How are Prime owners reacting to the Gas Shortage of 2021??

Having no need for a daily driver, I no longer own the car but will see what to get when we go back to regular commuting sometime later this year. The gas shortage may be resolved by then, but my next car is not likely to be a gas guzzler anyway.

 

Yesterday, I opened a 5 gallons of no ethanol gas stored in this metal gas can since September 18, 2011 with Stabil.

Jerry Can - 5 Gallon Metal Jerry Can

The gas is in perfect condition with no gelling or clouding

 

Being retired, having lived through multiple gas shortages, living in a state where nuclear is a primary source of electricity I’m good.

 

I bet it isn't

 

Bet as much as you want. I previously experimented with the same combination in Scepter US military fuel cans. In five years, they lost 10-15% of it's volume as the result of permeation through the plastic walls of the container.

Still mixed with 15 gallons of gas in the tank in an approximately 25% concentration, the truck ran just fine.

 

Chuckle all you want.
Just remember that the electrical infrastructure is much more fragile than the petrol distribution network, and there isn't really a fuel "shortage" at all right now, but rather a disruption in distribution.
Kinda like toilet paper or ammunition.
Electricity.
Gas.
Ammunition.
Toilet paper.

You can more or less easily and inexpensively STORE three of those four items for a long period of time, and yet each of those have experienced shortfalls in distribution over the last 2-3 years so much so that two of them are currently in VERY short supply in certain parts of the US.

It's not because they've STOPPED making ANY of them.....

I was introduced to the theory-to-practice test for gas, water, and food in the early 90's when I lived in the Carolinas when we experienced hurricane Hugo. Those lessons were re-enforced during some events that followed.

MY first thought when the gas "shortage" broke was to think that it happened at a good time. This is because I usually burn through the fuel that I have stored in Jerry cans over the winter so that they can be re-filled for summer hurricane season......

 

I bought the latest Prime on March 14. I'm still at half tank from the dealer's full tank. Not worried. Even at $5 a gallon my cost will be somewhere around $150 a year for gas.

 

Does that gas can come with one of those government-required devices designed to cause gas spills every time you use it? I hate those things. After one or two uses the gas gums them up and the shutoff mechanism doesn't work, but since they're short and inflexible the only way to stop pouring is to yank them, spilling gas everywhere. Their design also requires almost fully inverting the gas can to pour, which makes things far more dangerous and difficult to control.

 

The ammunition shortage is because Remington stopped manufacturing ammunition right when record numbers of people were purchasing firearms and ammunition to go along with them. Throw in the human propensity to hoard when supplies are tight and you have yourself an ammunition shortage.

For those who are not familiar with the ammunition situation, think back to looking for toilet paper back in April 2020 when stores shelves were barren. That's how ammunition shelves have been for 14 months straight. When you can find it, the cost is about 300% higher than it was before COVID. Imagine all those gas lines in the East with gas at $12+ per gallon at the stations that do have gas, and then you can imagine what's happening with ammunition.

 

@ Remington.
They're ONE manufacturer.
There are 24 other large scale companies and many smaller ones that were formed during the last "ammunition shortage."
2008–2016 United States ammunition shortage - Wikipedia

@ $12 gas.
Gas is legally $12 a gallon in probably 0 places...at least for now.
Price gouging laws in effect for NC, SC as gas shortage continues

This is one of those things that get lost in translation when you see a story from thousands of miles away.

It's like when you hear of stories on the left coast about tent cities, poop maps, empty school classrooms, and rolling blackouts.

Sometimes?
They get a little exaggerated.

 

The can comes with a gasketed sealing disk that seals it without that stupid spout.

I use a cheap $3 Walmart transmission funnel and pour it in directly into the gas filler.

 

+1.

Whenever I buy one of those idiotic new cans I immediately throw the spout away.

I haven't needed or bought any fuel additives since 2005.
I simply fill my pickup with stored gas and refill the cans twice a year.
If the containers are gas tight......there's no problem keeping gas "fresh" for 6 months.....or even longer.

 

That's like what would happen to the price of gas if "just" one refiner stopped producing gas.

Artificial price controls contribute to shortages by encouraging the lines and hoarding. High prices discourage that behavior.

Then tent cities are not an exaggeration.

Google Maps

Explore the city on your own.

 

We’re going through 20 litres at most, every 5~6 weeks, with a hybrid. Both retired, lotta stores within walking distance.

Addendum: gas buddy’s saying around $1.50 CDN per litre here (greater Van, BC), which IS highish, but it’s been there a few weeks.

 

Nearly identical to us. We brought ours home at the end of March, and still had half of tank in it, with ~950 miles on the odometer. Filled it up just in case, but chances are we wouldn't have "needed" gas for another month or so.

 

Nearly identical to us. We brought ours home at the end of March, and still had half of tank in it, with ~950 miles on the odometer. Filled it up just in case, but chances are we wouldn't have "needed" gas for another month or so.

 

Exactly. Tankships are being chartered and loaded from Europe now with gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel for delivery in East Coast ports. Texas refineries are both reducing their output (no way to send it) and chartering tankers to serve as floating storage, as well as to other destinations so they don't have the wasted time of shutting down and restarting. The government is considering suspending the Jones Act that would ordinarily require only U.S. flag ships to carry cargo between U.S. ports. The suspension will allow foreign flag ships to carry fuel from Gulf coast refineries to the East Coast. It'll take a few days. A news spot said that the fuel inside the pipeline moves at about 5 mph. 5,500 miles end to end (but much is sent to intermediate destinations).

Have you seen the photos of people hoarding gasoline? They're filling garbage cans, shopping bags (!) and every gas can they can get their hands on. As soon as the hoarders have everything full demand will decrease. And...Colonial Pipeline carries 45% of the East Coast fuel. The other 55% is still supplied by the usual means.
Tanker Rates Surge After U.S. Fuel Pipeline Outage | OilPrice.com

 

There's a shortage?

I just happened to fill up today. Dropped below half a tank a few weeks ago, where I normally think to fill up, but I'd been procrastinating. Was out today and drove right by a gas station so I pulled in. Didn't notice anything unusual, no crowding, nobody filling shopping bags....

 

That distance must be not just its end-to-end length, but the sum of its tributaries as well.

On a map, I'm also seeing two parallel pipes for most of it.