Petrol shortage! Who’s laughing now!

[Lovemyev]

I read somewhere that the last hoarded toilet roll will not be used until 2028!

Truly, I can well believe that !.
Had to pop to my nearest Shell fossil station this morning, it was fairly early for a Sunday but there was still a few waiting to get fuel.
I pull up at a pump and go around the back and open up the hatch back.
I then remove a 5 litre petrol can from my boot, I could see the others watching me fill up my petrol can.
They looked at me with that type of dead pan face that suggested :-
“Are you storing fuel, no wonder there is a shortage” - under their breath.
Then I returned the can to the boot and left the car at the pump, went in to pay.
Paid the guy half a bar of gold and said :- “Cheers, I will see you again next year”.
When I came out, the other two had just finished filling up and was coming towards me, with puzzled faces !.
I said “Hi - It’s an electric car, the petrol is for my lawn mower”.
They saw them smile at each other as I silently drove pass one of the pumps and just managed to catch a glimpse of the cost of the fuel it had recorded, it had clocked up £60 on the pump.
My smile ? beat there’s all day !.
I was a little concerned that I may get robbed of my high value package in the boot on my way home.
You forget just how much fuel costs now.
I past four filling stations on the way home, they had ALL run out of that stuff they call “Derv ?”.

 

[Barney]

Given the way things are going, I'm tending to not let my small ICE vehicle go below 3/4 tank - means I still only add 1/4 at most & since I'm doing occasional short journeys to shops in a small car, carrying the extra few litres about doesn't impact MPG appreciably. And it'll come in handy when the power outages start ?

Assuming you don't normally do that, then presumably you are reacting to the panic and making it worse.

 

[Lovemyev]

Something else that maybe worth considering when it comes to keeping large unused volumes of fossil fuel.
The the new E10 fuel does not store nearly as long now, because it has the increased ethanol content.

 

[biffo]

Assuming you don't normally do that, then presumably you are reacting to the panic and making it worse.

Since Brexit occurred, along with gradually building up a store cupboard over a period of 12+ months, I've not let my fuel tank drop below the 3/4 point. I proactively reacted to a situation several years ago - rather than reacting to recent media reports, exacerbating the situation. Again, I'm fortunate that I am able to do this - but my preparedness helps others who are more dependant on the supply chain

There are some very good Twitter feeds from people who research these types of scenarios for corporations : https://twitter.com/socintuk

 

[biffo]

Something else that maybe worth considering when it comes to keeping large unused volumes of fossil fuel.
The the new E10 fuel does not store nearly as long now, because it has the increased ethanol content.

Yeah - my ICE car is a 2018 Fiat Panda ECO, every few top ups I use super unleaded to try and keep carbon deposits down since it's doing a maximum of 10 miles per week - sometimes less. It's fitted with full winter tyres too - so it gets more use when conditions get icy.

Fair point about the E10 fuel though - I'll look into that more and check if the super version is the same.

Edit: Appears that super unleaded will be 98 RON 5% Ethanol.

 

[Shrink Proof]

Beginning today, it's National Drive Electric Week in the USA. It'll never catch on here, of course, ICE cars are just too convenient...

 

[macd2401]

Fair point about the E10 fuel though - I'll look into that more and check if the super version is the same.

Edit: Appears that super unleaded will be 98 RON 5% Ethanol.

If memory serves, the super unleaded will stay at E5 for the next few years at least.

 

[Lovemyev]

Yeah - my ICE car is a 2018 Fiat Panda ECO, every few top ups I use super unleaded to try and keep carbon deposits down since it's doing a maximum of 10 miles per week - sometimes less. It's fitted with full winter tyres too - so it gets more use when conditions get icy.

Fair point about the E10 fuel though - I'll look into that more and check if the super version is the same.

Edit: Appears that super unleaded will be 98 RON 5% Ethanol.

Yeah - The more expensive Shell / Tesco Monument unleaded fuel is E5% Ethanol based.
Standard unleaded is now E10 - which is of course 10% Ethanol based fuel.
So, in affect you are paying an increase in price on the super unleaded fuel, just to get you back to the original 5% that we had a month back !.
The super unleaded has other additives included by all accounts !.
A large number of our friends in the USA have been running on Ethanol based fuels for a number of years now.
"Top Tip ".
On a bit of a side note, but maybe important to any of our members who are running small engine equipment, like lawn mowers or even 2 stroke machinery like hedge trimmers / strimers etc etc.
Do NOT leave Ethanol based fuels in ANY of your equipment over the winter !.
If you can, drain the fuel tank and run the piece of equipment until all the fuel has gone.
If is not practical to drain the tank, only top up the tank with enough fuel on a weekly basis.
At the lest cut of the season, ensure you run the equipment until the tank AND the carb is completely dry of ANY fuel and mower just stops !.
Use up any unleaded fuel you have stored in cans from this year ( put any spare straight unleaded fuel into your car, but not 2 stroke ) and then, buy completely fresh fuel at the start of next spring.
If you forget and leave the fuel in the system, then it is extremely likely you will end up with either, a "Non- Starter" or a rough running machine next season.
Then be prepared to submit your equipment for a total tank and carb clean / replacement next year.
The Ethanol content ( if left in the machine ) will contaminate the inside of the carb and block the fuel jets, it will even cause corrosion to the metal fuel bowl of the carb.
Brilliant for small engine repair shops though, they are going to be super super busy dealing with non starter's / running rough machines next year.
A lot of folks will be discarding their machines, believing they are unfixable.
This is possible of course, given the wait / cost of parts and the labour charges to repair them.
This issue has been a big problem in the USA for a long time now.
Over there, you can buy large cans of zero based Ethanol fuel for this very reason.
I believe some stations are still getting some zero based fuel over there ?.
But they are few and far between.
Sorry, its a bit "Off Topic" folks, but somebody may find this a bit useful.

 

[m4rmite]

For E10 petrol users, don't be alarmed if your mpg drops.

Ethanol contains less energy than petrol.


A gallon of ethanol contains less energy than a gallon of gasoline, resulting in lower fuel economy when operating your vehicle. ... For example, E85 that contains 83% ethanol content has about 27% less energy per gallon than gasoline (the impact to fuel economy lessens as ethanol content decreases).

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Benefits and Considerations

afdc.energy.gov