Availability of Gas

[12bar1]

I got home around noon today from a business trip and stopped to fill up my rental car before I turned it in and had no trouble finding gas. This afternoon on my way home from the office almost every gas station was either out of gas or had pretty big lines. I expected this to happen but not this soon. How available is gas in your neck of the woods.

[rph802]

no "outages" that I've heard of and there is no excuse for there not to be. its not like these folks (or another word beginning with "f" I've been using lately) didnt know this storm was coming. Obviously output will be down for a while but there should have been sufficient warning to get what was all ready refined out of the path of Katrina.

I am really "peeved" about this situation. Prices were bad enough prior but this just seems like an excuse to price gouge. My local Mobil station went from 2.72 for 93 octane Wed AM to 2.99 last night. Tonight it was upto 3.19!!! I mean WTF??? How can they excuse that?? How does the cost of WHAT IS SITTING IN THEIR STOARGE TANKS GONE UP LIKE??? OK, once new deliveries come in at a higher cost, still sucks but I can understand that to some degree. But a $0.47 increase in 24 hours???? That is male bovine excrement in the extreme.

[Pat]

Would it be stupid of me to ask how best to stash gasoline?

I currently have 30 gallons of gas that I bought yesterday.....
- why not -
In the last twenty hours, it's already gone up significantly.
- and it's not even Friday (before the Labor Day weekend) yet!

So I now have six 1.4 gallon plastic gas cans (filled w/gas) sitting on the garage floor, and four 6 gallon plastic gas cans sitting outside in the shade of my patio. Plenty of ventilation etc......

- however -

*How safe/unsafe is this?
*Where best to stash them?
*How long can gas sit before it becomes unstable?
*How/why/which is worst/best for storage of gas: plastic or metal?

[Biff's R]

I think that the price usually goes up before they buy the stuff, so that they can pay for the expennsive gas when it is delivered.

I heard something about the pipeline/transport between New Orleans, and Atlanta had been disrupted, and that seems to be a major cause in the price increase. Another problem is the lack of refining capacity(this was a problem even before Katriina).

I am considering a diesel car due to the better MPG.

[Guest]

Would it be stupid of me to ask how best to stash gasoline?

I like ya Pat, but... the answer is a big "Yup". The safety risks involved in storing gasoline in your house far outweigh the advantage of saving a very small amount of money on 30 gallons of gas.

[garylspolar]

I meant, "near" your house. And, 'tis I, GaryLSpolar. Not sure why I keep getting signed out lately, and showing up as guest.

[Pat]

(damn, same response I got when I asked prior to Y2K also. Without doubt a wise response, but surely there are answers to my questions though?)

[wncbmw]

We had a gas shortage in WNC yesterday which I believe was media-induce. They built up the possiblilty of some shortages and suddenly, everyone was "topping off" the tank well before they needed gas. Prices suddenly climbed too. It appears today, gas is available, although I haven't checked prices.

My wife's car and mine were basically filled early in the week, the only vehicle needing gas is the bike! Perfect 3-day weekend coming up; clear skies, temps in the 70s, tourist staying away because of gas prices. I'm gassing the bike if I have to siphon some out of the cars!

[JCsman]

I had to use premium yesterday for my wife's car. The station was out of the lower two grades. Price is up some 25 cents as well. This morning I didn't see lines at the stations either.

But I was in lower (but out of the bad area) Alabama yesterday morning. There is real shortages there. In part, I presume by the tremendous number of trucks heading south to assist.

[socalrob]

Lucky for us here in Cali that we have seperate oil supplies & refineries from the rest of the country. At least thats what they've told us for the last few years as an excuse as to why gas in Cali is 25 to 50 cents higher than the national average.

So I'm sure our prices won't be going up, right?

Thats my story & I'm sticking to it.

BTW, the FEDS need to be inspecting all of those "storm damaged" refineries, because you know what? The more "damaged" the oil companies report them to be, the more $$ the same oil companies stand to make. That's exactly what the electric producers did to Cali a few years ago, & my electric bill is still double to pay off idiotic bonds.

[Shaman]

So I now have six 1.4 gallon plastic gas cans (filled w/gas) sitting on the garage floor, and four 6 gallon plastic gas cans sitting outside in the shade of my patio. Plenty of ventilation etc......

This is why Gas stations are having shortages.

[Boxer]

Vann- Same thing here on Wednesday afternoon. Massive lines with everybody in a panic. Stations either running out or just closing down the pumps. There was a rumor that Governor Perdue was going to issue an emergency close-down of all gas pumps to conserve what we have.

This morning it's up to $3 for regular. On Monday it was $2.59. No big deal for me. Maybe it will keep some of the gas-guzzling SUV's off the road.

At least one BP station started pricing at $6 a gal to keep away buyers. Some oil/economics expert on TV says the stations have the right to do that to keep away purchasers so they can wait out the price increases and then sell their stock higher.

It's a zoo.

[Boxer]

We should all go out to the country somewhere and buy a horse. Pat, you will be safer storing a horse in your house. Don't foget some hay...and get plenty before the price goes up.

[machew01]

In Raleigh, NC, there have been some brief, isolated instances of stations running dry, and prices are universally in excess of $3/gallon. The local paper has reported that the gasoline pipeline that serves this area was temporarily shut down by power failures. It is back in limited operation, and it should be back to near normal operation early next week. I do wonder, though, where the supplies will be coming from.

mac

[rdsmith3]

NJ used to have some of the cheapest gas prices in the country. But on Wed night/Thurs morning prices seemed to have gone up over $0.50 per gallon. You can tell that the pricing is irrational now. It makes no sense and is not related to anything happening in NO.

For example, regular gas at a Sunoco station was $3.09 last night. The "bargain" station across the street was selling regular for $3.29. They are usually a few cents cheaper than the Sunoco.

This has to be price gouging. There is no other explanation for it.

[R4R&R]

NJ used to have some of the cheapest gas prices in the country. But on Wed night/Thurs morning prices seemed to have gone up over $0.50 per gallon. You can tell that the pricing is irrational now. It makes no sense and is not related to anything happening in NO.

For example, regular gas at a Sunoco station was $3.09 last night. The "bargain" station across the street was selling regular for $3.29. They are usually a few cents cheaper than the Sunoco.

This has to be price gouging. There is no other explanation for it.

The gouging may not be directly from the stations, but the distributors.

I hope things get under control soon, but we shouldn't forget the people displaced from their homes. Funny how this hurricane causing so much devastation in one city can affect the whole country.

[NoRRmad]

I know a guy who manages a gas station. They make a penny a gallon profit.

[yjleesvrr]

In Southwest VA, regular is around 3.10 per gallon. I filled my Roadster up last night for 13 bucks. Ouch! It wasn't long ago that I could fill up my truck for less than that.

[darthrider]

This might help...a little.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

[Pat]

Dave,
I used that site to determine the least expensive gas in my area. I found a post indicating "$2.77" a gallon at 5:55. By 8:55 when I got there, it was instead $2.87......

As I was driving home, gas was being sold elsewhere for "$3.01" and up.

Kinda fun!