Yesterday I took some empty jerrycans to the gas station to refill them. I treat the contents with PRI-G to extend gasoline's useful life for up to two years, then store it as an emergency reserve, rotating the cans and refilling them on a regular basis.
I expected to pay high prices, because we use more expensive, non-ethanol gas for our reserve stash (it's better for small engines like lawnmowers, and lasts longer than gas mixed with ethanol); but this was the highest it's ever been, in my experience. 30 gallons of gas cost me $132. OUCH!!! Thanks for nothing, Brandon!!! (Yes, I know even that figure is relatively low-cost compared to some parts of the country. Thankfully, Texas gas prices are still at least a little bit sane.)
We don't use natural gas or propane in our home, but those who do are in for a shock. Atomic Fungus reports:
Got an email today from the local gas company. Price per therm is going from $0.68 per therm to $1.11 per therm, starting May.
Understand, the gas company does not (may not, by law) make any profit on gas. The price they charge customers is what they pay for it.
. . .
Now, thanks to Mom's improvements in 2008-2009--mostly the vinyl siding and the new furnace--the bunker is pretty energy-efficient for a house built in the mid-sixties. It's still a drafty shack, but it's a lot less drafty than it was when built, and even on some of the coldest nights it was still livable in here, and I paid $100-$120 a month in winter for heating the place.
January, February, I paid $200+, because Go Brandon. That was after gas went up to $0.68 per therm.
If the cost of natural gas does not rise [further]--and it most assuredly will!--it'll be $400 a month just to keep the bunker at 69°.
But guess what else! The electric company uses natural gas to generate electricity. So the price of electricity is also going to go up.
You think Go Brandon's approval ratings are low now? Wait three months.
There's more at the link.
How are gasoline, propane and natural gas prices in your area, readers? (We already know how bad diesel prices are getting!) How much fuel are you keeping in reserve in case of emergencies (not just to power lawnmowers, etc., but also a generator, or fill your car's tank if gas station stocks run low)? Let's discuss the issue in Comments, so we can all learn from each other.
Peter
26 comments:
gasoline just went back up 20 cents to 4.19 in most places, overnight. i'm afraid to call the lp company to order more for the heater. it usually runs par w/ gasoline here, central va. i'm cutting wood to augment the lp this winter.
I'm much more concerned about the people on the bare margin in the area. A few have given up on working and doing any prepping, but still have firearms. Poor concealment on their part. One is a near neighbor, so I'm packing at the house just in case.
Is your heart prepped to say no and take the necessary actions to keep your family safe and fed, even if others go hungry? Can you pull the trigger on a dad or mom just trying to keep their kids alive? Will you have to be that dad or mom raiding others to keep your family alive?
This makes me sad and angry. TPTB are intentionally killing people through economic warfare and hunger. They don't need to have trains and gulags, the die has been cast and the damage is done, people will be pushed to the limit by fall or sooner and go after each other.
I'm prepped physically the best I can be, now the spiritual prep is the hardest part.
In the Un sanitized stories of the Great Depression folks that did well brought less lucky NOW Homeless folks under their roof often several generations.
ALL WORKED for the benefit of the clan-tribe-family. Feeble elders watched and taught children, children worked doing tasks like guarding the gardens from both two legged and 4 legged thieves. Fishing was a relaxing hobby that brought food to the table and so on. In my family stories trapping kept meat on the table along with Grandmothers compost piles and gardens.
Those with a stable job (generally in the Government OR Skilled Labor) kept the tax man away from the overall family. People with money often bought other folks homes and let them sharecrop their own lands as not to have them become homeless.
Everybody brought something to the table.
Nobody can stand 24 hours a day guard duty, let alone the efforts to get safe water, food and sanitation to make the family thrive.
Go ahead and make fun of several Mexican families living under one roof. They are smarter than we are, that will be proven soon enough. We could learn a lot about extended families and family honor from the better ones.
Our gas went down from about $4.15 to $3.95 during the week. It's been around the $4 level for a few months, now.
Just paid (and tossed) my nat. gas bill, so I can't say how that price is.
I locked in an electric rate last summer for two years. But it was still 50% more than before. Fees keep going up so I'm about $10 / month more than January.
Fuel has been fluctuating near 4.00. Natural gas is higher, and I usually don't get close to the minimum usage.
Want to save on your home heating/cooling bills! Just add insulation!
... Oops. I don't know what the stuff used to cost, but on a wander through the local Home Despot yesterday I noted that the current price of insulation seems wildly high.
So adding insulation might just be in "buy a Tesla" territory.
(Which reminds me: Monday-ish, I need to call the HVAC company about replacing the Eastern heat pump before it fails the way the Western one did... and, while we're at it, adding roof insulation so the system won't have to work as hard.)
>Go ahead and make fun of several Mexican families living under one roof.
I really respect their work ethic.
Just tired of paying a larger share of school taxes and health benefits for their kids. A large percentage of the local school district budget is ESL or "refugee" related. Their kids get better medical/dental coverage than most.
What happens when the job market and the tax base implodes?
Yesterday in north GA, ~50 miles north of Atlanta, unleaded regular (w/ ethanol, natch) was $3.69.9. This morning's future price for unleaded regular, June contract, is $3.68, which means unleaded regular will be north of $4 very shortly. The published electric power rate for residential service from our co-op has not changed in more than two years ; wonder how that is being accomplished. Our annualized cost of electricity is ~ $0.115 per kW hr.
My drive cross country was an education. Out in the sticks, gas was routinely 5.49-5.99. Diesel was far worse. The rural areas are taking the hardest hit.
First they put a moratorium on new nuclear plants.
Then they mandated that coal plant emissions be cleaner than fresh air.
Then they shut down the coal mines.
Then they curtailed oil and gas production.
Dramatically increased energy prices are not an accident.
Chris an excellent question:
"What happens when the job market and the tax base implodes?"
BUT lets apply it across the board to all Americans and illegals.
It's not a pretty story. Senior citizens have to choose between food, medicine or heating. Those without family support will die off. Those that *still* for now have a job might find themselves without childcare and that too is a real issue, eh? I noticed just COVID shutdowns of Childcare created Mucho issues for employers.
Gov.com Medical Insurance goes AWAY, some troubles there, eh?
And so on. The Mexicans are USED to not having such Gov.com support so losing it is just a thing. Their Grandmothers are provided for and provide Childcare for those with jobs.
Going to be an ugly wake up call for even myself, let alone those that think everything is *Still FINE*.
Personally, I'm more than a little worried about all those Gear Heavy Gun bunnies with but a few weeks of MREs in their food storage.
How many starving good guys do you know?
Extended families and trusted friends are more important that a pretty set of NVGS.
Returned from Florida yesterday, paid$4.40 for gas in Michigan. It was just off the highway so I don’t know how much less gas in town will be. Probably will still be at least $4.20-$4.30. Will probably fill up my gas cans monday or Tuesday. I keep and rotate about 20 gallons plus a 2 gallon can for the mower. Not looking forward to this year. I let my minor food preps dwindle in the face of my wife’s resistance, she is really invested in the belief “God will provide”. Whenever I put together a supply of an item she wants to give it away to family or the local food bank.
Gas here in Eastern WA was $4.38.9 yesterday for 89 Octane. Diesel was $5.58.9. Electric here is all hydro generated and is 6.8 cents per kWh so is very cheap. Fortunately my house is all electric so my utility bills are not breaking the bank, usually about $120.00-150.00 per month. I do supplement the electric furnace with my wood stove so it looks like I will be using more firewood next winter. So far I have been able to use wood from downed trees on my place and from the woods of a few friends.
Houston regular gas was $3.69 on average around town. Diesel is $1.20 or more higher per gallon.
I just replaced my whole hvac system, (inspector just left). We've been keeping the old one going for a couple of years, and it was way overdue for replacement. Nat Gas heat, electric for A/C, 4 tons. Was lucky to get a contractor, who called back after months and said, "Hey, I can get an appropriate unit for you tomorrow, if you are ready." So we took what we could get, Carrier, and paid $2700 more than the quote from 4 months ago.
No one in town had what we needed for months. R-8 insulated flex duct was the issue for a while, then condensers, so when everything aligned we jumped.
If you are not ready to act, you'll miss out. That is going to apply to buying cars, houses, or home goods.
nick
BTW, local car dealers still have very low inventory. There are empty lots, vehicles parked 90 degrees to the normal parking slots, vehicles spread out on the lot, closed dealerships etc. One big dealer has a "Car BUYING area" featured with banners and theming. That is very "new normal."
Remember the intentional goal: to drive the middle class to despair, to hunger, to fear. Then the "benevolent hand of socialism" will be offered to make it all go away. Things fall apart...
https://granitegrok.com/blog/2022/04/things-fall-apart-with-a-new-cartoon-getting-ready-for-the-spicy
Tsgt Joe invest in a climate-controlled storage spot and fill it ASAP with shipping boxes of food, marked Christmas Decorations or baby clothes. Do so knowing that eyes will be watching you deposit them. Have a few in front that ARE Yard Sale (but still useful) stuff.
Even a "Closet Sized" storage space can hold a LOT of calories.
I too have friends saying, "God will provide". It's a miscarriage of Christianity as described so often in the Bible.
1st Timothy 5:8
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Yes to TSgt Joe's and Michael's comments. My wife has a Godly heart, but she can settle into the "God will provide" mindset without remembering that God works through His people and their discernment... part of that is understanding the signs of the times. Every day it seems as though we're getting another Romans 1 lesson. For many of us, our families are scattered to the winds, physically if not relationally; those who can gather and sustain themselves multi-generationally are blessed in a way that others will not know. The best we in the latter camp can do is influence positively those we can, build "tribe" in our neighborhoods and relational circles, and prepare in the way of 1 Tim 5:8. Compassion does not mean committing suicide to "save the village."
I've a friend who, several years ago, dug a hole in his yard, filled it with coal, and relaid the lawn over it. He figured it was his ultimate back-up heat source. Now-a-days, even with a coal mine not 20 miles away, there is not a retail coal dealer closer than two hours away, in another state.
Even with three refineries in town fuel is running $4.09 for regular, threatening but not quite rising to $4.19. The majority of the fuel refined here goes west to Seattle or south to Denver using icky pipelines.
I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable
stating on the InterWeb what I have and what
I'm doing.
Paranoid?
Maybe too little too late.
But it's harder to sneak up on a paranoid.
50 U.S. Code § 4512 - Hoarding of designated
scarce materials
In order to prevent hoarding, no person shall
accumulate (1) in excess of the reasonable
demands of business, personal, or home
consumption, or (2) for the purpose of resale
at prices in excess of prevailing market
prices, materials which have been designated by
the President as scarce materials or materials
the supply of which would be threatened by
such accumulation. The President shall order
published in the Federal Register, and in such
other manner as he may deem appropriate, every
designation of materials the accumulation of
which is unlawful and any withdrawal of such
designation. In making such designations the
President may prescribe such conditions with
respect to the accumulation of materials in
excess of the reasonable demands of business,
personal, or home consumption as he deems
necessary to carry out the objectives of this
chapter. This section shall not be construed to
limit the authority contained in sections 4511
and 4554 of this title.
(Sept. 8, 1950, ch. 932, title I, § 102, 64
Stat. 799; July 31, 1951, ch. 275, title I,
§ 101(b), 65 Stat. 132.)
Just doesn't seem like a good idea to publish
lists of things like this, not knowing how far
.g0v will go in the future.
YMMV
I will say 87 octane (10% ethanol) was $3.60/gal
today at Sam's in Augusta GA.
Makes me so very glad I invested in a used
Prius Prime when the old Prius was totaled last
Sept.
Last fillup =
590 miles
8.266 gallons @ 3.599/gal
73.4 mpg indicated (71.37 calculated)
there would be 3.034 gallons left in the 11.3
gallon tank, so I still had 26.85% (or 216.6
miles left in the tank).
Seems unreal when I went today and filled up
the 4X4 Suburban (ouch!), so I'm glad I took a
pic of the readout and the receipt!!
I don't want a EV, but I do love this plug-in hybrid!!
I normally keep an extra 30 gallons of gas for emergencies, but a couple months ago, I doubled that.
Here in the UK diesel is £1.91 per litre. That’s about $11 per gallon.
$6 a gallon in So Ca.
In the UK, an equivalent 30 gallons would cost some $282. Be as happy as you can with your admittedly outrageous $132
I like Stabil Marine for storage/at fill, and then I add Pri-G right before I transfer the gas to whichever vehicle's tank I'm using it in. I also use stabil marine for gas for small engines (lawn mowers, etc.) and use that within 1-2 months or add to a vehicle and refill those smaller cans -- don't risk them w/ stored fuel.
Stabil Marine does standard stabil job of preventing separation, slowing water absorption, etc. (but more concentrated so less chance of stabil fouling as reported by some), removes water, and has fuel system cleaner and preservation properties.
And then Pri-G adds back in the light ends and is like an octane booster (or perhaps an upper cylinder lubricant, don't fully understand its chemistry) and adds a little bit extra to mpgs.
I also do use ethanol gas for storage -- it's about an hour round trip drive to nearest non-ethanol station -- and just make a point to rate through fuel every 4 months or so. Stabil rated for 1 year and pri-g is supposedly indefinitely IIRC.
We keep enough gas on hand to fully refill 2 of the 3 vehicles once (only 2 drivers in household) and that's usually at 45-50 gallons in cans, and then try to keep all vehicles' gas tanks at least at 1/2 full as well. We can plus up to around 70 gallons if need be (all 3 vehicles once). Double that can quantity for everything full -- nearly 150 gallons of gas. Normal local driving (no trips), 45-50 gallons with 1/2 full tanks can take us to about two months of gas on hand. COVID-lockdown such as only running essential errands and prioritizing more fuel efficient sedan, that's at least three months worth of fuel in cans.
We also keep a few gallons of white gas on hand as well, which is effectively a Premium+++ octane straight unleaded gas without all the auto fuel additives as I understand it. So if you have older fuel and are out of Pri-G, adding that in should perform a similar light ends/octane boost function... Or even just run it straight, but that may induce knocking for newer cars designed for optimum fuel economy and super/turbo-charged already if you're not diluting it into standard gas.
For 5 gallon cans, I prefer the midwest can (don't really trust the scepters thinner sidewalls and no back handle is awkward for refilling trucks/suvs -- they just came out w/ one with a back handle in 5 gallon, but no experience); but for the 2 and 1 gallon cans, I prefer the scepters as handle is more conducive to using those sizes and midwest 2 gallon just has a top handle, no back. Especially for older folks, sizing down to 2 gallon cans (scepters 2s are actually closer to 2.5s) makes it a lot more manageable than a heavy 5 gallon can.
For both types of cans, we do the EZ-pour mod to at least some cans. Adding the vent does serve as a safety valve to protect your cans from over-pressure explosion as it'll leak if not sealed around hole or pop off if it is (can rotate the spout if needed between cans) in addition to vent when pouring function, but does result in faster loss of light ends and probably also water absorption, and can lead a little fuel leaking in transport if you don't use sealant...
Making a point to release pressure in non-vented cans when we make the major seasonal jumps in temps here in Central Texas (from 30 to 70, 70 to 100, 20 to 60, etc.) also helps to protect the cans from bursting.
I would like to go 100% metal jerry cans, but really can't justify them at 3x the cost with so many other pressing financial needs. Cheapest, you're looking at ~$750 for a dozen 5 gallon jerry cans (~$1k once you fill them) vs $250 for a dozen midwest can (~$500 once you fill those)... So a $500 delta. And growing up with metal gas cans, those had a fair bit of rust flakes too, which you don't have to worry about with ethanol gas in plastic gas cans...
*Removing the plastic "flame shield" on midwest cans is a must -- screwdriver and needle nose pliers will do it. With it integral it makes refilling the cans a pain -- have to hold lever usually less than first locking click, and cuts storage to 5 gallons exactly from 5 1/4 or 5 1/3 gallons they'd otherwise hold (if putting OEM nozzle that inserts into the can back in). The EZ-Pour spout has a stainless mesh strainer/flame shield integral, so no safety issue. I always transfer gas from nonvented cans using OEM spouts to vented cans before using, so no flame risk.
**And I do generally combo newer gas from vent mod cans (don't keep those much longer than 1 month) with 3-4 month old gas when refilling tanks, OR I partially refill with 3-4 month old gas and then drive to station to top off with new shortly thereafter and refill cans at the same time.
Lastly, I'll add, I was hopeful Biden would suspend ethanol requirement in light of food price escalation, but instead he moved to increase it to 15%! SMH at the lunacy.
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