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Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
1/28/21 12:40 p.m.

Never thought about the noise an engine would make. Assuming the world comes to standstill after the apocalypse, you could probably hear a running engine for miles away.

I'm learning that I am not as prepared for the after times as I thought. I'll stick to Fallout for now.

Rons
Rons GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
1/28/21 6:00 p.m.

Most people here seem to believe this post apocalyptic world will be a utopian paradise. My belief is it will be a dystopian feudal agrarian steam punk hell. 

There won’t be much travel because of the whole agrarian thing and our machines will use electricity because we’ll be using the original elements Earth, Wind, and Fire to obtain usable power.

I’ll leave it at that lest everyone comes to the realization that maybe I think too much.

Antihero (Forum Supporter)
Antihero (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
1/28/21 7:20 p.m.
Rons said:

Most people here seem to believe this post apocalyptic world will be a utopian paradise. My belief is it will be a dystopian feudal agrarian steam punk hell. 

There won’t be much travel because of the whole agrarian thing and our machines will use electricity because we’ll be using the original elements Earth, Wind, and Fire to obtain usable power.

I’ll leave it at that lest everyone comes to the realization that maybe I think too much.

Using the tears of your enemies = utopian paradise to you?

Rons
Rons GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
1/28/21 8:09 p.m.

In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :

I only saw most with the utopian paradise, not the wise ones who see the path.

03Panther
03Panther SuperDork
1/28/21 9:00 p.m.
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:

Just in case someone needs to print these out:

https://sciencing.com/make-wood-alcohol-through-distillation-7762993.html

https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Make_Ethanol

Filling up my emergency fuel trailer yesterday, and a guy mentioned wood gas... hadn't thought of it in years. You just saved me the time of looking it up!

Antihero (Forum Supporter)
Antihero (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
1/28/21 9:04 p.m.
Rons said:

In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :

I only saw most with the utopian paradise, not the wise ones who see the path.

And I didn't even mention biobatteries......

CJ (FS)
CJ (FS) GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
1/29/21 1:21 a.m.

My dad entered high school in Southern California during WWII.  Of course, everything was rationed then, including gas. 

He told me that there were a couple of Model Ts that old guys had built wood gasifiers for.  Dad said they ran... sort of...

Since the T engine had been designed for poor fuel in mind - low compression and low RPM - I guess it was a good choice.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/9/21 3:48 p.m.

In the immediate post-apocalypse, once the easy sources of lootable conventional fuels dry up/are under the control of warlords in assless chaps, the easy options are going to be running waste veg. oil in old diesel vehicles (this will be a valuable commodity), and charging EVs from improvised AC power sources. It'll be relatively easy to rig up solar arrays and wind turbines from salvaged materials for decades to come.

Junghole
Junghole SuperDork
9/9/21 5:30 p.m.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

Depends on the sitch. If mutants or zombies run amuck, wind turbines make you an easy to spot target. Solar arrays are a great way to trap someone. Sabotage a wire, wait in ambush for the farmer to come looking why. Slap farmer with a board with a nail in it. Take hostage the rest of the family. See, I've already thought of how to become evil after the apocalypse. 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
9/9/21 5:55 p.m.

Have we mentioned horses yet? 

thatsnowinnebago
thatsnowinnebago GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
9/9/21 6:26 p.m.
David S. Wallens said:

Have we mentioned horses yet? 

You could probably make them into biodiesel but plants are easier to catch.

Sidewayze
Sidewayze Reader
9/9/21 8:17 p.m.

Doesn't matter.  In the post apocalyptic world everone seems to be envisioning, you will most likely drink some bad water and poop your colon out in the first month.

daeman
daeman Dork
9/9/21 8:34 p.m.

No real mention of dumb diesel yet?

Old school, non electronic diesel can run on just about any oil with a little thought and effort.

After the last drop of gasoline or diesel is gone, there's still likely to be vegetable oil floating around. Oil from the sumps of multiple fuelless vehicles that have been discarded. Biodiesel is another option. Hell, I'm betting rendered fat could be used.

You'd want something stout, slow, overbuilt with loose tolerances. Think old military vehicles or farm implements. Something with good ground clearance and 4x4/awd. Something that will go nearly anywhere, even if it's a bit slow doing it.

Manual transmission so roll starts are an option. No electric required, you know, in case the apocalypse was due to an emp or whatever.

 

daeman
daeman Dork
9/9/21 8:38 p.m.

In reply to Sidewayze :

Knowing how to source and sterilize water is a cornerstone of survival though. If you've made it far enough into the apocalypse to be thinking transport, you've probably already mastered shelter, water and fire.

80sFast
80sFast Reader
9/9/21 9:24 p.m.

In the end times I probably won't have much time for motor sports. Maybe I'll take up not dying as a hobby instead. 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
9/10/21 10:27 a.m.
thatsnowinnebago said:
David S. Wallens said:

Have we mentioned horses yet? 

You could probably make them into biodiesel but plants are easier to catch.

To ride! Ride the horses. Not turn them into fuel....

KyAllroad
KyAllroad UltimaDork
9/10/21 1:16 p.m.
David S. Wallens said:
thatsnowinnebago said:
David S. Wallens said:

Have we mentioned horses yet? 

You could probably make them into biodiesel but plants are easier to catch.

To ride! Ride the horses. Not turn them into fuel....

Ew, riding horses?  Those things are big and stupid, falling off will really suck in an era without modern medicine.  A mountain bike is the better option if engines are off the table.

 

(I grew up on a horse farm and have ridden for years, I just don't like them.)

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
9/10/21 1:26 p.m.

Didn't we once ride horses--like for transportation? This was after the dinosaurs. 

A bike would be cool, too. My fear would be a parts failure. Snapped chain? Popped tube?

KyAllroad
KyAllroad UltimaDork
9/10/21 1:46 p.m.

Horses were never quite as common for transportation as people think.  They were expensive and take a lot of upkeep, most people walked from place to place.

With any level of industrialization, bicycles are the default transportation device.  Look at Asia, bicycles everywhere.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/10/21 3:29 p.m.
David S. Wallens said:

A bike would be cool, too. My fear would be a parts failure. Snapped chain? Popped tube?

Inner tubes can be repaired until they're nearly made of patches (and protected from punctures with a good tube protector), and a tubeless setup can take a ton of punctures and self-seal, although tubeless sealant and piping insulation for DIY tubeless inserts would be hot commodities, as will parts that are difficult/impossible to DIY such as tires, inner tubes, chains, and multi-speed sprockets. Big-money silent hubs would be valuable for their stealth capabilities.

AAZCD (Forum Supporter)
AAZCD (Forum Supporter) Dork
11/7/21 2:09 p.m.

Looking for some rural gas to put in the CR-V in the post-Coronapocalypse.

Justjim75
Justjim75 SuperDork
11/7/21 3:55 p.m.

Electric golf cart and solar panels or an old 5 ton military multifuel diesel, the kind that run on kerosene or veg oil etc that doubles as my home

pilotbraden
pilotbraden UberDork
11/7/21 4:42 p.m.

 

Aeolian fuel

 

pilotbraden
pilotbraden UberDork
11/7/21 4:46 p.m.

Screw being on land when the shot hits the fan

frenchyd
frenchyd UltimaDork
11/7/21 4:59 p.m.

In reply to tomtomgt356 (FS) :

Any really long stoke motors that we can convert to steam?   The longest stroke I can think of is a Pre 1987 Jaguar with a 4.17 stroke.  
 

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