In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

If the Texas calamity came your way what would you do ?

Discussion in 'Modern EPA Stoves and Fireplaces' started by Rich L, Feb 20, 2021.

  1. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    I've actually had a small jug go bad. It was many years ago. The jug was not sealed well. Sat in an open garage all winter. Ethanol absorbs water quickly in that situation.
    Time is not on our side when storing gasoline.
    We now have three sources of non-e gas so all my stuff gets e-free and chainsaws get avgas. It's cheap insurance...
    But i do agree that gas can be stored longer. Especially in a climate controlled garage.
     
  2. Eckie

    Eckie

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    What stabilizer / additive do y'all use/recommend? I know I have a couple older cans with semi broke nozzles that are not airtight....wonder if a piece of rubber intertube strapped over the mouth would work? I don't have a conditioned storage place, so a shed out of sunlight is the best I can do.
     
  3. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Anything is better than nothing. I've used Saranwrap.
    Rubber and alcohol don't work well together. The ethanol fuel softens and dissolves rubber.
     
  4. Eckie

    Eckie

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    Good to know on the rubber and ethanol. All I could find yesterday was Seafoam, but didnt have time to make multiple stops.
     
  5. Semipro

    Semipro

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    Those poly gas jugs that swell up when it's warmer - that's a good thing. It means the tank is sealing properly.
    An unsealed tank allows air in with every heating/cooling cycle. This air contains water and that's the crux of most fuel quality problems, gas or diesel.
    An unsealed tank also allows the lighter parts of the gasoline to escape. It's those lighter constituents that make for easier starting, especially in cold weather.
    A well-sealed container of gasoline will last for much longer than one might think.
    Most fuel tanks on equipment are vented to the atmosphere. Fuel left in those is particularly susceptible to quality issues.
     
  6. Eckie

    Eckie

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    For cans that do not seal well, I assume a fuel stabilizer helps with the water issue, but I imagine does not solve the "lighter parts of the gas escaping" problem? Or does it somehow capture those?
     
  7. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Seafoam is good stuff. I've used their cleaner on the camper genny mixed 50/50 with avgas to give it a good cleaning.
    Probably cleaned it too good. Lol. :whistle:
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2021
  8. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Since gas doesn't burn till it vaporizes, it's best to keep those vapors!:yes:
    :handshake:
     
  9. SloMoJoe

    SloMoJoe

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    By AvGas, I presume you mean the 100 octane low lead variety? What advantage does that have for a chain saw?
     
  10. Highbeam

    Highbeam

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    Trash the can and get one that seals.
     
  11. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Maybe not as much as it used. Started using it when the ethanol gas was mandated. Saws back then weren't made for ethanol. And still today, ethanol corrodes aluminum.
    We now have 3 places that sell e-free. And i will use that for all my (4 stroke) equipment, but 2 strokes get avgas. (Except the ported 261, it gets 32:1 premium non-ethanol as per the builder)
     
  12. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Yes. This^^^
    Gas jugs are cheap compared to saws.
    I'd be so pizzed if i ruined a saw because i was trying to get an extra year out of a cheap jug.
     
  13. Highbeam

    Highbeam

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    Plus safety, leaking liquid during use and transport, stinky garage, immediate degradation of fuel quality, dust and dirt sticking to the leaks.

    When you store 20-40 gallons of this stuff you want to be relatively safe about it.

    I use the regular red sta-bil in all fuel I buy in cans. The directions say that the fuel will be good for 2 years. 3-6 months is bogus. Most lawn mowers sit with gas in them for 9 months of the year. It will run fine. These aren’t formula one race cars.
     
  14. Eckie

    Eckie

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    I read earlier that sta-bil makes a protective layer on top of fuel and and sea foam mixes with fuel. This particular article said sta-bil better for large things that wont easily get shook (cars boats etc in storage) and seafoam better for small things where the gas in tank more easily disturbed (cans, saws, other small engines etc).
     
  15. Buzz Benton

    Buzz Benton

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    Two years ago this week, 24" of wet snow in Western Oregon brought nearly everything to a full stop.

    My place, 11 days without power. 3 days to shovel the driveway to open. 3 days before the main road was cut open from trees.

    You just do it! And for sure, a woodstove saved our asses.

    What I found was that our generator was not enough to power the well (220v), so we melted snow. Having a BBQ Grill WITH A BURNER and some extra bottles of propane was super helpful. We used the cars to charge cell phones. Candles, even the battery powered types were handy. We keep a ton of food on hand so that wasn't an issue. I keep non-ethanol premium on hand for falling saws, etc. The thing I missed the most was actually the fan on the woodstove, the ceiling fan in our main room, and the circulating fan from the central heating system which I use to move heat throughout the house.

    [​IMG]
    This is our road. Seriously, I'm standing in the middle of the road. No one is coming to save you.

    [​IMG]
    One of the hundred or so trees I lost - right across my driveway.

    [​IMG]
    My first path with a shovel was from the house to the woodshed.

    [​IMG]
    We used coolers to off-load some of the work our generator was doing.

    Fires? Don't get me started!
    We lost more than a half million acres in Oregon, practically all in a 24 hours period last season.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2021
  16. SloMoJoe

    SloMoJoe

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    Appreciate... I was wondering if the higher octane rating, or the lead made a difference in chainsaw performance. Before we had what we call rec (recreational) fuel available here, the ethanol free stuff, I used to buy the stuff as well, but only for my generator, figuring that it was the safest fuel to leave in the tank.
     
  17. amateur cutter

    amateur cutter

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    I have a 100 gallon bulk tank in the back of one of my trucks that I keep relatively full for equipment, then store gas in 5 gal jerry cans for smaller equipment. I use Sea foam in everything because I buy & stock it by the case. E 10 gas will keep 2 years in those cans no issue. The saws get 90 octane E free mixed with sea foam & 32:1 synthetic oil. That only gets mixed 5 gal at a time & used up in a few weeks time. Never any issues here.
     
  18. Highbeam

    Highbeam

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    That 100 gallon bulk tank is diesel right?
     
  19. Stinny

    Stinny

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    Good thread Rich L ... we have an old Honda 6500 watt genny that covers all of the basics... heat, lights, frig, water (hot & cold). I have to hook it up each outage like most folks, but it's no big issue. It lives in our heated garage, with it's battery trickle charging 24/7. Have enough fuel for about 4-6 days of on and off 6 hr run times, and 2 gas stations within 5 miles, that also have genny's. So far so good.
     
  20. iowahiker

    iowahiker

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    An ice storm could cut electricity for several days here with downed wires. We keep a "hoard" of water and food in the basement (freshened by rotation weekly) which would last over a week (or more if we melt snow like Texans). We have a Makita battery fan for circulating the furnace heat into the ducts with enough batteries to last 3-7 days depending on how cold we are. Our kitchen stove is propane. We dry camp over a week during the summer and so we have all the supplies for a week off the grid. We would only use our generator to charge the Makita batteries, laptop, and cellular devices and so last longer. We could move into our camper which has a large solar array, furnace, propane system...