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Gasoline - $18 per gallon! Holy Cow

J

JDemaris

Well-known Member
I just got a logging supply catalog in the mail from Bailey's.

I thought I was seeing things at first. Pre-packaged gas-oil mix in quart cans with a little Stabil added. Said to have a two-year shelf-life. Comes to $18 per gallon "on sale."

Are we USA-Americans getting so lazy we'd buy such a thing? Seems somebody thinks so.

It was bad enought when 50/50 "premixed" antifreeze showed up on the shelves. What a waste of packaging and money. I'm now seeing the stuff at almost the same cost as full-strength.
 
Well,there are rural people who have been raised to be self sufficient and have been raised to know how. Then there are the yuppies who want a place in the country,some horsies and a four wheel drive truck. These are the people who can't mix their own fuel according to the owner's manual.
 
Marketing, sell em what you made them think they need. I have seen 50/50 antifreeze advertised as ""greener"" than full strength and claim it won"t kill dogs or cats. I always cleaned up any I spilled to keep one of the dogs from licking it up.
 
How about the propane kiosks at your local convenience store? Trade in your empty tank for a full one for $22.95, instead of getting yours filled at the gas station for 10 bucks.
 
Im guilty of buying a 50/50 mix of antifreeze, just to keep in the car if i need it, otherwise i buy straight. Bottled water is up there in cost per gallon also
 
Something like that at Walmart I"m told. Locally the problem is the ethanol mix only thing available at most gas stations means a lot of chain saws getting fouled carbs after a season of use- some don"t make it out of warrantee, and some are not being warranteed as owners manual say don"t use the ethanol spiked fuels. Sealed can of stabilized premix for occasional use means chainsaw lasts 4 to 6 years, owner doesn"t have to buy a mixing can. For a professional- a can or 2 in truck for use when main container empty out in field away from the special non ethanol fuel supplier is a cheap way to avoid the drain and carb clean after having to use a local ethanol spiked fuel source. A few possible good points for product- price is a bit ridiculous but lots of thing getting expensive, priced an ounce of gold recently? RN.
 
I buy the 50/50 stuff NOT well sort of. I buy the good stuff and when I get ho,e I pour half of it out into another jug and then fill both up. Now I have 2 gal. of 50/50 and I didn't pay for the water in the stuff. LOL. Yep buying some of this stuff is just plain stupid like buying bottled water whats up with that. All most of it is is filtered tap water any how so why not buy a filter and save your self's some $$ or even better have a well and drink that water LOL
 
Hi Adirondack: So they may have spent many more years in military duty for "our rights" then you did?? ( I said maybe) Think back just few generations and that is how you got your chunk of USA land. Your fore-fathers taking their loaded rifle in one hand and a Bible in the other and swept across the clean unpoluted land killing native Americans to take most of what they had. It is the American way, right? Just read up on the white mans history a little more before trying to down grade new neighbors. I am just trying to point out that New people have been moving into other peoples land since we got kicked out of the Garden of Eden.. many thousands of years ago.. It will keep happening.. ag..
 
Five gallons of kerosene (that's right, kerosene already in the can) with can included at 36 dollars at Tractor Supply. Nothing special about the container either. This was a couple of months ago, it probably has gone up since oil has gone up in the same amount of time.
 
I cannot believe that anyone would ask such a question.
Research how many bottles of water the US buys in one year, and think about how expensive that water is.
It has been noted that the water in these bottles is no better (sometimes not as good) as the water out of your tap, depending on where you reside.
Are Americans so lazy that they cannot get their fat over eating butts up out of a chair and go get a drink of water? How much trouble would it be to fill a container and then carry it with them?
It would be so much cheaper.
 
Yeah, but one difference. Many people live in areas where the tap water takes like swimming-pool water. For them, the bottled stuff tastes better, regardless of its origin. Sames goes for some private wells heavliy treated with salt.

Gasoline on the other hand is pretty much for sale everywhere.
 
One big problem with 50/50 mix, is you can't use it to lower the freeze-level in a cooling system. If it tests at only zero, you can't add 50/50 mix to make it much stronger.
 
Actually, buying 50/50 antifreeze does have some merit to it.
If you want to screw up a cooling system, pour staright anti freeze and straight water in to it. Depending on the system and water pump, you can end up with over heating problems.
Anti freeze must be thouroughly mixed prior to pouring in the radiator.
Also, you must use distilled water, not water out of the hose or tap. Ever wonder why some people have water pump and cooling problems while others run for years and don't? Part of it could be that the ones that have problems are using regular water to fill and top off.
So, buying premixed cost more, but saves me a stop to get distilled water, and also looking for clean containers to mix it in prior to pouring in the system.
 
i agree, for what its worth and all the running around and screwing around in the garage I just use the 50/50 in my stuff, keep in mind you cant save too much money running for distilled water with 3.15 gas in the car/truck. Some people say others are lazy or stupid for not saving money and what not, but those same people sometimes eat out or dont turn all the lights off or let a tractor idle all day so it all comes out in the wash. Also Ive had no cooling problems, I know if I put my well water in my truck it would be clogged with calcium, iron and sulphur so I'll stick with 50/50. And all water tastes bad unless its 100 out and youre baling, and then you dont care if its filtered or not.
 
Well, seems I've been doing it "wrong" for forty years. It sometimes gets down to 30 F below here. I've never had any freeze problems. In fact, never had any cooiing system problems other then normal wear be it hot or cold weather. Includes all my cars, trucks, tractors, gas engines and diesels.

I have NEVER mixed antifreeze and water before installing and never had a bit of trouble. NOT ONCE. Therefore, I cannot believe what you state is universally true, or even "usually" true. Maybe in a few odd-ball designs somewhere, of which I've never owned.
 
A lot of People pay gladly trough the nose for things they WANT but don't need.
Its the things they really NEED where they cry about the price.
 
easy there! I think hes just trying to point out how someone moves next door and they try to tell you what you should be doing with yourself when youve been fine without them since youve been there. And the Indians were allowed and did fight back, I think they got a raw deal, but im just saying youre not allowed to shoot your new neighbor who thinks hogs stink and grain dryers are too loud.
 
I am 67 years old and have to agree with JD. I would say in my life I have owned and oprated quite a bit more engine peices than the average guy. NEVER have I mixed antifreez always just add what is needed. Never have I used boiled water ususall just whatever is avl and yes sometimes even river water in pumps and things on the river. Can,t ever rember a single water pump radiator problem. Have had a few operators do things like running a fence post thru a radiator or things like that. Just think the antifreez thing is over hyped ad does jd.
 
I dont buy the 50/50 coolant either, I buy the straight n mix it myself

HOWEVER I have been guily of buying Distilled water (its pretty cheap ya know) in gallon jugs for the water portion of my 50 50 mix with the idea it has less lime and calcium and other minerals that might seperate out and clog up the radiator. When I give the radiator a good cleaning n power flush then re fill with half distilled water n half anti freeze n throw in some anti rust or water pump lube maybe some of that wetting agent snake oil I JUST FEEL BETTER LOL even if the snake oil does NOTHING.

That pre mixed stuff is for YUPPIES NOT US RED NECKS N FARMERS

I do use Sta Bil in my gas for mowers n weed eaters n chain saws etc and long term tractor storage plus a tad of low sulphur two cycle oil which I believe can leave a thin oil rediue film which may reduce oxidation/rust.

John T
 
i am fascinated by the "im a redneck" banter ive seen seen in the last 10 years, its like saying youre proud to be less than what you can be.
 
Less?? Speaking for myself why can't I be a "red-neck" AND be all I want to be?

Where is this "rulebook" that denotes "redneck" as a "lesser person?"
 
I've got a tank of gas in my 1979 Datsun 280ZX that is 8 years old now. I am NOT recommending this and didn't really do it on purpose. But the car still starts and runs fine. Has an odd-ball German Jetronic fuel-injection system. Fires half a fuel charge ever revolution, instead of a full charge only on the compression-strokes.

What happened is - I took if off the road for the winter just before I found out my wife was pregant. Stuck it back in my barn with a full tank of gas. I did not realize at the time that it was not going back on the road for a long time. No back seat, no room for a kid, wife, dog, etc.

I tried to siphon gas out of it and could not get it to work. So, got lazy and added Stabil every few years.

Yeah, a dumb thing to do - but true just the same.
 
there isnt one, I just think its comical how four multi millionaires came around saying they were rednecks and all these people who think they can relate to them were saying "hey, Im a redneck too" I got news for ya, you may be a redneck, but the guys and singers who told you what you are are not rednecks, they are flying in private jets and most likely using 50/50 prediluted antifreeze in their escalades. I have literally seen people act dumb or like a hillbilly because they now think that being a redneck is some sort of battle call.
 
This business of the ethanol in the gas is a problem. Out here in California the gas is full of it. The chainsaw people say don't use it but there is nothing else available. I try to buy my chainsaw gas in the summer months because the "winter blend" has more ethanol. I have been getting premium for small engines and tractors thinking it may have less in it but who knows. I use my chainsaw mostly in the winter and sometimes it sits all summer with gas in it, I have not had any problems with it in the 9 years I have had it. I know I used to get 3 or 4 mpg better mileage on the "summer blend" gas with a 460 Ford.

I am not paying $18 for a gallon of gas.
 
Remember when you bought head lettuce and made a salad? If you told somebody that you would pre-shred the lettuce and package it and sell it for four times what an equivalent head of lettuce cost, people would say you were nuts! Well.......

Convenience apparently sells to people who have more money then time. I"ve never been in that category.
 
Remember the stuff a few years ago they sold in stores like Walmart as an emergency fuel if you ran out of gas? It only worked with a hot engine and was way more ridiculously priced. If I remember right it was about $18 a quart(litre). No wonder it's no longer on the shelf. I never saw anyone ever buy it. Dave
 
its truly a shame ,but yes most likely they will sell it.The reason is that a huge majority of folks dont want to go to the trouble of mixing it for themselves.Or even more of a shame ,they wouldnt have a clue as HOW to mix it themselves!.And in all reality, probably would save the manufacturers lots of grief, if people did buy it premixed in todays lawyer driven society.They wouldnt have to take one back after some fool burnt it up and sued them when they said they wouldnt make his mistake good.
 

I had 2 1/2 gallons of that stuff (called Stihl motomix here) given to me I guess in the hopes that I'd be a customer from here on out.

Reason it came up was my BC wouldn't start after setting all winter and I took it in because it was still on warrenty. Drained the fuel, new plug, and like new. How can I mix my own (how much stabil do I need to add to make a regular mix keep 2 years?

Thanks, Dave
 
(quoted from post at 13:22:15 01/19/11) Un Sure,

Please show us how smart you really are by documenting what facts I have wrong.
Click to expand...

Don't pay attention to joey.He's just lonely. I'm gonna have to pull out his portrait if he don't behave himself..
 
jdemaris,

Like most things, there is a correct way to do something, and then there are dozens of other ways that it can be done and not create problems.

Ever owned a John Deere M or MT? How about a saw mill engine like a DD 4-71 with a small water pump?

It is a known fact that not mixing antifreeze can cause issues. It is also a known fact that tap water has all kinds of things in it that you do not want in a system that heats and cools.
I do not think I implied that it could not be done.
 
I have a question. Did the car manufacturers use distilled water in the 50/50 antifreeze mixture installed/added when the cars were built or did they just use tap water? Bill M.
 
I started using distilled water in tractors I was working on back in about 1967 when the new 7 and 806 tractors were plugging radiators and the crap you drained out did not look good. Apparently there was a time when the blocks were not being flushed good enough after mfg or the mfg process was such. I saved a few samples to show our service rep when he came around. Didn't impress him much one way or another. Almost looked like block sealer coming out of some of them. When we started putting water filters on the 66 series you would sometimes plug them in the first few hours but these were tractors with some hours on them. I believe the 50/50 mix coolant is using deionized water so is mineral free as you will get. I often use water from my dehumidifier for my own vehicles now days. I always say I would rather put tap water in a $70 battery than put it in a high dollar engine.
 
Mobil 1 is in that park.Out here it would be the long gallon. 4.56 litres.They are not kept on the shelf if no one is buying.
 
I recall ,when a youngster, my Father would place a glass container in the rain to catch water for the truck battery.
 
You're right 730d se. did not a few of the big water manufactures have to recall bottled water because of contamination. Another admitted it was town water with additives.so much for the Mountain fresh. I do believe it is more expensive that petrol.One universal hangover drink was $1.50 for 500ml last time I purchased and that was .ears ago.
 
I have NEVER used anything but tap water from maney different wells,Even out of a puddle once.I run most vehicles till the are in the bush,My dad also.I can' not recall ever changing antifreeze or having engines over heat.Many trucks over 200000 miles before they end up in the bush,mostly from to many trees in the bush.I have a 1995 Volvo semi that has 4 cups of black pepper in it(to seal a leaking water pump) been running that way for a long time,now is parked because the trans lost 5th gear.1.8million miles never had a water change.When we do any mechanics on vehicles and have to drain the water it always gets screened and poured back in.And I have never herd of having to mix antifreeze with water before adding to rad...THAT IS ABSURD.
 
I am happy that you never had a coolant related failure. Does that mean what I stated is wrong? Not at all.
People, including myself, have done all kinds of things and have gotten by with no problem.
 
If it were simply a mixture of pump gas, 2-stroke oil and Stabil I'd agree it's a bit pricey. But it's not. There's no amount of Stabil you can add to pump gas to make it last two years. The high vapor pressure of auto gas guarantees it will degrade in a matter of weeks. I don't know about the stuff Bailey's sells, but Stihl claims their "Moto-Mix" has a vapor pressure about half that of auto fuel. Now, for someone who uses their equipment almost year round, this stuff is pretty expensive. But if you only use your saw once or twice a year, the pre-mix stuff is pretty cheap compared to replacing a gummed-up carburetor.
 
What on earth have you been smoking? Better put, what have you been reading? Have you actually every tried treating gas and then storing in an air-tight container? I doubt it. That is, unless you get some awful wierd gasoline.

I've got gas in my Datsun 280ZX that just turned 8 years old and it still starts up fine. Dumb thing to do, yes. I've treated it twice in 8 years (I posted about in an other area of this thread).

Also, this summer I brought home five, 5 gallon jugs I'd had in a shed in the Adirondacks. All dated with Magic Marker. Fall of 2009 and spring of 2010. Both treated once with Stabil. Just brought it all home and dumped it in our two cars. Gas still smelled fine, so we used it. Worked fine, zero problems.

Also had to drain the tank (finally) on my 17 KW Fairbanks Morse generator this past summer. Gas was four-plus years old. Treated twice with Stabil. Brought it home and ran it in our car and Case VAC tractor. NO PROBLEMS.

I'm going to assume that there was some energy loss, but nothing I noticed. Certainly not the doom and gloom you're talking about.
 
Kinda wished I'd not posted the note.. The little town where I am now living got upset when I ran for city council 2ed year I was here. They also didn't like my buying a long advertized property that was about 1/3 of the total unbuilt land inside the city limits. They were hopeing a local would have got it. Some country people must have lived their entire life out in a field plowing or hauling manure? They just don't like other people moving in, I guess, without their approval.... tisk.. I wonder if modern view can delete whole posts? Or maybe everything that is political or religious in nature? Maybe I am getting tired of Winter... ag.
 
The fact that you're able to use eight year old gas doesn't mean the fuel stabilizer did anything. It just means you were lucky. I started my '92 Seville, which had four year old (untreated) gas in it, and it ran just fine. (It had a seized air conditioning compressor, and it sat for several years before I got around to figuring out why it wouldn't crank.) I was just lucky.

Now, if you have a SEALED container, gas will last a long time. But it has to be sealed well enough to be able to hold the vapor pressure of the fuel, which is typically several PSI. Also, fuel in certain parts of the country (such as California) is required to have a low vapor pressure, and that stuff in theory should last longer.

Stabil and other fuel stabilizers don't disclose how their products work. But it's safe to say they can't lower vapor pressure. And as long as the fuel's vapor pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure, you're going to have evaporation in any vented tank. And evaporation equals degradation.
 
You stated that no conventional gasoline can last two years - even with stablizer added. THAT is pure nonsense. No insult intended, but it's nonsense just the same. I wonder how many chumps believe this stuff and throw out 6 month old gasoline? When it was 25 cents a gallon, I could see not wanting to take a chance. But now?

I used to use gas for starting fires only - if over a year old. No more. I now go by the "smell test" and "color test" and that has worked 100% for me.

I'm not saying that having gas last a long time with Stabil proves the merits of it. Do I believe it works? Yes. I've also bought military powdered stabilizer that also seemed to work fine.

What it DOES prove is gas can certainly last much, much longer then you stated. In my case, it always has. NOT an isolated event.

I've got over 100 gas tractors. What I don't have is a fleet of mechanics like Jay Leno - to drain or treat every year. I bring different machines to shows every year. I usually make an effort to pull out machines that haven't been run in at least a few years. Yes, I've had a few that hadn't run in 4-5 years and were left with untreated gas. The gas would stink and I'd have to pull the carb apart and clean. No big deal. Also not an "air tight" type of fuel storage.

To put it plainly, I deal with old gas on a routine basis. I don't use gas-stabilizer in all my stuff. Too expensive and also, I get lazy.

I also have the problem of gas-storage at several remote properties. My "problem" is finding a way to use all the gas every few years. Plans change, and things change. and that does not always work out.

I have used raw gasoline (no stablizer added) that is two years old many times. If fact, there has not been a single time when it went bad on me. Maybe it degraded a little, but not enough to notice.

I know many people that have stored gasoline near 10 years with no problems WHEN stabilzer was added every year or so. Now, I can't prove it, but I will assume it never would of lasted without the stabilzer.

You can say what you want "till the cows come home" but I'm going to believe what I've actually experienced and seen with my two eyes.

I'll further note the situation of chain saws. I've got over 30 saws, sitting in three states. Some often sit for a year (with gas in them) without being touched. I've never had one single fuel problem. No "gummy" carbs as mentioned. Same with my two-stroke gas-tappers for tree-drilling.
 
I must be missing something. I can't see how you could mix water and antifreeze any better than putting them together in the cooling system and running the engine. The water pump and resulting circulation will do a heck better job mixing it than me standing there shaking a plastic bottle...
 
(quoted from post at 07:14:05 01/20/11) I must be missing something. I can't see how you could mix water and antifreeze any better than putting them together in the cooling system and running the engine. The water pump and resulting circulation will do a heck better job mixing it than me standing there shaking a plastic bottle...
Click to expand...

Yea...but just face it mister.....My way is better than your way..and don't you forget it :shock:
 
Like I've said earlier, I've not had a single problem in 40 years and I've always lived in very cold places. I've never premixed in my life.

I can see why new car makers use it though. This way they never use more then needed and keep expenses down. I ASSUME they don't buy the stuff in overpriced 50/50 gallon jugs.

I will guess that IF, you had an old tractor with NO water-pump, and relied on the thermo-siphon principal - you might get in a jam if the tractor didn't get used for while to mix things up. But, if working on such a thing, I'd be extra careful anway.

Now, if anyone's noticed - domestic non-toxic antifreeze for in-house plumbing and RVs is getting sold more and more as 50/50 mix. Totally useless! I say that because usually when you're adding for freeze protection, there is already water present. Big warning on the label - DO NOT DILUTE. What a joke. Go to a real plumbing supply store and they still have the full strength stuff. To use the 50/50 garbage, you have to get every drop of water out of your pipes and traps before using. That's especially fun with hidden traps and toliets.
 
jde, the sad thing is that this type marketing has proven to work quite well because of one known fact....women outnumber men by far as the "shoppers" in any store. Women are afraid of screwing up so they WILL buy 50/50 antifreeze and pre-mixed fuel. Not that they are gonna go to the woods with the chainsaw but they will run the weed whacker , 2cycle mower , snow blower leaf blower etc,etc. Lot of single women out there using this stuff. The "bean counters" and "marketers" know exactly what they are doing and sadly it works. Whad-a-ya-do???
 
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