What to do with 20 gallons of 2+-year old gas?

[GhostHawk]

"Modern generation gas lasts longer than it did in the old days."

I would have to disagree with that statement. But I also know that gasoline content varies widely from state to state.

So what I am seeing up here in ND may not bear much resemblance to what you have down there in texas.

Even treated with Stabil modern gas up here seems to want to "shellac" and gum up carb jets, etc.

Seafoam helps once its happened if you can get it running.

And no I'm not talking anything with ethanol in it.

Seems to break down faster than it did 8-10 years back. Smells funky after 6 months.

So mostly I try to use smaller cans and buy smaller amounts and use it up.

[robg]

If it smells ok use it if it smells like varnish dump it

[DougGuy]

Incorporate it into running vehicles 5gal at a time, make sure there is 10gal of fresh gas and mix it in and run it.

[frkelly74]

When we moved and I had some old gas sitting around, I dumped it in the U-Haul truck tank and used it up that way. It was well diluted and caused no problems.

[clintsfolly]

I have property on a island with one gas pump! Last week the price was $1.58 a liter. so I keep a small supply of gas there. I just bite the bullet and buy RV gas no ethanol. Last was $3.29 a gal. I use it in my Quad,chainsaw,lawn tools and snow blow. Have a shelf and the cans set on. The oldest on the left and newest right . I use the oldest first and as one empty’s I move them over to the left. Empty’s are brought home and filled and returned next trip. Since I started do this I haven’t had any fuel related problems.

[redneck1]

I'm about as frugel as you can get , I wouldn't run it in my vehicle .
Just isn't worth the potential headaches I could cause .

[Butzbach]

Use it.

I have used Stabil in my SHTF generator supply cans since 2008. I replace the gas every two years and have never had a problem. When I use it I mix 5 gallons in a fresh tank of gas for the cars. No knocking nor hard starting with the stored gas.

[megasupermagnum]

There are a lot of myths out there on gasoline, and one of them is that it goes bad in only a few months. While I'm certain it begins degrading rather quickly, I wouldn't define it as bad for longer than most people. As has been stated, real non-oxygenated gasoline is better. It doesn't seem to separate and leave gum inside of carburetors. It also doesn't ruin fuel lines, and seems to last longer. I won't pretend to be an authority, but I've dealt with plenty of old gas ranging from old to downright ancient. 2 year old gas should be ok, I wouldn't be concerned myself. You could run it in any small engine like a lawn mower without issue. If adding to your car or truck, add 10 gallons to a nearly empty tank, then top off at the gas station.

Even 5 year old gas, when mixed with new gas is useable in a lawn mower. I couldn't put an exact time, but somewhere in that 5 to 10 year range is when gasoline truly turns sour, and will no longer burn well enough. Just recently I was working with an Alice Chalmers tractor that has gas that could be as much as 20 years old. By this point it is hard to get the stuff to even ignite with a match.

[fiberoptik]

I had a supply of gas I bought for Y2K. Tried using it some years later. It wouldn’t burn. Can’t say how long though. Didn’t even smell like gas!


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[Tripplebeards]

I dump year old gas. It’s has cost many service bills to clean carbs over the years. I use premium in every thing accept for my daily transportation to extend the fuel life and lack of issues between use. I’ve had unleaded gas brake down in my boat tank in less then a couple of months recently. Reminds me I have to drain my Harley that’s been sitting for the last couple of years and remove and clean the carb.

[ReloaderEd]

agreed

[JoeJames]

Sea Foam.

[Tripplebeards]

I just siphoned the two-year-old premium fuel out of my Fatboy a few hours ago. I also cleaned out the clogged brass nozzel that sprays fuel directly into the carburetor. The rest of the carb and jets looked as clean as if it was new. I couldn't get all the old fuel out so there was probably an inch of old gas in the bottom of the tank and fuel line feeding into the carburetor. I added a a good half cup of seafoam and filled the tank up with new premium gas. The bike started right away but didn't want to idle till I drove it for about 10 minutes. I blame it on the rest of the old gas that already was in my fuel line going to my carb that couldnt get mixed with the new fuel. After a few minutes the old gas passed through the bike and it ran great. The two year old old premium gas I removed still smells like fresh gas but it made my bike run ruff enough not to idle. I'm sure I could dump it in a lawn mower and run it full throttle and I’m betting it will burn dirty and fowl my plugs. It’s going to get dumped instead.

[fcvan]

My 2005 Sportster has a carburetor. I always turned off the fuel valve a mile or so befor getting home and let the carb run dry, never had a problem. My nieces boyfriend thought that since the keys were in it, he could drive it, he didn't run the fuel out of the carb. My wife chewed his backside for riding my bike without even asking her. She also said she would have told him 'no.'

The next time I rode the bike it ran, but very rough, wouldn't idle. Thank God, my Father in Law is a bike guy and fixed it up. My wife has her own bike, and I also have a 2007 Soft tail. You better believe I gave my FIL the Sportster when he moved in with us.

One thing I didn't hear anyone mention was Marvel Mystery Oil. That works great at cleaning out shellac and crud, and also helps gas keep from going bad. I had some old gas and ran it though an ATV with no problems, no mixing with fresh gas. My mowers, weed eaters get drained at the end of the season, and the quads and such get non-ethanol premium. Sure, it costs more, but the engines run better and cooler as they get run hard at the Oregon Dunes.

The quads in CO are trail riders and don't get hard use. They all get drained at the end of the season, and the fuel cans emptied into the car or truck. My generator gets run every month, sometimes more. I use an electric weed whacker, run by the generator. The gas weed whacker is currently obstinate due to leaking fuel lines at the tank. I took it to a shop and they said they 'couldn't fix it,' not before cutting my fuel lines and refusing to replace them. I got it to run but the leaking fuel connections are still a problem. A little permatex or epoxy should fix it.

One thing is certain, bad gas can mean a bad day, but it can be prevented. SeaFoam, Marvel, Stabil, mixing with fresh gas, can all work well. Heck, even starting and running a couple of minutes on carb/choke cleaner sprayed into the intake before filling the tank.

[dragon813gt]

Use it.

I have used Stabil in my SHTF generator supply cans since 2008. I replace the gas every two years and have never had a problem. When I use it I mix 5 gallons in a fresh tank of gas for the cars. No knocking nor hard starting with the stored gas.

This is exactly what I do. I used to use marine Stabil but I switched to Star Tron. I did switch to ethanol free fuel when I found out I could get it locally. But the run of the mill ethanol laced gas worked just fine after being treated and stored for a few years.

[Tripplebeards]

My 2005 Sportster has a carburetor. I always turned off the fuel valve a mile or so befor getting home and let the carb run dry, never had a problem. My nieces boyfriend thought that since the keys were in it, he could drive it, he didn't run the fuel out of the carb. My wife chewed his backside for riding my bike without even asking her. She also said she would have told him 'no.'

The next time I rode the bike it ran, but very rough, wouldn't idle. Thank God, my Father in Law is a bike guy and fixed it up. My wife has her own bike, and I also have a 2007 Soft tail. You better believe I gave my FIL the Sportster when he moved in with us.

One thing I didn't hear anyone mention was Marvel Mystery Oil. That works great at cleaning out shellac and crud, and also helps gas keep from going bad. I had some old gas and ran it though an ATV with no problems, no mixing with fresh gas. My mowers, weed eaters get drained at the end of the season, and the quads and such get non-ethanol premium. Sure, it costs more, but the engines run better and cooler as they get run hard at the Oregon Dunes.

The quads in CO are trail riders and don't get hard use. They all get drained at the end of the season, and the fuel cans emptied into the car or truck. My generator gets run every month, sometimes more. I use an electric weed whacker, run by the generator. The gas weed whacker is currently obstinate due to leaking fuel lines at the tank. I took it to a shop and they said they 'couldn't fix it,' not before cutting my fuel lines and refusing to replace them. I got it to run but the leaking fuel connections are still a problem. A little permatex or epoxy should fix it.

One thing is certain, bad gas can mean a bad day, but it can be prevented. SeaFoam, Marvel, Stabil, mixing with fresh gas, can all work well. Heck, even starting and running a couple of minutes on carb/choke cleaner sprayed into the intake before filling the tank.

Mine is carburetorated as well. I was the service manager for the local Harley Davidson for four years. Fun place to work but extremely poor pay. We drained and filled countless bike tanks every year and cleaned the carbs because of old gas. Our shop had a manual hand crank and electric pump. The problem is the fuel petcock on my 00' FLSTF will only release fuel when the bike is being cranked over. I didn't feel like removing my tank and dumping it upside down so got out on old aquarium gravel vaccum tube I had laying around. I haven't siphoned gas with a tube and sucking it out with my mouth since I was a kid. I can tell you gas hasn't got any better tasting over the last couple decades.

[fiberoptik]

I had a car sitting for probably two years. Then I needed to use it. I had a 5th of Everclear, so I dumped it in. Ran really good!


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[1hole]

... I left four red plastic 5 gallon cans of unleaded gas treated with StaBil.

Is the gas safe to use in a vehicle and if not what can I safely do with it? Any suggestions will be appreciated. GF

Use it.

I don't believe we've had any gas at all that is not "unleaded" for about 30 years now.

[DougGuy]

I just took 10gal out of my old van, it is running badly and the gas doesn't smell bad, or like varnish, it doesn't smell like gasoline at all! It looks darker orange/red than normal. I put 5gal of fresh gas in the van and it sounds a LOT better. I'm scared to put it in my 2008 Nissan Xterra.

[Ozark mike]

I had a car sitting for probably two years. Then I needed to use it. I had a 5th of Everclear, so I dumped it in. Ran really good!


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Everclear is up to 96 dollars a gallon here. To expensive for my blood to dump it in a vehicle