In Tuesday’s post about me getting a commuter sportster, our good man Rivrdog left a comment about how I should buy a diesel fueled vehicle and that it could double as my SHTF vehicle as well.
Besides the overwhelming “NO!” that immediately enveloped my head after reading that suggestion, a number of other thoughts on diesel fuel went through my mind. And here they are:
The Washington State Legislature, which is Democrat controlled and bending themselves over backwards (and everyone else forwards) to the enviro-wacko lobby, recently passed Senate Bill 6508 which mandates that as of January 1st, 2008, every gallon of diesel fuel sold in this state will be at least 5% bio-diesel.
Let that sink in for a second.
Currently, the cheapest gallon of diesel I can find is running at $2.82 a gallon. I filled my truck up with premium unleaded for $2.55 per gallon on my way home this morning.
Washington State is run by idiots who seem to always forget that everything its citizens need is transported by truck and that those trucks run on diesel, and that when they put huge taxes and extra regulations on diesel fuel, it costs the citzens more to buy what they need.
But they’re Democrats, so go figure.
But diesel engines usually get better mileage than gas, right? Well, no, not really. Or maybe just barely. It really depends on the engine and the sheet metal it is pushing.
And here is the rub about the bio-diesel law: Even with 20 months before this law goes into effect, there will not be enough refineries built to cook up enough bio-diesel to meet the demand and it will therefore sell for a premium price, making the average price of diesel rocket upwards, probably close to the $4 a gallon mark. And I will lay down money betting that the cost of diesel on Jan 1, 2008 will be a minimum of $.25 higher than on Dec 31, 2007.
Then you have the fact that most engines are not set up to run on ANY bio-diesel content. I can think of five engine models that will crap out in under 10000 miles with the 5% mix.
Bio-diesel, though it apparently makes flowers smile, is a nasty concoction that will clog standard diesel fuel filters, fuel lines and fuel injectors and 90% of the diesel vehicles currently on the road need to be converted to make the fuel work. My company is being forced by the City of Seattle and King County to switch the entire fleet over to bio-diesel by the end of the year. We have had to hire on extra help in the maintainence shop in order to get the trucks converted in time (we have over 100 of them here). And no, they’re not subsidizing the conversion. 100% of it is coming out my company’s pocket. I guess I can only be thankful that the county isn’t charging a special tax to pay for it, because my company is trying to use it as an excuse to hold off on raises.
So, if you’re in Washington and have a pre-2000 diesel vehicle, you might want to think of converting it before January 1st, 2008 (at a cost of approx. $800). But your smarter thought would be to just sell the thing and switch back to gas. For those who don’t, I hope you don’t mind paying a yearly tax of $195 in the form a fuel system flush/parts replacement which, if you’re lucky is all you’ll need to do to keep your diesel vehicle working here.
Now, as to the article linked above, it is titled “Stellar Session for Environment”. That should be a clue as to how much this legislative session sucked. And I’m not just talking attitudinally. Next up, State Representative Janea Homquist (RINO), said the following ignorant statement,
This is a step in the right direction in breaking our addiction to foreign and domestic oil.
So now we are supposed to be weaning ourselves off of DOMESTIC oil as well? Like I said, RINO.
The main reason I’m red hot and smoking over this issue is that the enviros wanted a 20% bio-diesel content requirement. They got 75% of what they wanted this year, so what exactly do you think they’re going to try for next year? That’s right an additional 5% on top of the five they got this year. And the year after that they’re going to try to double that so that by 2010, they’ll have their 20% and no one will be able to afford diesel, let alone keep their vehicles running without a full-on conversion.
Whose riding public transportation? Diesel owners. If they can’t persuade the populace onto the bus, they overprice your fuel to the point where you have to go on their “Peace Train”.
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As for the thought of having a diesel SHTF vehicle, I covered that in one of my first By Ourselves, For Ourselves series of posts. Let’s just say that I can’t see it as a good idea, and here is why:
First off, every tractor trailer vehicle in the area effected will be un-assing the zone and they will have trailers full of cargo that they can barter for fuel with. I don’t care how much cash you have on hand (or even precious metals), a guy with ten pallets of Mac & Cheese is going to get fuel before you.
Same thing goes for when the military hits the zone. They are going to have priority over you in getting fueled up and their rigs run on diesel.
Yes, if you are a hoarder, diesel is easier to store and isn’t as flammable as petrol, but in my opinion, it just isn’t worth the hassle. If you’re going to do something, you’re gonna do it right. So store your petrol right.
I’m unconvinced. Two reasons: physics (mechanics) and trends of war.
Mechanically, if you move goods, you do it with diesel-powered equipment. The Army switched to diesel-everything, recognizing that diesel engines, while costing more to build (maybe not anymore, due to all the electronics on a gas engine) and more to maintain (they are harder on lube oil, so that has to be changed much more frequently), they are more reliable, more likely to work WITHOUT maintenance if the needs of battle dictate.
The trends of war have lead military forces to a diesel envionment also. There is little to no MoGas (gasoline) available in military fuel dumps. It will all be Jet-A (or whatever mil variant is being used) for the helis and diesel for the ground vehicles and aux equipment. If the military uses any MoGas at all, it has to come from the civilian side of supply, so the military realizes that in wartime, there won’t be any, so the staff cars all have to be HumVees.
We plan to have our weapons shoot available military ammo, and the same concept should drive our thinking for our vehicles.
In the short-S.H.T.F. situation (less than 45 days), gasoline will be available, at increasing barter prices, but available, at least in small amounts, especially off the less travelled roads. No problem for your gas-powered S.H.T.F. vehicle.
In the long-S.H.T.F. scenario, which by the way, I don’t currently prepare for other than by having the basic tools and enough ammo to get by for a year, gasoline will become unavailable. I suspect that this is one of the factors that will turn the short into the long scenario: loss of transportation and the balkanization of the country into city-states (feudal fiefdoms) with some ability to keep control over surrounding agricultural lands. In the long scenario, diesel vehicles will be able to continue, and gasoline won’t.
The simple reason for that is that there is a much greater supply of diesel, and it is scattered and stored better than the gasoline supply. Both industry and agriculture have huge tanks and supplies on hand.
A single road-locomotive (not a yard switcher) will have a tank containing several thousand gallons. The dispostion of locomotives will be known locally, but few will think of them as an initial source of large amounts of diesel fuel.
Farms will have hundreds or thousands of gallons on hand. The authorities will not be able to protect it all, so the enterprising field commander ought to have no difficulty apprpriating some. The same is NOT true for gasoline.
With gas, the well-prepared person will have sufficient fuel aboard to get to base camp without having to refuel on the way, so your barter mac n cheese for fuel idea is plausible, but not realistic.
When I leave Schloss Rivrdog, I will have enough fuel (with my present vehicle) to travel about 1,000 miles. I will not have to refuel. I might have to shoot a few less-prepared folk who want my fuel, but that will be their error for trying to take it.
My long-scenario destination is 550 miles away by secondary roads, 450 by primary (which I will stay off of).
In the next year or two, I will equip a proper S.H.T.F. vehicle. It will probably be a one-ton Ford maxivan, powered by a PowerStroke diesel. I may not have a trailer to pull with it at first, but it will have a drawbar pull of close to 10,000#. The trailer will be designed to hold long-duration supplies of water, fuel and propane, as well as sufficient weapons, tentage and field kitchen to support my squad and their dependents.
I’m past the doodling stage now, and ready to start specifiying hardware and dollars.
The work in progress will be on Paratus when I get it started, first with the vehicle acquisition.
I beg to differ with your assessment of biodiesel’s long-term effects on your vehicle.
The only conversion necessary to use bio-diesel in a normal diesel engine is to pump the tank full of the fuel. The $800 or so conversions you speak of also allow the use of straight vegetable oil, which is NOT the same thing. If you choose, when switching to biodiesel you can adjust (retard) the ignition timing to lower combustion temps. This is due to a higher cetane number in biodiesel.
As for increased maintenance, the higher acid content in biodiesel will clean our any crud and corrosion currently in your diesel tank and fuel system. Result, need a new filter. That’ll happen for a couple of filters worth. After that the system needs less maintenance than a petrodiesel fueled vehicle due to the cleaner burn and cleaner fuel system.
And OBTW, there’s a good possibility that most of the diesel sold in your area already has at least SOME biodiesel content. It’s an easy way for the fuel companies to lower the sulphur content of their fuels while still providing performance.
“We plan to have our weapons shoot available military ammo, and the same concept should drive our thinking for our vehicles.”
One fatal flaw in that logic, RD, is that if the military is around any you want any diesel, you are going to have to attack a military convoy for it because they’re not going to be handing any out.
I’m not going to be doing that unless they are out looking for me. In that case, if their first sense of my presence isn’t a gunshot, they’ll be able to consider themselves lucky.
Also, if the railways are working, the military will be using the diesel trains to move their shit in and out of the area. If they aren’t working, you won’t be able to enter the depots as there’ll be military guarding the area, precisely because there are large amounts of the fuel they need there.
AND before the military moves in, the people who work at the depots will be there because they know what the trains hold at any given time; items including not only diesel, but food and other barterable goods.
If you try to hit the place for a fuel supply, you’ll be wasting your entire ammo supply trying to get at it. And don’t even being think that the dieselers don’t know where to find their fuel. You’ll be one of around 1000 people trying to get into a place with heavy equipment surrounding the perimeter and a hundred scared and pissed off employees who know the layout of the place better than you do.
Bad plan all the way around.
I’ve got guys who have plans to ride out any SHTF style trouble at our workplace because there is food, water and diesel there and it is a pretty defendable site.
If you believe that the railyard folks don’t think the same way and won’t bring their families to work to ride out trouble, you’re fooling yourself. I send cans to the local yard hourly and visit them weekly. I’ve spoken to these folks about this. They will be at the top of the list of places the military will come and bail out first with food and meds, and they know it.
Also, are you planning on bringing both diesel and petrol? Do your scout vehicles run on diesel?
As for the farms scenario, farmers are armed and you might be able to barter with them, but I’m not planning on batering with anyone. I’ve got what I need to get where I’m going and the means to defend it either in place or en route. Folks in tough situations won’t want to be bothered and I don’t plan on doing so.
Sorry RD, I know we’re just taking different paths to the same location, but the variables you’re using don’t flush.
Jet, I know for a fact that most pre-2000 engines will not run on bio-d due to injector issues. The VW engines will be OK, as will the Duramax, post 02 Powerstrokes and post 00 Cummins, but if you’ve got a IH in your Ford, have fun sputtering.
Also, the low-sulfer diesel currently in production is made with coal.
But even with you thoughts on ‘just needing to switch out the fuel filter a few times’ why should people have to put up with that due to an enviro-wacko agenda?
Have you ever spoken to someone who was driving a car that needed leaded fuel when the feds outlawed it in favor of the unleaded only agenda?
Methinks not.
I, for one, had a wonderful 1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight that ran on leaded. Big huge engine, ate gas like nobody’s business, but it had a “Super” drive selection. Yes, that’s right, the drive selector went from P for park to D for drive, S for Super, 2 for low, etc. I looked it up in the manual, and S was for Super — meant for passing, and it worked. (I think it was really fourth gear, but Super sounds better.) I ate turbochargers for breakfast.
Anyway, I remember when we moved to California there was precious little unleaded to be found, and I’d consigned myself to buying bottles of lead additive for the life of the car. Then an oak tree fell on it during a rare Northern Cali. storm. I called it a divine mercy killing for one of God’s great automotive creations.
If you can’t guess, I still miss that car.
Just a notion, but the Army currently runs everything on JP-8. The engines are diesels, with the exception of the flying things and the turbines in the M1 tanks. Not sure how well the tanks would fare on standard diesel. But everything Bradley and smaller shouldn’t have a problem.
Oh, and I see big growth in truckstop fueling stations in Cor d’elene, Portland, and Umatilla
“If you’re going to do something, you’re gonna do it right. So store your petrol right.”
Anyone have any tips on long term storage of gasoline? I have used Stabil before, but have never stored gas for longer than about 6 months. Is there a point where gas spoils, even with additives?
Changing out rubber based fuel line sections and changing the fuel filters a little more often for a little while (due to petrol deisel sludge in the fuel system)are the only things that need to be done. and on new vehilces that isnt needed. I have a 2003 Dodge Sprint van that I use in my HVAC business, I have run it since day one on Bio it now has 53000 miles on it and no signs of excessive engine wear or fuel line clogging. When I think that so far Ive kept several thousand dollars here at home instead of sending them over to the middle east, I consider it a good business decision.