Hurricane evacation and electric vehicles

[oil pan 4]

Newer cars tend to have long snaking small hose that connects the filler neck to the tank, good luck sending a suction tube down to the tank.
Most vehicles don't have short large filler neck to tank tubes like cars and trucks had up until the 80s.

[Xist]

When the gas pipeline went out and gas prices went up fifteen years ago someone mentioned getting a drill and a siphon to pull gas from their boat.

Perhaps they could not simply siphon it out, but a large gas can sounded like a far better solution.

Is there anything hard and durable enough to punch holes that is not metal?

[JockoT]

It was a hammer and chisel these guys were using!

[Xist]

Right.

How many gas tanks have drain plugs? Why punch a hole when you can just open the drain?

[JockoT]

Why look for a spanner of a particular size when you have a hammer and chisel to hand. We are talking scrappies here. Not mechanics! Hammer and chisel works on everything from a bike to a big truck!!

[oil pan 4]

I don't think I have ever seen a fuel tank for an on road vehicle with a drain plug, besides a motor cycle, but they usually have a drain valve.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

My diesel suburban with 40 gallon tank can get 800 miles of range. Put a huge trailer on the back, maybe cut the range in half. Still 400 miles of range.
Each 5 gallon diesel can is +75 miles, plus I heard that gas was running out, not diesel.

(The stunt of high mpg is just that. And meaningless in this situation. I've a post in the thread, "Economics of Modding" which goes towards thinking of what practicality means. Specifics to this thread, then, are):

No, sir, you have maybe 120-150/miles of range in an evacuation with that Suburban. Safer to call it 100 for planning. 3-5/mpg average for crowded Interstate. All cars, same problem. Biggest integral fuel tank for the win.

150-miles is the magic number. At this point, traffic should have fanned out or thinned enough beyond the range of the affected area to be able to find fuel.

This assumes one has looked into a plan far in advance of need. And tested it.

When I lived in Corpus Christi I made a fairly comprehensive survey of this and related topics. Based on historical accounts thru FEMA and state/city sources.

My route out of CC was to bypass the Edwards Plateau to the west as everything east of IH35 from Laredo to San Antonio (to the Louisiana Coast) would have been inundated by vehicles.

Given that even half my planned distance could be accomplished at a 30-mph average, I would be well within my known figures for a 18,000-lb combined vehicle to reach fuel stations outside of the heavily-trafficked areas.

Boys, if you don't know this kind of thing about your vehicle -- fully laden via scale numbers, how then to achieve best FE, total distance versus reserve, etc -- just remember you've had these examples stating you in the face. It needn't be a hurricane to want to get out of Dodge.

An electric vehicle is sacrificial by its nature. Being stranded out on the road and unable to use easily transported liquid fuel is the cue card for "stupid".

Besides, the Mazda SkyActiv HCCI engine has now killed the electric car. An economic argument can no longer be made in use of tax dollars and societal gain, not just individual "savings".

.

[oil pan 4]

Still, no reports of stations running out of diesel, only running out of gas.
Diesel, the other fuel the gas station never runs out of.

[JockoT]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Besides, the Mazda SkyActiv HCCI engine has now killed the electric car.
.

Aye, right.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I don't think I have ever seen a fuel tank for an on road vehicle with a drain plug, besides a motor cycle, but they usually have a drain valve.

Also haven't seen drain plugs in the fuel tank of any car, but many have an internal access under the rear seat where the fuel pump is mounted. So, siphoning fuel from those cars is not totally out of question.