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!

That's wicked funny.

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

Shit Jake, you freakin kill me

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!

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

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.

Haha, great story

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.

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....

QUOTE

The attendants got insanely pissed...

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

A pic of Jake "filling up"!

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!

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...

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.

I just bought 2 gallons, $5.79 each.

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



M

$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%

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.

There was a rumor that, I am positive, started in South Carolina early today.

The rumor said that the gas stations would close at 5pm, because of a shortage. Every idiot who owns an engine ran to the stations (while I was busy) and filled every container they could carry.

So, @ 6:30, the price was $5.79, and they were about to mark it to $6.05 in 5 minutes.


M

QUOTE (redshift @ Aug 31 2005, 08:25 PM)

There was a rumor that, I am positive, started in South Carolina early today. The rumor said that the gas stations would close at 5pm, because of a shortage. Every idiot who owns an engine ran to the stations (while I was busy) and filled every container they could carry. So, @ 6:30, the price was $5.79, and they were about to mark it to $6.05 in 5 minutes. M

You should go back and ask for a receipt. When they went after gougers here in Missouri, people had to "prove" that they did buy gas there.. but I guess a CC statement would suffice. After they give you the receipt, be sure and let them know WHY you need the receipt.

Sorry to hear that shit is going on there.

well mom's Jag is running like absolute crap....the premium must be watered down...


so she put in some octane boost something, or fuel water-sucker upper....

I don't know...my dad was freaking out...

but low-grade fuel in louisville is getting scarce...might have to check on the E85...

I decided to fill up my Pathfinder today at $2.69 before gas goes up even more (another $0.10 overnight - last night). First time I have ever seen a sign on the pump that said the station was out of premium. I don't know what to make of it.

on monday it was 2.63 for regular, which is 89
yesturday it was 2.83 for reg
today it was 2.99 for reg, premium was 3.29

24 bucks for a 1/2 tank, glad the suby gets 30 mpg and can run on regular

I understand the supply side of business, and I can see why business owners, also victims to rumors, would be selling the future, today.

That is how supply side works, you sell tomorrow today. When they see that tomorrow is lower, tomorrow, they lower prices back, two days after yesterday, but before the day after two days before yesterday, last week.



So, on that logic... .. I bought enough gas to get me back there for the next couple days.

Carry on.


M

A large number of stations in Orlando are out. More gas on the way in the next day or two.

I've seen $3.29 locally

$3.05 - $3.39 in CA and we didn't even get wet!

I can't find any gas to buy...

I'd be happy to find the $6 a gallon gas. I've got about 2 more days, then I won't be going to work anymore. I have to save a 1/4 tank in the event of needing to go buy food, more gas, or god forbid any type of emergency. The bank just won't see me for a while.

My heart goes out to you... I'm sorry.


M

Oh, now don't get me wrong. It's certainly not that big a deal. I expect it to straighten out in a day or two. I would like to think a week at the most. and..........I am on salary. It is about time that 60 hour a week B.S. started to work the other way !!!

I'm not too broken up over it or anything, it's just a messed up situation. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people worse off than I am in after Katrina came through.

Hey even I do run out of gas, I'll be at home, with power, and water, and cable..... things could certainly be worse.

I was really regreting selling my diesel mercedes today. Diesel prices haven't flucuated as much(and ussually doesn't), diesels gotta be available for trucker, and if push comes to shove with a few mods I can run it on vegitable oil.

I have a book some where on how to make alcohal out of newspaper and trash and how to mods a car to run on 190 proof. I need to find that book

Consumer market.. yes.. make car run on 190... not yet.

Old home sales: down, new home sales:up... get out of the market. (last quarter)



M

Is the fuel safe???

The gas station storatge tanks should be sealed with a vent line on a tall pipe with a U-bend at top or other rain guard, and a check valve to stop moisture ladden air from circulating in and out with temp changes. I do not know if the vent line check valve is designed for flooding protection, it would have to be a pretty heavy duty valve to stop a flood water surge, yet still be sensitive enough to open and close with slight pressure changes as the fuel is drawn out, and temps change. the pumps can be shut off to isolate them from the storage tank

So in therory, as long as the lids were screwed shut, pumps shut down at valves (the emergency pump off valves were hopefully closed before the hurricane hit.) and the tall vent pipes not over run by water, what is in the tank should be ok.

However the pump hoses may be gunked up, and require flushing if they were submerged.. There do shut off near the filler handle, but that valve may have leaked water in, the deeper the water, the more pressure. What is it?, 15 feet of water is one atmosphere (15 psi roughly) 30 feet is double that and so on. so there is a force pushing water in that grows with the depth. The deeper the more likely the problem of leaks and contaminated fuel.

If unsure, do what aircraft owners do, pour some fuel into a clear container and let is settle (or draw from low sump)and see if water beads up on the bottom of the container. Judiceice use of gasoline drying additive to a suspect tank of fuel can't hurt, you could run several tankfuls of the water remover thru the car (purging the water) once you find a dry source of fuel again.

newto914s:

when you find that book, pm me....I wanted to distill my own "fuel" for a modded out engine or something (type4-ish)....also thought about propane too....