What would you do to prepare to horde & store a few years worth of diesel?

[hutchman]

Canning, gardening, and putting up food is simply a way of life here....been doing it 40 years. We raise 80% or so of what we eat.
Supper today was roast pork, baked potato, steamed broccoli, all raised here. That is a typical meal.

In addition to being able to can and garden, one must have the setup and supplies to put up food. We keep something on the order of 1,000 glass canning jars (filled or empty depending on the season), many thousands of single use lids, plus a lot of multiple use lids (Tattler brand).

One of my jar storage cabinets for empties:

Run of green beans:

Spaghetti sauce with meat. (we can beef stew, chilli, pre-cooked bacon, taco meat, etc)

One average deer:

Apples and pears:

We home butcher all our meats.....beef, pork, deer, chicken, catfish out of our ponds. Homemade walk-in cooler gives us the ability to butcher no matter what the weather.

Root cellar: (cut hole in block wall, dug space for 8x10 room)

Poured 6" reinforced roof:

20x40 greenhouse we used to extend gardening to almost year round. Solar vac tube +wood stove heated.

11kw PV solar supplies all our power needs + we sell excess back. System is battery backed up. Flip of a transfer switch puts us off grid.

There is a lot more....don't wanna bore ya'll..............

That's borderline p0rnographic ... I love it! You wouldn't bore me! That's a super setup you have. You're making my hungry and tempting me to covet!

 

[Egon]

That's borderline p0rnographic ... I love it! You wouldn't bore me! That's a super setup you have. You're making my hungry and tempting me to covet!

Just remember that there is a pile of work before those jars get placed on the shelf.

 

[hutchman]

Just remember that there is a pile of work before those jars get placed on the shelf.

I know ... my grandparents used to be big into it when I was a kid. My parents did it very seldom. I'd rather do what Andy's doing though then buy MRE type meals ... I've eaten a lifetime of them already ... I may live forever based on the preservatives I've taken in

Guys in one of my military units took to canning deer. They got tired of processing costs going up so they decided to just cut them up themselves and can the meat and they said that tastes the best anyway. I've not tried it but I have no reason not to believe them.

 

[TnAndy]

Yeah, I ate plenty of C rations (what they were called prior to MRE) in my Army days. Beans & Franks....mmmmmm (not).

If you're gonna can meat, you just about can't go wrong in butchering....not like it HAS to look like a steak Biggest issue I have with deer is keeping hair out of the mix. You think you have a clean carcass, but nope....stuff just floats around !

We bought a cuber attachment that goes on the Weston electric meat grinder. You can drop a piece of fairly tough meat thru it, (twice, turn the 2nd time to cross hatch it), and come out with a decent piece to flour and fry (cube steak). Good thing to have if you do deer, but I also use it on pork and beef. We like country fried steak and gravy.

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

We like country fried steak and gravy.

Who doesn't?:licking:

 

[hutchman]

Yeah, I ate plenty of C rations ...

I remember my Dad bringing those home and me using the P38 can opener to get in them ... all I liked were those round crackers and the jelly!

 

[doxford jim]

To the OP.
Buying fuel cheaply in the summer won't be much of a savings if you need fuel in the winter. Winter fuel is markedly different to summer fuel. Where I live they have three grades of fuel - summer, winter and spring/fall. Each grade is different and the winter fuel can be used to -30C or colder if treated properly. Summer fuel will gel at around 15F or -10C or possibly sooner if there is moisture present. Unless you are using a lot of diesel, buying that much fuel may not be the best thing to do - especially when you consider the implications of a gelled diesel engine.
Just my thoughts

 

[newbury]

To the OP.
Buying fuel cheaply in the summer won't be much of a savings if you need fuel in the winter. Winter fuel is markedly different to summer fuel. Where I live they have three grades of fuel - summer, winter and spring/fall. Each grade is different and the winter fuel can be used to -30C or colder if treated properly. Summer fuel will gel at around 15F or -10C or possibly sooner if there is moisture present. Unless you are using a lot of diesel, buying that much fuel may not be the best thing to do - especially when you consider the implications of a gelled diesel engine.
Just my thoughts

The main difference between "winter" and "summer" fuel is the gel point. I used to add kerosene to "summer" fuel to make "winter" fuel. "Winterized diesel" may also have other additives which can be supplied by products such as powerservice

 

[Fallon]

I live in Colorado & am aware of the summer vs. winter blend stuff. Probably getting it this fall, so it should be a winter blend anyway. Will make sure one way or another.

Not sure if Power Service white bottle would be enough to get me through the winter with a summer blend. Any thoughts? Not that I'm planning on trying.

I have considered the implications of gelled fuel in the tractor. I use it for plowing in the winter & a few chores, but nothing critical. I could get by if it was down for a bit without huge problems.

 

[IslandTractor]

Regarding the OP's fuel storage question, I agree that water and algae are the main problems. You can drain water and also use a filter to trap water as you dispense. Algae is another issue. Biocides probably help but I found lots of "sludge" in the bottom of my 55 gallon tank after about three years. I was uncomfortable with all the sludge so decided to use the fuel for heat and decided that as I don't really use more than 30=40 gallons a year in the tractor that I'd just go back to using fresh 5 gallon cans. I do agree though that paying $2.50/gal now looks a lot better than the $4 I was paying a year or two ago.