Colonial pipeline

[bronze_10]

I told my wife there is still aBout 40 gallons in the boat... just incase we need it

 

[veedubtek]

Plenty of diesel still in Winston Salem!

Must be some gas too. Just got back in town, and there musta been 50 cars in the Sheetz lined up at the pumps. Took 20 minutes to get a pump and get my diesel topped up.

 

[haknslash]

We've now ran out of gas at the stations near me.

 

[Julian]

price jumped $0.30 at a BP station by the house. Bunch of crap. Sheetz stations are all out of gas near here. People are lined up about 6 deep at the private gas stations that usually get very little business. Going to be interesting for a couple of days.

Taking a road trip to Virginia all week. May need to pack my bug out bag to take with me in case I have to walk home. Thank god the truck holds 33 gallons...

I was driving home from Baltimore yesterday, and it wasn't until we got to the Sheetz station on 1 just north of 98 that we saw a station with no gas. And the prices jumped as we approached the Triangle area. Lots of stations north of the Triangle with gas....

 

[justason]

sheetz and shell must run a different distribution backbone, they ran out way too early. I went to a BP to load up last night and they had just received a delivery.

Check out colonial pipeline on wiki :
The main lines are 40 inches (1,000 mm) and 36 inches (910 mm) in diameter, with one primarily devoted to gasoline and the other carrying distillate products such as jet fuel, Diesel fuel, and home heating oil. The pipeline connects directly to major airports along the system. Fifteen associated tank farms store more than 1.2×109 US gallons (4.5×109 L) of fuel and provide a 45-day supply for local communities.

I'm supposed to go to Little river SC and back this weekend....any input about supply between there and Raleigh is welcome

NC governor executed a price lock yesterday...cant imagine they can supervise that well.

 

[bronze_10]

Any citizen can call and make a claim of price gouging and the state will investigate it... also.... there is still gas moving. This morning on my way in to work at about 6 am I saw 4 gas tankers off loading at small mom and pop stores. The kangaroo station in wf had fuel that was delivered at 530 am. At night the tucks can make more runs quicker and the gas isn't depleted as soon as it is unloaded. As the day continues the gas is used up.

In Selma there is a large tank farm that hold millions of gallons of gas. I'm not sure how much inls there but it is placed to provide fuel on a local level during interuptions. The strange thing is how quickly sheetz ran out of fuel at all stores at once. I am wondering if they did it as a business move to have fuel later in during the crisis or they get thier fuel from a different discounted source who is out.

On any event with the declaration of a state of emergency states from the north of us are sending fleets of tankers south to help deliver fuel from longer distances than is normal.

In the end the media and people seein sheetz out of fuel started a local panic! It will blow over soon enough.

But I did fill both if my vehicles on saturday!!!! Lol

 

[MattFX4]

I wonder that if everyone went about their business as normal and stuck to their normal driving and filling up habits, would we even have an issue? Part of the problem is once panic sets in everyone runs out at once to fill up all their vehicles and spare gas tanks which depletes the supply very quickly. Easier said than done, but wished people could just calm down sometimes, and not make the problem much worse. It is scary though. If one leaking pipeline can cause this much trouble, just imagine what would happen if terrorist of whoever targeted these pipelines and other parts of the gas supply chain. We would be screwed.

I have about 40 gallons sitting in my boat right now. How would one go about getting it out if needed ??

 

[justason]

@MattFX4 @bronze_10

I wondered the same about sheetz locking down till a later date.....and I agree, the real problem is the press. They set a lot of this into motion with the negative angle

as for a siphon, there are several to choose from you can get most anywhere. type siphon into Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Plumbers-Sip...ie=UTF8&qid=1474297647&sr=8-1&keywords=SIPHON

there is one with a ball bearing "shake weight" style that folks here seem to favor...I've never used one myself......more of an old skewl suck and choke approach for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-1080...ie=UTF8&qid=1474297647&sr=8-8&keywords=SIPHON

 

[waterboy]

drove up to Roanoke, VA today. No issues on the drive, except at Sheetz stations. Go figure. I ave heard that they moved gasoline over to the other distillate pipeline to move some gas. Prices have jumped though

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Funny you mentioned the siphons. I bought that "pump" style one listed above last night. Would be frustrating to have a boat full of gas and and no way to access it. Can use siphon for other things too so not a total waste of money. Now I just hope one of the scumbags of the world doesn't get any funny ideas and steal gas out of my boat before I can steal gas out of my boat. May need to find a locking gas cap for boat too.

Hopefully all this is a non issue and maybe in a few days people calm down. But with dummies filling up there cars and extra gas cans EVERDAY we shall see. Guy I work with has topped off his truck everyday since Friday. If he sees a station with gas he stops. Tried to explain to him that's not helping but pretty sure that went in one ear and out the other. He thinks I'm an idiot for not topping off daily.

 

[justason]

drove up to Roanoke, VA today. No issues on the drive, except at Sheetz stations. Go figure. I ave heard that they moved gasoline over to the other distillate pipeline to move some gas. Prices have jumped though

I was wondering how they change fluids over in a pipeline flowing at 3-5MPH...floating plug or something?


found these::

how the bypass repair is managed

longer, more detail, different goal


FOUND IT: called batching, instead of a plug or separator, the mixed material is called TRANSMIX that is refined (cleaned) upon arrival
http://www.pipeline101.com/How-Do-Pipelines-Work/What-Is-Batching
http://www.kindermorgan.com/pages/business/products_pipelines/transmix/default.aspx

 

[bronze_10]

I wonder that if everyone went about their business as normal and stuck to their normal driving and filling up habits, would we even have an issue? Part of the problem is once panic sets in everyone runs out at once to fill up all their vehicles and spare gas tanks which depletes the supply very quickly. Easier said than done, but wished people could just calm down sometimes, and not make the problem much worse. It is scary though. If one leaking pipeline can cause this much trouble, just imagine what would happen if terrorist of whoever targeted these pipelines and other parts of the gas supply chain. We would be screwed.

I have about 40 gallons sitting in my boat right now. How would one go about getting it out if needed ??

The first thing I always think about when something like this happens is we are telegraphing our weekness...

 

[Andy S]

As for those that have thought about siphoning fuel out of their boat's tank, I think it will be a lot harder than you think. The way the fuel filler hose connects to the tank requires the siphon hose to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. In the below picture, which I borrowed from @ToddW850 and was posted in a different thread, in the upper right hand corner you will see rectangular plastic piece rise from the tank, this is where the fuel filler hose connects (you can barely see the hose clamp and fuel filler hose). This is where the siphon hose has to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. I've tried to siphon fuel out of my boat with just a piece of hose, no weight or shake siphon on the end, and was not able to get the hose into the tank. To me about the only way to get fuel out of the tank without removing the deck hatch to gain access to a tank opening is to disconnect the fuel line from a motor, turn the ignition key to the on position, and let the fuel pump move fuel into another a portable tank.

Hopefully, the gas station will be able to refuel and no one will have to try and siphon fuel out of their boat.

 

[Julian]

As for those that have thought about siphoning fuel out of their boat's tank, I think it will be a lot harder than you think. The way the fuel filler hose connects to the tank requires the siphon hose to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. In the below picture, which I borrowed from @ToddW850 and was posted in a different thread, in the upper right hand corner you will see rectangular plastic piece rise from the tank, this is where the fuel filler hose connects (you can barely see the hose clamp and fuel filler hose). This is where the siphon hose has to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. I've tried to siphon fuel out of my boat with just a piece of hose, no weight or shake siphon on the end, and was not able to get the hose into the tank. To me about the only way to get fuel out of the tank without removing the deck hatch to gain access to a tank opening is to disconnect the fuel line from a motor, turn the ignition key to the on position, and let the fuel pump move fuel into another a portable tank.

Hopefully, the gas station will be able to refuel and no one will have to try and siphon fuel out of their boat.

Pretty sure you are pointing out the vent line....the filler line is in the upper right of this photo...straight line in.

 

[Andy S]

Pretty sure you are pointing out the vent line....the filler line is in the upper right of this photo...straight line in.

As for those that have thought about siphoning fuel out of their boat's tank, I think it will be a lot harder than you think. The way the fuel filler hose connects to the tank requires the siphon hose to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. In the below picture, which I borrowed from @ToddW850 and was posted in a different thread, in the upper right hand corner you will see rectangular plastic piece rise from the tank, this is where the fuel filler hose connects (you can barely see the hose clamp and fuel filler hose). This is where the siphon hose has to turn 90 degrees in a very short distance. I've tried to siphon fuel out of my boat with just a piece of hose, no weight or shake siphon on the end, and was not able to get the hose into the tank. To me about the only way to get fuel out of the tank without removing the deck hatch to gain access to a tank opening is to disconnect the fuel line from a motor, turn the ignition key to the on position, and let the fuel pump move fuel into another a portable tank.

Hopefully, the gas station will be able to refuel and no one will have to try and siphon fuel out of their boat.

The vent is the 1 inch aluminum block with a 1 inch or so hose connected in the center of the picture between the fuel pumps.

 

[Julian]

The vent is the 1 inch aluminum block with a 1 inch or so hose connected in the center of the picture between the fuel pumps.

Yup....and the inlet is in the upper right....perhaps a 60 degree angle at most...and with 3-4 inches in which to make it. We've had people on the forum who've had gas stolen....and siphon hoses are pretty flexible....so although I wouldn't want to try this, I don't think it would be too hard....

 

[su laxplayer21]

This reminds me of Hurricane Sandy here in NY, and what a nightmare that was. Clearly Sandy was much worse than what is going on now but it's still not pleasant. It really shows you how dependent we are on fuel and how much we take it for granted. The panic during Sandy was the real cause of the problem, and not the shortage of gasoline. People were filling up everything they owned, when they would normally drive around on E all day long. People would wait hours to fill up 5 gallons because they wanted to top off their car! All the NY governor had to do was instate the odd even license plate rule like they did in the 70's and there would have been way less problems. He eventually did this... but 4 days after the problem began.

The reason you will see certain brands of fuel run out in groupings is because of the allocation at the terminals. Some brands are allotted fuel from multiple pipelines at multiple terminals and some are allotted fuel from only one pipeline. As companies truck gasoline from terminals that are further away you will see prices increase quickly... it's the cost of doing business. Not to mention, as fueling stations run out of gas and sit idle they are losing money. So you can expect increases at every level of distribution. If you see jumps of $1.00 or more you may or may not be looking at gouging. For example, during Sandy when most places were out of fuel one unbranded station wasn't. He was charging over a $1.00 more a gallon. Most people would say price gouging. He was subsequently investigated by NYS but was cleared of any wrong doing. He was shipping gasoline in from VA, by tanker truck! The cost of that fuel was significantly more expensive for obvious reasons. I am in the gasoline retail business and during Hurricane Sandy the prices went up significantly... $.20-40 a gallon. Most of it was from the terminal, and some of it was to cover my increase in expenses. I had to have more employees working to maintain order at the pumps, and had to make up for lost revenues when I was out of fuel for the two days following a delivery. All in all... I would never want to go through that again ever! Best of luck to everyone that is effected down south... we are beginning to feel effects up here.

 

[itsdgm]

I have siphoned all of the fuel out of my boat last year and here's how I did it. Hopefully nobody ever needs to, but here's my experience.

First I removed the deck

Second I pulled out the sending unit.

Then I lined up a few 5 gallon cans on the ground behind the boat. The cans need to be below the level of the tank in order for the fuel to be siphoned out.

I used a bulb type hand pump and about 15' -20' of hose in order to get from the bottom of the tank to the fuel cans. The pump needs to be held in a specific position in order for the valves to start the pumping process. Then fuel is drawn into the pump by squeezing the bulb several times then gravity takes over and it continues to draw the fuel out once the pump is turned over. It siphoned very slowly (about a gallon every few minutes), but time wasn't a factor.

Something to consider. I "zip tied" a stick to the end of the hose that was inserted into the tank. This was the only way to get it to stay on the bottom of the tank. For this reason alone, I don't think that you could empty the tank by going through the fuel filler.

When I started, I tried two pumps. One of those "ball bearing shake types" and this one. I first tried the shake one and had no success. So I switched to this bulb type and it worked like a charm.

Anyway, I know there's more than one way to do this. I had good results doing it as described above. Feel free to @tag me or PM me if you have any questions

 

[haknslash]

Holy crap guys there was an explosion about an hour ago at the Colonial Pipeline site by my house. Near the area where we had the spill at. I just left my house and there is a huge plume of smoke you can see. I even went several miles away to pick up my daughter from school and you can see it! Reports right now are at least 5 colonial pipeline workers were injured. We've been in a extreme drought here so I'm hoping we don't have a huge wildfire from this as its a very remote woodland area.

 

[haknslash]

Flames are massive!