, gotta do what you gotta do while you can do it!

Thats the Marine in me..

You guys better go do the same!

[Tobra]

Same stuff went on post 9/11/01 in the Houston area, people panicked for no reason. I think there will be big problems out there for fuel. We refine our own in Cali, but something like 40% of the oil in the country goes through the gulf, this will get ugly. Pleased to hear you were not killed Mr Raby

[davep]

I should have done that yesterday before the price went up 20%. As it happens, each time I have filled up the Astro van recently, the pump cuts me off at $75. If I want a true fill I have to make two purchases. My neighbour has had his pumps shut down for over a week now and has his price sign removed completely. Either he is out of the fuel business, or he has full tanks that are rapidly appreciating in value.

I can appreciate that as a business that you need material to operate with. You did what you had to do to protect yourself. So, make sure you spend some time on the high economy engine project, I think you may find additional sales there.

I suspect that getting supplies into the hard hit areas may become very difficult if no fuel suppliies are available to the trucks required to move the supplies. Also no fuel for generators to power the tools to clean up and do repairs.

[TravisNeff]

Haha, great story (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif)

[Joe Ricard]

Jake Ya might wanna be packin next time you try that stunt. Be prepared for a double tap center mass.
Paint your bug Olive drab jump out in cammies and a blue / gold T-shirt. Oaklys and ball cap. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[Jake Raby]

Hell, I'm always packin!!

Earlier today it wasn't crazy like it is here now- I wouldn't try that stunt now and won't try it later....

[anthony]

QUOTE

The attendants got insanely pissed...

You know, WTF, does a $7/hr. attendant care how much gas one buys?

[dmenche914]

Jake i am sure your 165 gallon "investment in your bussiness" has and will continue to increase in value in the coming days. I need to go find a spare gas can myself.

California gas has not spiked much yet, only several cents at some station, our gas is refined elsewere (some over seas, thanks to that stupid custom blend gasoline law), but as the price goes up in the East, some Cali clean gas will start making its way there, causing the entire nation even California which is not so relaint on Gulf of Mexico refineries to have much higher prices.

I guess we got to get used to it, but all our bitching about gas, even if it were $20 a gallon is nothing compared to the folk hit by the hurricane, and floods. They have been devistated in many many areas, homes, bussiness, jobs wiped out, and 100's dead, a city flooded like no other flood I can think of, where the water is pooled and staying put for weeks and weeks. This is worse than i thought possible.

The biggest cause of this disaster is the dike failures. They simply could not hold back the water, and when crested over, failed.

When they rebuild, I bet a lot of building will be on stilts, more dikes should be required, such that if there is a single failure of a dike, that only a small section of city will flood. To have a design with no sectioning off of parts of the city with seperate dikes that normally would be dry on both sides, would have greatly minimized this disaster.


Any other cities vulnerable to this?


I sure hope they recover well, and hope loss of life is minimal. The rest of the nation needs to pitch in and help them. This is like the San Fransisco Quake and Fire in 1906. It is that bad, but not all is lost, they well rebuild and get on, it just going to be one hell of a bitch to make right again, but it can be done.


Good Luck New Orleans, God's Speed on your Recovery.

[914GT]

QUOTE (anthony @ Aug 31 2005, 03:15 PM)

QUOTE The attendants got insanely pissed... You know, WTF, does a $7/hr. attendant care how much gas one buys?

They care because it can cause other irate customers to get pissed when they run out or from the long lines. They don't want to get shot at or beat up.

[Allan]

Any worries of sucking all the backwash, debris, water and/or trash from the underground tanks when they get pumped dry?

[Elliot_Cannon]

You should just have an in ground tank intalled then you could hoard enough for a year or more. You might even get a wholesale price.
Elliot

[r_towle]

I was gonna point that out too.

Here in MA, if you have a valid farm, you can buy fuel tax free "for farm use only"

But I know quite a few "farmers" that have 1000 gallon tanks and personal pumps...

Just a thought...you might be able to get a better deal on fuel....

Rich

[SpecialK]

A pic of Jake "filling up"! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[Qarl]

CNN showed an Atlanta station charging $6.07 for premium today!

That's called price gouging and they should be fined.

Saw someone filling their 100 gallon tank on their 25' fishing/pleasure boat today. A-hole!

[Sparky]

QUOTE (dmenche914 @ Aug 31 2005, 05:18 PM)

.....The biggest cause of this disaster is the dike failures.

I hate it when Dikes fail, I mean come on! I exercise, can hold my breath for 10 minutes and can lift my body weight with my tongue... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

I filled up the Jetta and the wifes Van yesterday should get me thru the weekend and hopefully we'll see some price leveling by then.

My best,
Mike D.

[redshift]

I just bought 2 gallons, $5.79 each.

The prices will be back to yesterday, within 48 hours.



M

[Verruckt]

$5.79 is price gouging... that's Bullshit. You need to contact the state attorney general. I'm assuming of course that you are being serious. There is obviously a supply problem in your neck of the woods, but that is just fucking ridiculous. I could MAYBE understand $3.25, MAYBE... The gulf area only accounted for 10% of our nations refineries. Not 100% (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif)

I bought some gas today, only half a tank @ 2.79/gallon.

On 9/11 there were a few gas stations that were selling here for like $5/gallon. The attorney general fixed that. If I remember right, they had to pay out the ASS to settle that one. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)