UKC

I've got some petrol in the plastic tank for my outboard engine. If I know i wont be fishing in a while, I normally siphon into a car within a couple of weeks. But been too busy of late and its been in the tank since first weekend November (where we did catch a few good pike on Coniston). I know it can go off, but just wondering about timescales ??? To be honest, its my wifes car I'd be siphoning into (mines is a diesel), but being the time of goodwill thought I'd best check it out..........

In reply to mick taylor:

Im guessing its not a massive amount, but can you not then fill the car right up and dilute it out a but?
I am not very mechanically minded but just an idea.

In reply to mick taylor:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://w...

In reply to mick taylor:
I'm sure it'll be fine. It takes a lot more than a couple of months to lose its pep.

Supplementary question to the group: if the petrol had been in the tank for a couple of years rather than a couple of months and it had well & truly gone off, what to do with it? How do you get rid of the stuff?

In reply to deepsoup:
Burn it?

More sensibly you may find the Council tip may take it? Ask first though.

In reply to mick taylor:

It'll be fine, especially diluted in a car tank. Unless you can smell a strong aroma of fuel around your outboard it's not 'going off' fast.

Deepsoup: You could dump really old fuel at your local tip's oil recycling facility but it'll probably be fine after a couple of years so long as it's not wide open to the air. Easiest option would be use it as is or blended with some fresh fuel.
jk

In reply to deepsoup:
With caution still! I've used 2+yr old petrol in my cultivator and it still runs well! My local recycling centre has facilities to take waste fuels, oils, etc.

In reply to deepsoup:

And also what happen to the £60 of unleaded that I had to pay £198 to have removed from the Diesel car I put it in?

In reply to mick taylor:

I have two plastic containers in my shed containing 2 stroke and the straight fuel for my strimmers, etc.
It’s not unknown for me to use 8 month old fuel before refilling them and not notice any difference.

In reply to mick taylor:

Petrol doesn't go off, this is another folk myth.

Read this: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=52806

In reply to Neil Williams:

Well I was rather ruling out arson. ;O)

Your council tip tip reminds me - I really must get a new book of permits for my van. Then maybe I'll ask them.
In the mean time if anyone has a big soggy bonfire that needs a bit of a boost to get going...

In reply to Rigid Raider:

it go's off waxy and thick but time wise 3/4/maybe 5 years I don't n know but unless the fairy come and visit me and change the petrol it go's off in time.

In reply to mick taylor:

It'll be fine in the car. Old 2 stroke or contaminated petrol keeps small engine workshops in business.

In reply to Rigid Raider:



It certainly can do, depending on how it's stored, as the chap being quoted in the forum post describes. If its true that it well never go off in a tightly sealed metal container, that doesn't necessarily imply it will never go off in the tank.

My best mate back in the day accumulated a vast collection of motorbikes in various states of (dis)repair, and being permanently skint he invariably ran his bike on fumes. The fuel that had stood in a near empty tank for months was definitely not the same, you could stick your nose in the filler cap and smell the difference.

You answered my question on what to do with duff fuel though. I can give it to 'Roger', the smug git; he can put it in his CBR600 and bloody good luck to him. ;O)

In reply to Rigid Raider:

My commons sense was telling me that petrol can't go off so thanks for that. My thoughts were that it spent millions of years in the ground mixed up with heavier hydrocarbons before we pumped it out, so the only thing that can go wrong with it is that it can evaporate if not stored well.

In reply to mick taylor:

Well, I know my lawnmower's a right sod to start if the 5l. from April is still in the tank in August. Runs ok once started though.

In reply to Jimbo C:

Yes, but a mix of different hydrocarbons might well have some of them evaporating at a faster rate than others resulting in the ratio of the constituents and therefore the properties of the mixture changing unless evaporation is prevented.

In reply to Name Changed 34:

Ouch.
If it lessens the pain, think of it as you having to pay £258 to get your tank drained and they gave you the £60 back.
Still a relatively lucky escape if there was no harm done to the engine.

In reply to Jimbo C: I suppose we purified it to a particular mixture though, so it could become unpure again or the mixture could become wrong for the engine? Lighter fractions evaporating or chemicals from the plastic container, air or other contamination getting in might upset the balance a bit?

In reply to streapadair:

My petrol chainsaw really knows when the fuel is a bit old. Once it's past a month, the saw runs dog rough and is heading to a new filter and sparkplug unless I put new in there and give it a good run. Would have thought a 2 stroke engine should have been more robust.

In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:


If left in a sealed container then there will be nowhere for the lighter hydrocarbons to evaporate too.

Andy F

In reply to mick taylor:

if yr storing petrol in an outboard for a few months i'd stick some "stabil" in it and should be fine come spring

In reply to mick taylor:

It doesn't 'go off' as such. The ethanol separates and as ethanol is hydroscopic it'll absorb any moisture in the surrounding atmosphere.

Wet petrol isn't great for efficient running of an engine.

In reply to mick taylor:

Our elderly next door neighbour (a miner's widow) gave us some coal because she said it was old and had lost its heat. We thanked her.

In reply to mick taylor:
Absorbtion of moisture and yes, over a very long period of time possibly some of the lighter fractions might evaporate off if stored in plastic, leaving the petrol less volatile. Certain aroma molecules like terpenes and esters can migrate through HDPE containers causing loss of volume and "walling" of the container, over many months in hot climates.

But to all intents and purposes petrol doesn't "go off" in a season.

In reply to mick taylor:

If you have a lot of petrol hanging around be aware that the exact 'recipe' changes several times during the year so that the volatility of the fuel is suited to average temperatures.

In reply to mick taylor:


Keep it in the fridge?

In reply to mick taylor:

Thanks all............I will be bunging it my wifes tank, so to speak!

In reply to abseil:

And where would i then keep my maggots? Maggots vs petrol.........interesting dillema and will consult my wife.

In reply to mick taylor:


Errrrrrrr OK and good luck. I'll continue research but I don't know because I just consulted Mrs Abseil and she said I'm an idiot shurely she's joking???????????????*

* finger stuck on key sorry.

In reply to mick taylor:

Can't be arsed to read the whole thread, so sorry if this has been said...
IME it doesn't go off. I've used year-old petrol in motorbikes and the petrol in my lawnmower can get to be a couple of years old ( I don't mow very often!). I've never noticed the slightest difference in the way they run when filling up with new stuff.

In reply to mick taylor:

Not sure if its snake oil or not but I always use this in the fuel I have in storage - Look at amazon and search for 'Briggs & Stratton Fuel Fit Additive/Stabiliser. 992381 ' - it (or similar) was recommended in the owners manual for the ride on mower I use.... I put a shot in any fuel can I expect not to use for a while, and always put a shot in the tank of the mower and any spare cans towards end of season.

To others who talk about difficulty starting engines with fuel that's been in them a few months, the other thing that can make a difference is that draining the carbs if not using for a good while helps a lot - i.e. turn the fuel tap off and let engine run dry. Again, I always do that at end of season for mower and all other petrol powered tools.. start em up and run them, turn them off and tip the fuel out (if they do not have a fuel line off tap) and then start up again and run until they stop. Stops the fuel in the carbs evaporating and leaving residue/wax or whatever in them.