May be an urban legend that someone did this, or tried to. But I find it perfectly plausible that someone (maybe even many ones) are stupid enough to have at least thought about it, perhaps up through the preliminary planning stages.
I same, I imagine, would also be stupid enough to have a pool-side BBQ on the Fourth. With the world’s most fabulous fireworks show, of course!
Wouldn’t most communities have laws against open-air storage of that amount of gasoline in a residential area?
I’m pretty sure the gasoline is going to be compatible with a sand filter, but a diatomaceous earth filter may be problematic. Bigger issues may come up with the chlorination system, and you’ll probably want to shock the pool after filling it - remember, oxidation is your friend. Finally, fire up the pool heater, no one likes cold gasoline.
Gasoline is expensive, so protect your investment by calling your insurance company to make sure you have adequate coverage.
Residential Gasoline Storage Tanks: A Complete Guide - it’s rather short.
Relevant snippet: “…Fire codes typically restrict gas storage at residential complexes to no more than 25 gallons.”
Interesting (to me) snippet: “…According to 2018 data, 142.86 billion gallons of gasoline are consumed every year in the United States …”
The potential for an underground leak is another issue. This may be a situation where an above ground pool is superior. In a neighborhood where well water is used, you won’t be popular if you’re the guy who poisons the well.
Then there is the issue of actually using the gasoline. It’s lighter than water, but if you’ve carried a five gallon gas can you know that it’s not exactly light. Assuming you want to use the gas fifteen gallons at a time, you get to fill that five gallon can, lug it to the car, and then pour it into the tank. Fueling from gas cans is also a bit of a pain, and you get to do this three times for every fill up. And in the beginning getting the gas from the pool is somewhat easy as it’s right there near ground level. Getting the last few hundred gallons at the bottom of the pool is going to be fun.
And then, of course, there’s the near certainty of at least one neighbor deciding to help himself to as much free gas as he can carry away. And then telling all his friends about it. So maybe you’d have to get a guard dog to live in your back yard.
For sure he would be fired.
mmm
This is reddit we’re talking about. Troll & Confabulist Central.
Every time I see this thread, I keep thinking that this is a plan worthy of the gang from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Gender reveal party.
What does orange indicate - “It’s a pumpkin!” or “It’s a Trump supporter!” or “The baby will be born on Halloween!”
I’ve thought about buying and storing gas in bulk, and have decided against it because it’s not worth it.
First an open pool, with any kind of cover you could think of, would allow a ridiculous amount of the gasoline evaporate away and you’d lose a lot of it within days. And then it would allow water vapor in, dirt and crap, and the quality would go down.
Also as pointed out, gasoline has a shelf-life and it doesn’t make sense to store more than you’ll actually use before it degrades. For me, I drive to and from work every day, using about 10L of gas.
200 work days per year = 2000L, or about 440 gallons. Using the swimming pool calculations above, that pool would hold 23 years worth of fuel for me. In sealed jerry cans in a dark shed, I wouldn’t want to store gas more than 1.5 years, with stabilizer. Adding stabilizer would increase the cost by about 6%.
Looking at the recent price jump, it went up by about 26%. Stabilizing 1.5 years worth of fuel would lessen that savings to 20% max if you knew exactly when to buy. And that’s IF you had properly sealed fuel containers at no cost. You can buy or make a slip-tank (with dispensing pump) which will hold 1-2 months worth of fuel. Although the cost for the equivalent number of jerry cans is about the same, purpose-made slip tanks are a lot more convenient.
I used to live in a relatively isolated area with no gas station, and I’d regularly fill up 4-5 jerry cans ever couple weeks to use. Pain in the ass to say the least. Pulling a 40-pound container out to refuel a few times a year is nothing. Doing it every 3 days is more inconvenient than you might think. There’s always a little dribble of spilt fuel every time you screw/unscrew the filling tube, and then you stand there holding the can for 5-7 minutes while it gravity drains.
I can only imagine the pain of having to dip a bucket into a swimming pool full of bugs and dead leaves to get gas. Reminds me of this Cheech and Chong moment:
It would be more practical to put the gasoline in one of those metre-wide cubical plastic tanks in a metal cage, the kind I occasionally see hauling water in the back of a pickup. (A strong pickup, because one cubic metre of water masses one tonne…)
“More practical” does not necessarily mean “practical”.
I knew some people who managed a small local ski hill. They would have the local distributor come and fill their diesel tank in the fall, about 200 gal heating oil tanks - 2 of them - to run the groomer. Usually it wouldn’t last the year. When I switched my house from oil to electric heat, they came and took my 200-gal oil tank to add to their supply. The tanks were up on stilts, to simplify gravity feed - no pump. Also would give them decent warning if there was a leak. And naturally, diesel is a lot safer than gasoline. Since the groomer was not driving on public roads, I think they could use heating oil that did not have the road taxes.
The main impetus for a full season’s supply was to avoid having the delivery truck come all the way out into the countryside, and then they’d also have to clear a longer driveway to the garage so the truck didn’t bog down - since the groomer did not need a plowed road. (In fact, it sometimes did the plowing too.) Plus, out in the country there were no close neighbours to complain about any smell of fuel.
I’m on Reddit, so I do know what you’re talking about.
At least the boards I post on, trend heavily Australian, and everyone seems to have multiple stories about male high school classmates who regularly masturbated in class, something I can’t recall ever happening but then again, that was 40-plus years ago.