[EAS] [BC] a note of interest

[Dale Lamm]

[snip]

5- No idea of where to get fuel or what to carry it in.
6 -Inability to grasp the concept that when the power is out, your
neighborhood service station is not likely to be able to supply fuel.
7 -No plan B for fuel.

[end]

Good items to consider. Our main AM-FM plant (5 towers total) is spread
over about 16 acres in farm country. A local farmer harvests hay off our
field in exchange for him providing us mowing services. He has hundreds
of acres under his management, and has a truck with a 200 gallon #2 red
fuel tank (plus a larger fixed tank on the farm). He uses this to fuel
combines and tractors in the field during extended operations. We have
an agreement that he is our "plan B" for fuel should something preclude
normal delivery. I should say his vehicles have no problem going
off-road. We keep good relations with site neighbors. I get phone calls
when suspicious activity is seen on or near one of our two sites (mostly
groundhog shooters).

Now, for a potential trouble situation that concerns me, although we
have never experienced it. Am open to comments. 100 KW Cat diesel is in
the shack's garage, a separate room from where the XMTRs sit. There's a
275 gallon main tank and a 25 gallon day tank in the same garage. The
garage is heated to 50 degrees F in the winter. When the gen runs,
louvers open to allow outside air to swirl into the garage, through the
radiator and out a big opening in the wall. Say the gen runs when it is
10 degrees F outside, or colder. Freezing air is now circulated over
both storage tanks. In an extended outage, will the tanks cool down and
allow the fuel to gel? Should I think about some type of tank heater for
the diesel fuel? Should I ask my supplier to sell me a chemical
treatment to prevent the wax coming out of solution?