If you’re serious about prepping, you know that fuel (be it gasoline or diesel) is an incredibly valuable asset. In case of emergency, fuel powers our generators, not to mention our vehicles, so knowing how to store fuel is very important. The question is – what happens if we run out of stored fuel?
Aside from the societal collapse that would inevitably follow, how would you power engines and generators?
Many people want to know how to store fuel for this exact purpose, but is that really possible? If so, how long will fuel last?
Let’s find an answer.
Gasoline and Diesel Don’t Last Long
Bad news first – neither gasoline nor diesel lasts long. Both of these fuels will go bad after about six months in a regular plastic container.
If you store your fuel at a temperature above 70°F, it’ll go bad even quicker!
There are three major reasons for this.
- First of all, the fuel will break down over time because of oxidation. This is something that you can’t avoid, but you can slow it down by treating your fuel with antioxidants.
- Then, we have moisture. Moisture is a big enemy of fuel, as both gasoline and diesel break down if they come into contact with water. You can expect moisture as a result of condensation.
- Finally, that very same moisture creates a perfect environment for the development of bacteria, so you’ll have to treat your fuel with biocides if you want it to last longer.
On top of all that, you have to keep it at a low temperature (ideally 20°F) and in a metal, stainless container.
If you do all that – antioxidation treatment, biocides, low-temperature storage – your fuel won’t last more than three years!
Gasoline usually lasts longer than diesel, with diesel usually naturally deteriorating after about 18 months.
The only way to exceed those periods is by buying industry-grade storage equipment. However, it costs a fortune, and it’s difficult to maintain.
So, since this is a fight we lose before it even starts, what are the alternatives for when you run out of stored fuel?
Biogas for when you run out of stored fuel
As Jose Martinez has already explained in this article, biogas is a great alternative to diesel and gasoline.
Now, before I go any further, know that biodiesel is difficult to produce. It’s made from organic waste, animal manure, human waste, and crops. You need a lot, and I really mean a lot of ingredients to make biogas.
It would take weeks or months (depending on the size of your group and how many cattle you have) to produce enough biogas to fill up a tank of a single pickup truck. And we all know those things are thirsty!
However, you could use biogas to fuel a motorcycle, for example, or a generator.
Other than the fact it’s difficult to produce, one problem I have with biogas is just how dangerous it is to produce.
A lot of things can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, and the risk doesn’t pay off unless you could really use the biogas.
So, if you’re an engineer who has a lot of animal manure and you want to power your house with a generator – great! If not, then this alternative energy won’t be easy for you.
Solar for when you run out of stored fuel
Solar energy is, for me, the perfect alternative, although I must admit it has two big catches.
Catch 1 – solar panels don’t charge their generators quickly. In fact, solar panels are only about 22-28% effective (depending on the manufacturer), so you’re actually getting less than a third of the sun’s energy.
Catch 2 – solar generators can rarely power entire homes.
Sure, there are some generators that can power homes, but only for limited time periods. You would need about fifteen 400-watt panels collecting energy in absolutely ideal conditions to power an average American home solely on solar energy.
Let’s say you also have an electric car you bought to avoid the fuel crisis (which also isn’t an ideal solution, as those batteries expire, but it’s certainly more sustainable than a traditional, gas-powered vehicle for this scenario.)
Chances are, you won’t be able to get enough electricity turned to solar to power all that. If you have enough panels and you live in a sunny area, count yourself lucky, but most people aren’t as lucky.
What you can do is install a few solar panels and use them to power the essentials. Not your TV or your dishwasher, but tools, vehicles (to an extent – don’t spend all the electricity on your electric car), lights, etc.
There are also a few solar-powered items, such as lanterns, stoves, and even showers that can make all the difference in the right situations. These things come with their own collectors, so you won’t need to hook them up to the main solar network.
If you don’t feel like installing a massive generator and a dozen solar panels in your yard, think about getting smaller, portable generators, which are still powerful enough to power tools and smaller appliances.
What will you do when you run out of stored fuel?
Do you know how to store fuel? What’s your plan in case the fuel supply gets cut off? Do you have any experience with biogas or solar energy? What is your alternative plan for when you run out of stored fuel?
Share your thoughts in the comments section.
About Tom
Tom is a former military reconnaissance scout with three years of extensive training and first-hand experience in navigation, first aid, firearms maintenance, combat, and wilderness survival. He is also an avid hiker and all-around outdoorsman with a lifetime of experience in the wild. Aside from writing and sports, emergency preparedness is one of his biggest interests, and he’s a big believer in being ready for anything the world may throw at you. You may contact him at tomislavlovricwriting@gmail.
never heard that diesel go’s bad first.
Was there supposed to be a soultion or just asking the question twice? I want my money back.
Propane?
Yes, Propane, Good for cooking, heating and running a generator. I also use propane lights in the fall and winter, Those propane lights provide both heat and light. I also like candles, Candles store a lifetime. a winning combo is to run a small propane generator to charge up your solar battery generator.
There are some relevant lessons from history worth mentioning.
During WWII when German petroleum supplies were severely limited because of allied bombing, many Germans converted their vehicle engines to run on wood gas. It’s not difficult to find the relevant how-to information online.
Prior to 1919 when the Prohibition Amendment went into effect, all Ford-manufactured vehicle engines were duel fuel capable. The driver could switch between gasoline and alcohol depending on what was locally available (or homemade in the case of alcohol). It is still corruptly left out of all “public” school history books that the Prohibition shutdown of alcohol was intended to kill alcohol as a fuel competitor to the nationwide gasoline stations network owned by the Rockefellers — whose founder John D. Rockefeller was notorious for saying that “competition is a sin.” They had begun a cover story campaign about four years earlier with a $4 million donation to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to kick off a fake morals campaign. Today a good place to begin learning about alcohol as a multi-purpose DIY fuel would be to read “Alcohol can be a gas” — David Blume’s book available on Amazon, probably elsewhere [check with gettextbooks.com], and free as an interlibrary loan.
Solar power is not limited to the electric power from solar panels. I’ve seen videos demonstrating solar power (from either larger parabolic mirrors or large Fresnel lenses) that create enough heat to power a stationary Stirling engine.
The Amish communities have hundreds of years of experience using the horse and buggy/wagon transportation system, and in more recent years they’ve used a lot of propane-powered refrigerators.
–Lewis
During WWII Germany also converted coal to usable vehicle fuel.
One of our most important energy resources is our own two feet. We can use them to pick up wood for the woodstove so we can cook our dinner. We can use them to power a broadfork to aerate our fields. We can use them to power a bicycle.
Another important energy resource is our minds. We can figure our what we need to do by learning new ways (or old ways) of doing things.
Therefore, our most important source of energy is our food and water. Get that right and you can obtain other energy in whatever form is locally available.
A stationary bicycle setup to turn a generator can produce electricity in usable amounts to run pumps, communications equipment or to just charge storage batteries.
Probably could convert a treadmill to a foot powered generator.
I have been Off the Grid for 8-1/2 Yrs. Not had a single utility bill in this time. 1200 Watts of Solar panels and Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries for storage. Works pretty good for a 350 Sq Ft tiny house building. No A/C here, just fans lights and small fridges. Gas storage use PRI-G for Gas, PRI-D for Diesel to prolong fuel storage. I rotate that Gas with 6x 5 Gal metal Jerry Cans stored away from my buildings in a pool locker. Must have a Generator, quiet one if possible as a back up on cloudy days, and always run NON-Ethanole in that to keep the motor working great. Don’t forget about Oil to keep in all motor tools running good, and plenty of oil stored back for vehicles with filters. Consider creating an outdoor kitchen and a small wood stove for cooking. Must have Cast Iron Dutch ovens to cook food even open flame. Also consider a Solar oven. Get busy folks, the worst is yet to come and time is limited before real SHTF hits.
Good point that you made about oil. Gas for the generator is worthless if the crank is seized.
If you live near a stream, this might be an interesting alternative. Requires little stream head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD3r9p4tf-k
Prime power sources will be the most reliable in the long run. Wind mills have been providing basic power for grinding and other uses for over 1,000 years. Water wheels are common and can be used to turn machinery such as lathes and saws as well as provide electric power.
For a long term SHTF scenario, stop thinking about electric generation and start thinking about prime power generation some of which can be used to generate electricity but electric should not be first in your planning.
Mountain bikes with run flat tires and cast spoke wheels for transportation (with small, light trailers), or donkeys, will be needed. Alternatives for lighting and heat needed. Oil Lamps? Where do you get the oil, what type? Candles? Learn to make your own and from what. How about foot wear? What wiil you use when your shoes fall apart? Moccasins with thick soles are good. Learn how to make gloves too. For most things you will have to be your own supply chain. Learn Bushcraft 101.
Good questions! Oil Lamps, Oil and Wicks are available at your local Walmart but they tend to sell out fast, so you have to buy in what ever pieces are available at the time. I am not sure about the shelf life of the oil or kerosene? Shoes have a long shelf life, watch for sales or second hand stores. I guess that’s all I can add.
No plans other than to go dark. No fun, but if it gets that bad, that is our only option.
Use some Sta-Bil for your Diesel or Gasoline, will help to keep it fresh a bit longer.
A suitable Solar System (space permitting) in conjunction with batteries and a generator as back up works great, even in winter cloudy days the gen kicks in to fill in any lags of solar/battery storage. Wind power or hydroelectric also an option if possible. Would be a neat system if they could all be tied together to the inverters, but that’s another topic..
Governments will be adding more ethanol to our petrol (gasoline) in the EU (for the so called climate change illogical solutions) they are ensuring it does not last long for us preppers to store because ethanol is hydrophilic and will draw in moisture..
anyways i could rant on.. prepare for the worst and you’ll be happy you did one day.
I have to disagree with the statement that biodiesel is difficult to produce and requires animal waste to make. It does require the correct equipment and some specific chemicals, but they can be store in great quantities for a rather modest investment.
And just about any oil can be converted to biodiesel, the way many biodiesel producers do now by collecting used grease from restaurants and fast food places.
There are many types of crops that can produce oil to be used to make biodiesel with the leftover material used as a very good animal feed. A better way, in my opinion, to growing crops yearly is to put in one or two Yellowhorn tree orchards. They produce seed pods that are great animal feed, can be used as human food, and if the oil is pressed from them, like many plant oil sources, the cake left is great animal feed.
Using Yellowhorn trees means you do not have to plant a new crop every year. The trees produce, once mature, a crop of the seed pods every year.
Many engines can be converted to use alcohol as fuel, as another posted reply points out. The same with wood gas. There is great potential in splitting the hydrogen and oxygen from water using any one of several methods of creating electrical power. The hydrogen is then used to fuel the engine. I need to do more work on this to prove to myself that it will work, but there is already a great deal of information on the different processes involved online.
While propane will last just about forever without deterioration, it, like the other common fuels will still run out with little chance of resupply.
An alternative to the propane, to preserve it for those times when it is the best choice, is methane gas generated from barnyard waste. Of course, only doable if you have several head of stock. Cattle, swine, goats, sheep, and so on.
It can be compressed with the correct pump and stored like propane, though not as efficiently. One use of methane besides as a motor or engine fuel is to use it as the heat source for the distillation of alcohol for fuel use. Also, it works well for stationary engines that can draw it directly from the methane generator.
There are several other methods of producing the means to provide transportation. Some of these are still in the early stages of development for large-scale production, but DIY methods are all over the internet.
Animals have been mentioned. Horses are preferred by many, however things such as dog carts, goat carts, and the like could be options for some things. To me, one of the best options, especially for homesteaders that have cattle, or even just a milk cow, is to convert some of the steers into oxen. They are especially useful for farming, but can also be used to pull relatively heavy loads in wagons or converted vehicles.
There are many other options. It is just a matter of doing some research, thinking outside the box, and pushing the envelope.
Just my opinion.
What do I do?
Walk.
Or bicycle.
I have extra shoes, boots and socks. But they too will some day wear out.
I have extra inner tubes, patch kits. Should look into extra bicycle chain, cables, brake pads.
I have kicked around the idea of buying a horse.
I know diesel engines can run on various biofuels and even methane. I think I might be able to make methane from manure.
The whole world will get a lot more local. Like a days walk, or bicycle ride local.
The prime reason that towns and villages in the Northeast and up and down the east coast in general are only about 7 to 10 miles apart is that is the distance that can be traveled by a loaded wagon pulled by oxen or horses before they need a rest or need to overnight.
Life will certainly get a lot more local. Make sure you find yourself in a good “local”.
Biodiesel for essential transportation, which would mainly be for moving loads. A lot of walking. Tires deteriorate, even if you store them new. So, three point ‘ ‘tank’ tracks, for front and rear. Horses, maybe Llamas, which produce fibers for weaving. In the end, I think it’s going to come down to walking, pulling wooden wheeled carts.
“Catch 2 – solar generators can rarely power entire homes.” = NOT TRUE.
I have a 24 panel (320 watt each) system with 4 – 3.8 kWh LiPFe batteries and I have no problem generating excess electricity … year round. My wife and I live in a 300 ft2 ICF concrete building while we construct a larger home. The panels provide all the heating and AC that we could ever use in coastal northern California. The batteries are never discharged below 60% and we are very warm in winter and cold inside when the outside temp is 100+.
All our excess electricity is dumped into heating water in winter and AC in summer.
We can’t image moving back to a grid tied house.
Properly preserved, diesel lasts for decades in storage..
Strongly disagree with this based on both an extensive background in chemistry and long personal experience. There are indeed some serious issues with storing gasoline, but many of them are easily overcome. You also overstate the severity of the problem.
Gasoline is only susceptible to the problems you mention if it contains ethanol or other fuel oxygenates. Older, ethanol free formulations basically don’t have the problems you mention. With ethanol-free gasoline, water uptake, microbial growth, and oxidation are not serious concerns. You can search online to find ethanol-free gasoline near you. The main problem that ethanol-free gasoline suffers from during long term storage is evaporation of the lighter hydrocarbons if it’s stored for prolonged periods in non-airtight containers. Loss of these lighter hydrocarbons makes the gasoline less combustible and affects its octane rating. Diesel that’s free of fuel oxygenates can be stored nearly indefinitely. I routinely store farm gasoline in non-airtight containers for years and it still runs fine in small engines like lawnmowers and generators. Whatever fuel you’re storing, you also want to store it away from inhabited structures and away from ignition sources in a place that doesn’t get too hot and with minimal dirt and dust to potentially work its way into your storage containers when you unseal them. You’ll know your airtight containers are sealed properly if, a few days after filling them up and closing them, you can no longer smell any traces of gasoline coming from the lid.
Solar is the way to go … been looking into this for years now that the energy storage tech has improved and if you can do your own panel swaps to handle aging … its a great and truly only alternative long term on a homestead scale solution.
Most people worry about hot running 18650 “tesla” cells in scaled up kilo watt hour large storage arrays. They can get hot but they are also not the only storage medium.
Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFEPo is a much more stable battery platform with much longer charge and discharge life cycles. It doesnt run hot and has huge amperage storage capability by cell.
If you want to combine solar with small scale wind generation as well … a small Utah startup is building an innovative barrel turbine and has seen a seed round of investment that is encouraging.
If you want resources to assess your needs take a look the following resources:
halcium.com
jag35.com
ecoflow.com
A lot of options for current adoption or waiting until you can get exactly the tech you want.
Wow. Tom how do you sleep at night, writing such drivel? I hadn’t been here on OP for a while, thought I’d see what Daisy was posting these days. Misinformation, lack of information, no mention of propane…
I am sure with your extinctive knowledge and background that you would be happy to clarify any mistakes that tom has made. Everyone wants criticism because it keeps our information correct. That and keeps gov. on their toes protecting our free speech.. As an Electrical contractor and installing many alternate power sources I have experienced “bad fuel” that always happens at the most inconvenient moment. The need to stop all work and go get fuel is most frustrating as well as costing me money. The one thing I learned is to purchase gas and Diesel from the farmer supply. they keep the alcohol out of it. that is what absorbs the water. it is legal because it isn’t used for cars and trucks also no highway taxes. It is better for the generators because the alcohol rots the rubber gaskets in the carburetor. Most of the units I install use propane or natural gas. Using these gasses are better because they dont go bad.. I converted my generator for the jobsite use to propane because I can switch to a new can quickly without special training for the men. We should rid ourselves of the controls they impose that change from summer and winter blend. I could never figure out why my 1976 ford galaxy with a large V8 would get 17 miles to a gallon when the car weighed nearly 2000 LB’s and my 2020 four cylinder car weighing 1200 lbs would only get 18 miles to the gallon the galaxy would carry six people and the fusion five. what really frosts me is that the fusion cost more than the Galaxy. but Now I went way off track. We have so much misinformation that what is the common to believe. Photovoltaic are at 22% efficiency at best. Wind isnt much better. I think I spent more time explaining my customers that they are not going to make a killing selling power back to the power company. I had one guy, a millionaire who asked not to use his name (because he is embarrassed) that wanted the solar panels for his home. Enough to power his home. he was sure he read all the information and could do it. Well yes he could if the sun shown all day every day. I told him it wouldn’t work but wanted them anyway. He has a 4000 sq foot home and they covered every sq foot of the southern facing roof. Then winter came and I was back installing battery banks. I guess my point is that even someone with plenty of money is taken bey all the misleading and outright false data the manufactures put out. Yes I have them myself. I use them for temp power when regular power goes out. my advice to everyone ! dont believe anything you hear and only half what you see. the worst part is government telling us that solar and wing are the future of America. it may well be, In the future. as of now we should stick with coal and oil. it is the most dependable and cheapest. let the power evolution take its course. dont let government force us into the new power to “save the earth”. Want an example of government and the new power? look at the “shovel ready” jobs that government provided the money for in Michigan. they were to build the new more efficient solar cell. what happened is they built the buildings.(making some of the politicians friends rich) then the new ceo’s took their Bonases. purchased all the parts and supplies. (making more politicians friends rich) hired people but didn’t make one solar panel. they filed for bankruptcy leaving Michigan to clean up all the toxic chemicals left from the company collapse. trying to put the blame on the people they hired to make the panels. it cost Michigan taxpayers millions to clean up obamas shovel ready jobs. It will be years before we know the results from the toxic waste that came from the unsecured site when kids got in and broke open the barrels that were to be used to make the solar cells. its time to put our trust in private industry. every time that government gets involved it comes out a mess that costs taxpayers money. Well I have said my piece from personal experience of owning an electrical contracting company. Facts and data I have because they happened to me!———— I, Grampa
Hubby says same. He worked for 27 years at a multi-million dollar company that briefly invested into the hype of solar. They quickly got out after 5 years due to the challenge of storing the batteries & getting rid of panels. His current fantastic employer will never get into the solar aspect of the same business due to the challenges of getting rid of & storing the solar panels & batteries (they have to be dumped somewhere when they fail).
Don’t fix what ain’t broken with gas & oil I say.
If you’re in MI, can you contact me?
We bought ponies and had them fit properly with good harnesses, saddles and got a forecart and eveners for draft work and a nice rubber tired four person “truck” for traveling. I went with ponies instead of horses or mules for three reasons: 1) ponies eat less and convert smaller amounts of hay/grass to energy (horsepower) with only modest mineral supplements needed compared to horses. 2) ponies don’t have the historically iron-like hooves that mules do, but they come in a close second. Equine hoof health is paramount. Without good hooves under the animals the only thing you have is a liability. 3) space. Ponies take up a lot less of it both in the pasture and in the stalls than horses and mules. And there’s a lot less manure to pitch.
We’re a working farm, so, while I have a lot of off road diesel, I don’t store it “long”. My storage needs cover one year of operation. That’s all I can afford. I have two static tanks for diesel and one 115gal. mobile field transfer tank. One filtered 500gal. And one 300gal. filtered. I only pump out of the 500 into tractors and the mobile tank as it is triple treated with cetane boost/anti-gel/anti bacteria, PRI-D, and Hotshots Secret diesel extreme. The 300 gallon tank is used as a transfer tank. When I use 100gal. from the 500, I transfer that amount over from the 300. I treat the 300 tank only with cetane boost and bulk buy only 300 gallons at a time. In the fall, when the 300 is empty and the 500 is full I don’t refill the 300 until spring. With all the tractors, the 115/500gal. tanks filled for winter I have ~750 gallons of diesel. Only enough for one year of field operations at my current feed needs. After that I either change my feed needs (cull or scatter the herds and flock) or maintain stock numbers and throw in with cooperative work with my neighbors. Either way, I’m still going to need my ponies, because driving the car will be out of the question.
Aviation fuel (AV 100) seems to last longer because it has no ethanol. I mix it with premium to run my yard equipment (50/50 mix). It could be suitable for some generators. My yard equipment starts on the first pull. My sure your air filters are clean and remember to check oil levels. Have extra spark plugs on hand. Preventative Maintenace is key.
Q for the board.
When the grid goes down and assuming no battery storage.
What happens to the power generated by solar panels ?
Sorry, not tracking your question.
Panels being passive not requiring any kind of real human activity other than regular maintenance, I would assume will continue to produce energy. With nowhere to go would that lead to a overheat/electrical fire?
I do not know. Not sure they can produce that amount of energy. I hope someone else can chime in on the topic.
” With nowhere to go would that lead to a overheat/electrical fire? ”
That is my concern . The brain housing group suggests we would have
power all day long. It may just be a math problem .
Wife and I had a interesting conversation the other day.
Say the grid goes down for whatever reason (EMP, cyber attack, physical attack etc). But there is a power generation plant in your immediate area. Those who work at the plant have a vested interest in keeping the power on, namely heat, refrigeration, cooling (if in the deep south). So every one from the plant managers, to the line men can get the local grid up and running even if regional or national grid is down.
Wouldn’t that attract people from outside of that local area?
I know of two homes down in town who have solar panels. Would their neighbors demand use of their energy? Would the local government demand they give up their panels for use at the hospital? What about fuel?
“Wouldn’t that attract people from outside of that local area?
I know of two homes down in town who have solar panels. Would their neighbors demand use of their energy? Would the local government demand they give up their panels for use at the hospital? What about fuel?”
1MJH,
Reasonable questions. I’ve got solar installed on the new plant. While they are mounted on the side of the roof that can’t be observed from the road, I have no expectations that folks won’t see them. It’s not a big system, just enough to hold overnight power to the freezers and refrigeration units. It’s not grid tied and unless the locals or government demanded them.. what would they want them for..? Power the refrigerator and microwave in the courthouse? Without the two battery banks (that’s the real system) and a backup power unit in case their isn’t enough daylight to excite the pv cells, it’s kind of a pointless demand. At least as far as my system goes. That is the beautiful thing I found out about solar and energy storage, it can really be tailored to individual needs and allow growth as needed.
Fuel theft is a constant concern of mine albeit not exactly what you’re wondering, I do have a fair amount of experience with deterring fuel theft. Now, if the local government wants my fuel..? Well, I’ll just open up the plug for them and watch them try and pick it up off the ground before I just let it be taken from me. I’ll not pay another tax in the form of confiscation on something I’ve already paid tax on once.
If you have the space, a windmill could be another option, instead of solar energy. But not for everyone.
Another possible alternative, especially in the short term (if lots of people are trying to do it, expect shortages) is to use vegetable oil in a diesel engine. It will work, but it will work even better if you convert it to biodiesel, which you can find instructions for.
It would be much smarter to use the vegetable oils in candles and lamps and for cooking. Where do you think you would go to when the power companies and banks and everything else shuts down due to the fiat paper currency Dollar going into hyperinflation mode and it’s no longer used for anything, other than toilet paper or a fire starter??
Butanol stores indefinitely and has high octane.
WHY bother about having a car or truck? Where are you thinking about going to, when dodging bullets will be your main concern? What could possibly convince you to risk life and limb some place away from home? This one idiot was telling me that he would use his go-kart to putt around the neighborhood, looking for things to scavenge! What a dolt he is! He must think that he’s going to be the only one left, and everyone else will just disappear, leaving their food and water behind for him to lay claim to! And if he doesn’t have a trailer to haul around, he wouldn’t be able to carry anything that won’t fit in his lap!
Well, some reports estimate a 80-90% die off in the first 4 to 6 weeks of a grid down, JIT/BAU failure scenario.
At normal, non-panic buying, consumption rates there is only about 3 days worth of food on the shelves.
Saw it during the COVID lockdowns. Truck would come in twice a week to the local grocery store. The disruption to the supply system, sometimes the truck would be late. A few times it was only once a week. It was not some internet meme. Empty shelves were real.
As a society, we are highly dependent on our grid. Go to a local Wal-Mart and look around. How many people look like they could survive a real grid down situation? More than a few look like they could not walk mile let alone run one.
I was under the impression that diesel stored much longer than regular gasoline…
Resilience boils down to excess capacity and redundancy. Two is one, one is none.
Best plan with energy and money and security and medical and anything else is to also diversify your portfolio. Have an array of different types of electric generating methods. For money…have some cash, some gold, some silver and some crypto. Each work in different circumstances. Have at least two ways to heat your home and two strategies to keep cool. Two water sources. Store some pharmaceuticals as well as homeopathic remedies and some medical equipment. Have some non-lethal security alternatives as well as 2A. You may not want to kill everyone who may pose a threat. Have some zip ties for restraint, you certainly don’t want to have to subdue him/her twice. Don’t allow single points of failure for crucial needs. Use the best tool for the job…and then the second best if that one fails. Life stress fluctuates with the number of options you have. More is better.
That’s interesting. A contractor left a half barrel of diesel in my pasture. I’m talking a plastic barrel, cut in half, that got rained on for months. My dad strained off the diesel, filtered it and ran his tractor on it by mixing it with a little fresh diesel. And you didn’t mention propane, but many generators are duel fuel (like mine) and propane lasts forever.
A friend of mine made his own biodiesel in his garage from recycled french fry oil. Ran his 1 ton Ford truck on it all the time. It smelled like a rolling fast food restaurant! He even ran the thing on straight vegetable oil, although it couldn’t start on it.
Propane is an excellent choice and can be stored for a very long time. Keep in mind that your stockpile will get used very quickly if you are using a larger generator. Also keep in mind, that your larger generators will have greatly diminished generation capacity if your propane is exposed to cold winter weather. In fact, if you have winter weather in your area, you might want to invest in a warming cover for your propane tank(s) to keep your generator(s) running near full capacity and efficiency.