The United States as a nation is facing one of the most extreme fuel shortages this summer that it has in several decades. According to the New York Post, the fuel shortages could be worse than the 1970s oil crisis as travel season begins to ramp up. The difference between today and the 1970s is not so much just an oil crisis but we have an almost everything crisis. Oil prices have been skyrocketing lately almost doubling in two years. It might be a good time to start prepping your vehicle and your gas tank. We’ll go through how to do that and how to use your preps strategically to save money on gas prices.
When purchasing fuel, it’s important to find the least expensive fuel but also the right kind of gasoline. A key contributor is to find gasoline that does not have added ethanol. Gasoline typically has 10 to 15% ethanol, but this type of blend degrades much more quickly. You can use websites like gasbuddy.com to find inexpensive gas near you. It might take some hunting to find non-ethanol gas, but it can usually be found, as it is what must be used in small two-cycle engines.
When you fill up with non-ethanol gas, it’s important to use a metal five-gallon jerry can to keep gasoline long-term. The inexpensive red plastic gasoline containers degrade quickly and affect the performance of the gasoline stored in them after just a couple of months. You should ideally have enough 5-gallon containers full to have a single fill-up for your primary vehicle.
Immediately after filling up each 5-gallon jerry can, add a fuel stabilizer for maximum life extension of your fuel usability. The fuel stabilizer will extend your gasoline life to two years or more. Without the stabilizer your gas will only last for 6 months. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions as each brand may have different stabilizer-to-fuel ratios.
If you fill up with the least expensive nonethanol gas in metal gasoline containers and use a fuel stabilizer at least enough for one entire refill of your gasoline tank on your primary vehicle, you will have a little bit of wiggle room to save money. To save money you must consistently refill your tanks and your extra containers at the lowest price for non-ethanol gas and try to ride on your preps between price hikes. Many people will disagree with this but given the current situation and the continued rise in gasoline prices, this may be a way to slightly reduce the effect that inflation has on you during this time. In general, it’s never a good idea to have more than 50 gallons of gasoline on your property at any given time due to the difficulty in storing it.
To store gasoline, it must be cool and in the dark. If gasoline gets too warm it causes a process within it to degrade the octane of the gasoline. To check the quality of your gas, pour a little bit into a clear jar and smell it. It should only smell like gasoline. If it smells off or looks dark and gummy, that means the gasoline has gone bad and cannot be used. It is best to cycle through your gasoline at least once every six months.
You can watch a video about this here.
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