EV owners of today and tomorrow

[wawajake]

It was really hit and miss. It depended on where the storm rolled through, and how much damage it caused.

I've been through some storms where we didn't lose power, but had a gas shortage for a week or so because the port was in the path of the storm.

I've been through other hurricanes where we were out of power for a couple weeks. But there wasn't really a shortage since the storm was never near the port. So fuel deliveries were only delayed for a day or so while the storm went through the area.

For me, it wouldn't have mattered. I worked as a tech for a rental company when I lived in Florida. I worked for the pump rental division.

I fell under emergency response since they needed pumps and generators all over the area. I'm not talking about little home owner pumps or generators. The smallest we were sending out started at handling 1200 gpm of water and went up from there.

My personal vehicle sat with a full tank of gas and didn't go anywhere, unless my roomate was getting low on gas and switched to driving my truck.

I pretty much lived out of my service truck for a couple days before the storm hit, through the storm, and was usually running ragged for a week or so afterwords.

I fell under the emergency clause, so I could run off road diesel in my service truck until fuel started getting delivered to the stations again.

We always made sure to fill up a 1,000 gallon fuel cube at work and maintained that level during hurricane season.

Some years we had to dip into it, other years we didn't.

Canada sent 100s of Electrical linesman to NC and Florida here is recent article how they are doing and the reception they are getting. BEYOND LOCAL: Gruelling days and gratitude for Canadian line workers helping with hurricane outages

 

[Fixastuff]

I suppose you are right. My only need for a truck would be to pull a 6000 pound tractor/implement, at about 8800 pounds. I can pull my mower at about 3000lb with a basic SUV 300+ miles.

To be fair, when we were considering the CT, it was quoted at about $50k. Now, that didn't happen. I do see sales are slowing for it, so maybe the prices will adjust accordingly.

It’d be pretty funny if they eventually went down to 50k.

 

[tradosaurus]

 

[Gale Hawkins]

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Can you imagine how many underground tanks had to be pumped out after all that flooding .

 

[Gale Hawkins]

It’d be pretty funny if they eventually went down to 50k.

Just give it time.

 

[WinterDeere]

Can you imagine how many underground tanks had to be pumped out after all that flooding .

If you're talking about underground storage tanks at gas stations, it actually works differently than you might imagine.

Water settles to the bottom, and it's normal to have 3-4 inches of water in the bottom of any underground storage tank. The pickup for the gasoline pumps is 6 inches above the bottom, at least at the station where I worked, and there's a separate tube from the very bottom of the tank from which water can be withdrawn.

When the water level gets up to about 5 inches, you call out the service contractor, and they come pump only water from the tank. As soon as they get fuel, they stop pumping. So really, very little fuel is wasted in the process.

After a hurricane, I suspect there might be a good foot of water in the bottom of the tank, but the same process should apply. Once allowed to settle and separate, they should be able to withdraw the water, without wasting fuel.

 

[bmaverick]

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My prior co-worker got a Toyoda hybrid. He does the same thing. Uses it as a power generator for hard times like this. And he is no fool, he didn't build his place in a low valley neither. He didn't want a full EV either.

 

[Grumpycat]

If you're talking about underground storage tanks at gas stations, it actually works differently than you might imagine.

Water settles to the bottom, and it's normal to have 3-4 inches of water in the bottom of any underground storage tank. The pickup for the gasoline pumps is 6 inches above the bottom, at least at the station where I worked, and there's a separate tube from the very bottom of the tank from which water can be withdrawn.

When the water level gets up to about 5 inches, you call out the service contractor, and they come pump only water from the tank. As soon as they get fuel, they stop pumping. So really, very little fuel is wasted in the process.

After a hurricane, I suspect there might be a good foot of water in the bottom of the tank, but the same process should apply. Once allowed to settle and separate, they should be able to withdraw the water, without wasting fuel.

That was true before ethanol was added at the fuel depot. With ethanol the first water in gasoline-ethanol blends goes into solution until finally the ethanol can no longer hold it all. This is the nasty "phase separation" where water pulls ethanol out of the mix.

The fuel is ruined with just a little water.

Pure gasoline and water do not mix so it is possible to drain water off the bottom of the tank without harming the gasoline.

 

[DarkBlack]

Can you imagine how many underground tanks had to be pumped out after all that flooding .

No I can’t. How many?

 

[WinterDeere]

That was true before ethanol was added at the fuel depot. With ethanol the first water in gasoline-ethanol blends goes into solution until finally the ethanol can no longer hold it all. This is the nasty "phase separation" where water pulls ethanol out of the mix.

The fuel is ruined with just a little water.

Pure gasoline and water do not mix so it is possible to drain water off the bottom of the tank without harming the gasoline.

Good point. My experience was early-1990's, pre-ethanol days, so I hadn't thought of that.

I wonder how they manage it, then? Based on my experience working several years at one of the larger stations around, it's just not possible to keep water out of those buried tanks, at least those of the type they were building back then. I suspect the filler spouts, always located below-flush in the middle of the parking lot for easy access by a semi tanker, is a major source of intrusion.