Gas thieves 3 nights in a row

[derbydon]

So last Thursday I have my sprayer pump mechanic come out to replace diaphragms and O-rings on my Spacesaver rig. When he was done we flushed the old fuel out (stabilized- but I flush anyway), filled it up and calibrated flow. Ran 15 minutes tops.

Monday morning on first stop the engine starts to stall and sounds like it starved for fuel so I pull off and go to a dealer close by and after checking the carb bowl it still won't run. Lo and behold the damned thing is empty!

Yesterday morning (Wednesday) I'm mixing a new tank and notice the gas cap is laying in the truck bed and tank is almost empty. Sprayed 160 gallons on Monday and Tuesday after the first SNAFU. Did I not seat the cap all the way and it came off and lost fuel while driving? Suspect a thief at this point. Dog barked last night but he barks at cats, squirrels and poltergeists in the middle of the night too.

Tonight at about 1 AM while doing some quotes the dog goes nuts again. Truck is parked in rear of house under some pretty decent lights. I ran out the front and miss the thieves but the cap is gone and I've got less than 1/2 tank of fuel and the outside of the tank is wet. It was 3/4 full before dark and the cap was secure...I double checked last evening.

I had a few instances last year where it seemed I was running low on gas in the mowers too soon. The thing is I was never empty in the morning and only seemed to be off by a gallon or two at the most. Never enough to really be sure.

So do I -

A. By a bigass Doberman and tie him to the bumper every night.

B. Locking gas caps.

C. Cameras.

I thought about putting a bait can out but ther was an old gas can I had on the truck tonight with maybe a gallon in it and it wasn't touched. Right by the corner of the sprayer where the fuel tank sits.

And what's more annoying is I'll have to borrow a gas cap from another piece of equipment to spray tomorrow or make a trip 20 minutes the opposite direction to buy one from a dealer.

[CLARK LAWN]

i had someone stealing gas from out at my shop, right out of the trucks. i took an old gas can and put about a gallon of gasand 3 gallons of water in it and left it sit in the bed of a truck over the weekend come monday it was gone and i see the neighbor about 3 houses up getting his car towed away. dont know if it was him or not for sure but it stopped after that

[Darryl G]

I'd just get out my sleeping bag and pad and sleep in the truck bed for the nite

[tallrick]

Around here the gas thieves poke a hole in the gas tank and drain it. You end up with a damaged tank and no fuel. I fixed that problem with a 15KV transformer and a ground rod. The culprit turned out to be a kid The stupid kid complained to his parents who had the nerve to ask if I shocked him. Of course I disconnected the transformer during the day.

[LawnTamer]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Around here the gas thieves poke a hole in the gas tank and drain it. You end up with a damaged tank and no fuel. I fixed that problem with a 15KV transformer and a ground rod. The culprit turned out to be a kid The stupid kid complained to his parents who had the nerve to ask if I shocked him. Of course I disconnected the transformer during the day.

I like this... I like it a lot. Wish there was a way to do that with my kids, so some pedophile, or bully tries to grab them and gets zapped.

[gunsnroses]

bass pro and such sell those motion activated digital hunting cameras you tie to a tree...you can set them to take multiple frames or such per minute. just put it high enough the cant get to it.

[24v6spd]

Originally Posted by CLARK LAWN

i had someone stealing gas from out at my shop, right out of the trucks. i took an old gas can and put about a gallon of gasand 3 gallons of water in it and left it sit in the bed of a truck over the weekend come monday it was gone and i see the neighbor about 3 houses up getting his car towed away. dont know if it was him or not for sure but it stopped after that

Great minds think alike. I was living in an apartment complex and used to keep gas cans in the back of my pickup. I noticed someone was stealing gas from them. I took the rest out and filled one with 5 gallons of water with a little gas on top. Next morning the can was empty. On the road leading out of the complex one of the neighbors cars was broken down. I stopped and asked what the problem was, he said it had just died. I said I bet you have water in the gas and just laughed.

[mowerdude777]

Set out old gas mixed with sugar (that can cause damage) as well as a few other things you want to add to the mix. Or hide out outside and when you hear them have a big light and camera on you and point them at the thief and show the footage to your police department

[wanabe]

I would bait them with bad fuel. Chances are the cops won't do anything for taking a few gallons of gas anyway

[Chilehead]

I'd do all three options PLUS lie in wait with a paintball gun. Ha!