JWR’s Introductory Note: The following is an update and expansion to a post that I made in SurvivalBlog back in November, 2005. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years.
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Many letters and e-mails I’ve received over the years have mentioned motor oil and chainsaw fuel mixing oil. That reminded me about a subject that I’ve meant to address on the blog: the key considerations of oil and lubricant storage. It is important to think through all of your oil and lubricant needs–everything from motor oil and transmission fluid to firearms lube. Figure out what you’ll use in a three-year period, and stock up. Then anticipate what you might need for barter and charity, and stock up even more. Because most families do not store any substantial quantity of oils and lubricants, they will be ideal barter items in a long-term Crunch.
The U.S. military generically uses the acronym POL, which stands for Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants. If you follow the military guidelines for safe POL storage, then your home and your retreat will be safe. The old standby “No smoking within 50 feet” signs are there for good reason!
Safe storage for your fuel, oil, and lubricants is essential. I recommend that you build a separate, dedicated, locking steel storage shed to store all of your flammables. Think in terms of a stubby CONEX shipping container that is well-removed from your other retreat buildings and not near any trees or shrubbery. Aside for a very small supply for day-to-day use, nearly all of your flammables should be stored in that outside shed: kerosene, fuel canisters (propane, stove fuel, et cetera), lighter fluid, gas cans, paint cans, bore cleaner, various automotive/tractor fluids, paint thinner, chemical degreasers, decontamination fluids, and oils of all descriptions. If you store any gunpowder, primers, percussion caps, blasting caps, or cannon fuse in this same shed, then it is important that you store them inside separate ammo cans with tight-fitting rubber seals. Otherwise, the lubricant vapors could deteriorate or even fully deaden them.
Fuel Storage
If you don’t have underground fuel tanks, then you’ll probably end up with a lot of five-gallon cans full of gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene on your flammables shed. Ditto for propane cylinders and 20-pound tanks. They can indeed be stored in the same space as your other POL items, but keep in mind that gasoline, propane, and paint thinner in particular have highly explosive vapors wth low flash points. So, if you store any gasoline in your POL shed, then take extra precautions for ventilation. Installing a simple spinner vent (“roof turbine”) can provide most of the ventilation needed. But keep in mind that some things such as propane are heavier than air, so it is important to also have a screened vent at floor level.
For your long-term “TEOTWAWKI” oil storage, I recommend that you store at least a few cases of non-detergent motor oil. Why do I emphasize “non-detergent “? This is because detergent motor oils only store well for a couple of years. But in contrast, non-detergent motor oil can be stored almost indefinitely. Look carefully at the label before you buy. (These days, even some of the most inexpensive brands of motor oil contain detergents.)
For firearms lubrication, I generally prefer the Break Free CLP brand. In a post-TEOTWAWKI environment, your guns will be your constant companions in all sorts of weather. So it is important to store gun cleaning and lubrication supplies in quantity.
Temperature-Appropriate Gun Lube
An Important Side Note: If you live in a region with cold winters, then you will also want to store special low-temperature dry film lubes such as Dri-Slide, BP-2000, or Molykote (molybdenum disulfide) for your firearms. Otherwise, you might have a gun literally freeze up on you. As American G.I.s in Korea learned almost 75 years ago, using the wrong lubricant in cold weather can be more than just embarrassing when someone is shooting at you! If the weather forecast indicates that the temperature will drop below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, you should scrupulously de-lubricate your battle rifles (with a degreaser such as Berryman Chem Tool) and re-lubricate them with a dry film lubricant. Repeat this process whenever a weapon gets wet. (Keep in mind that rapid temperature differences will cause a rifle to “sweat”. You should probably plan to do things Alaska style and leave your rifles out in your chilly mud/coat room rather than bringing them into heated rooms. This will reduce the chance of oxidation and a frozen action. When standing LP/OP duty or patrolling, cycle your rifle’s action a few times during the night to be sure that the action still functions properly.
Motor Oil and Filters
Oil filters are more important to store than motor oil. The myth of the obligatory 3,000 mile oil change has been perpetrated by the “30-Minute Oil Change” industry, because they like to see their customers frequently. (Read: $$$) In fact, in the modern era of multi-weight detergent oils, oil changes are grossly over-done! Unless a car engine is older and starting to grind metal, then your motor oil will usually have a much longer life than 3,000 miles. And, just because motor oil is dark does not necessarily indicate that it needs to be changed. Many commercial fleet vehicles get no oil changes at all–just new filters installed, and the same oil put back in.
Back in the 1980s the U.S. Army instituted the Army Oil Analysis Program (AOAP). Under AOAP, oil samples from each vehicle are labeled and periodically mailed to a centralized lab. Unless the lab detects a drop in viscosity, suspended metals particles, or contamination for any particular vehicle’s oil, they direct units to re-use the oil and merely change filters. (By the way, this program has saved the U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 40 years.)
Another tangential note: Part of keeping your hand tools in proper condition is oiling them to prevent rust. It is a good idea to keep a 20-gallon steel bucket that is half-filled with sand that is soaked in motor oil. Don’t substitute wood shavings or anything else that is flammable! And don’t use any used motor oil, because that is a carcinogen. Make this your standard operating procedure: After any tasks like splitting wood or spading the garden, be sure to brush off any clinging soil, re-sharpen your tools, and then plunge them into the oily sand and swish them around to give them a light coat of oil. This will greatly extend the service life of your hand tools!
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