Have some old gasoline - how old is too old?

[DavidCD]

We've been traveling with a couple of generators just in case we wanted to do some off grid camping but, haven't had the need for them.  We haven't used any of the gasoline we have in the gas container for the generators and the gas is at least a year and a half old - maybe two years old - I can't remember exactly.   I do make it a point to add Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer to this can when I do put gas in it.

 

My question is - how old is too old when you have unused gasoline stored like this? 

 

I just tried to take this old gas to the local semi-annual hazardous waste collection but they said they couldn't take it.   A couple of quick internet searches resulted in a wide range of suggestions - the most expedient being to dump the stuff in my truck's gas tank during the next fill up.  That sound's great if it doesn't screw up the fuel injectors.  

 

Has anyone here put old gas in their vehicle gas tank?

 

 

[Pat & Pete]

We run 6 -7 month old gas in our MH all the time . Sometimes it's even had Sta-bil added . Other than possibly a bit less MPG , no problems . Some of my bikes get even older gas than that , with no problems .

I'd imagine a few gallons mixed with a lot of gallons wouldn't hurt a thing . 

Like most any other petroleum product  , if it has been sealed , it should be good .

[Ronbo]

dump it in your motorhome just before sticking the pump nozzle in the tank. it will be fine

[Sehc]

i have used 10% gasoline with sta bil  from a sealed 5 gallon can in my generator with no problem. It was at least 18 months if not two years old.

[jc2]

In the past under similar circumstances(both gasoline & diesel), I've added 1 1/2 oz of Seafoam fuel conditioner per gal of fuel before storage and ran the engines(generator included) about 15 minutes before shutting down.  👍

 

[Devilishjim]

If it smells like varnish it's time to dump it on the fire

[Pat & Pete]

1 hour ago, Devilishjim said:

If it smells like varnish it's time to dump it on the fire

What ??? You must be at war with the OP .  

Throwing any gas on a fire is a excellent recipe for a real quick , usually very painful , disaster . 

[Kirk W]

16 hours ago, Ronbo said:

dump it in your motorhome just before sticking the pump nozzle in the tank. it will be fine

That is exactly what I have done more than once in the past. I would make sure that the mix is mostly new fuel so if your storage can is a 5 gallon one, I'd want to put it in when it would mix with at least 50 gallons of new fuel. My generator fuel can is only 2 gallons so I just add it to the SUV which has an 18-gallon tank and it does fine. 

[GlennWest]

Proper way to dispose of fuel is burn it. Just use common sense. Bad fuel stinks. That has always been my guage. My nose

[chirakawa]

3 hours ago, GlennWest said:

Proper way to dispose of fuel is burn it. Just use common sense. Bad fuel stinks. That has always been my guage. My nose

Burning it could very well be illegal, depending on your location.  Outdoor burning in Texas in illegal, with a few exceptions.  I don't believe burning of fuel is an exception.

Outdoor burning in Texas.

[GlennWest]

Throwing it on the ground though pollutes. Burning don't. Also I'm aware of this but if in country I would burn it. But we not talking about a big fire either. Texas allows a lot of burning. Did you read that.

[chirakawa]

1 hour ago, GlennWest said:

Throwing it on the ground though pollutes. Burning don't. Also I'm aware of this but if in country I would burn it. But we not talking about a big fire either. Texas allows a lot of burning. Did you read that.

I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other.  I just wanted to point out that in Texas, burning of fuels openly is illegal for individuals.  Who told you that burning fuel doesn't pollute?  Many people have respiratory issues and can be made quite ill by open burning. 

Yes, certain types of outdoor burning is legal in Texas, I said that there were a few exceptions.  Outdoor fires for cooking, heating, and religious purposes is allowed, for example.  Also, in some jurisdictions outdoor burning of plant life is allowed.  Some jurisdictions require a permit, some do not.

Generally speaking, in areas served by municipal trash collection, outdoor burning is not allowed in Texas.

[GlennWest]

Oil is illegal to burn and that is a silly law. Plants burn it all the time around here. Reason it's burned is to prevent pollution. What do you think those flares are constantly burning. chemicals, fuel waste, etc. And really this is a mute point. We talking about a small amount. 

[masterdrago]

You can get an easy way to test the fuel at http://www.fuel-testers.com/index.html

[Pat & Pete]

18 minutes ago, rm.w/aview said:

My vote is for liberal use as a fire starter in campfire rings until gone.

 

[mscans]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 3:09 PM, DavidCD said:

We've been traveling with a couple of generators just in case we wanted to do some off grid camping but, haven't had the need for them.  We haven't used any of the gasoline we have in the gas container for the generators and the gas is at least a year and a half old - maybe two years old - I can't remember exactly.   I do make it a point to add Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer to this can when I do put gas in it.

 

My question is - how old is too old when you have unused gasoline stored like this? 

 

I just tried to take this old gas to the local semi-annual hazardous waste collection but they said they couldn't take it.   A couple of quick internet searches resulted in a wide range of suggestions - the most expedient being to dump the stuff in my truck's gas tank during the next fill up.  That sound's great if it doesn't screw up the fuel injectors.  

 

Has anyone here put old gas in their vehicle gas tank?

 

 

I store gas for emergencies (live in Florida) and will dump the fuel just before hurricane season.  I fill the fuel tank of my car with the old fuel and then refill the tanks with fresh gas and a dose of Stabil for the "season".   No problems so far and generator also works fine.   No wasted fuel this way.

 

I do exercise the genny monthly with a 1 hour run with load during the year.

[DavidCD]

Thanks to everybody for your feedback / recommendations.    It sounds like mixing in the old gas (I'm talking about less than a gallon) the next time I fill my 35 gal tank on the truck will probably do fine.   

[Ray,IN]

On 4/27/2018 at 9:24 AM, rm.w/aview said:

My vote is for liberal use as a fire starter in campfire rings until gone.

Put in your gas tank then fill with fresh fuel. My farm tractor sits all winter with gas in the tank, it'd never failed to start or run properly in the spring.

my uncle nearly burned to death when he put old gas on a  stump in his backyard, walked about 30' away, sat the can down, returned and started the fire. At the same time as he got back to the  gas can it exploded. Gas vapors are heavier than air and spread out at ground level.

[Kirk W]

On 4/29/2018 at 7:05 PM, DavidCD said:

It sounds like mixing in the old gas (I'm talking about less than a gallon) the next time I fill my 35 gal tank on the truck will probably do fine.   

                                  👍            🤭

[justRich]

Two years.  That's how long my weed-wacker sat unused and it still started and ran okay.  (no, the grass did not get long - I had a newer wacker that failed - so I went back to using the old one)
I always use Premium gas in small engines and they all still start and run after many months of disuse.

 

 

[Devilishjim]

Sheesh forgive me for not realizing that some of you were raised in a sheltered childhood, What do you think is in the can when you watch the news and watch a fireman starting a backfire in the forest ? It's normally a 50-50 mix gas & diesel

I'm almost afraid to tell you that you can take a 5 gal METAL bucket dump fuel into it a gal will burn for almost an hr, just drop a match in....no flareup just burns on top of fuel...A coffee can works if you can find a metal one these days.We did it all the time when we were on a job and couldnt feel our fingers in our gloves It became defrost time

[chirakawa]

8 hours ago, Devilishjim said:

Sheesh forgive me for not realizing that some of you were raised in a sheltered childhood, What do you think is in the can when you watch the news and watch a fireman starting a backfire in the forest ? It's normally a 50-50 mix gas & diesel

I'm almost afraid to tell you that you can take a 5 gal METAL bucket dump fuel into it a gal will burn for almost an hr, just drop a match in....no flareup just burns on top of fuel...A coffee can works if you can find a metal one these days.We did it all the time when we were on a job and couldnt feel our fingers in our gloves It became defrost time

I'm not sure who you are addressing in your condescending manner.  I am sure that many of us grew up in the country and did lot's of things like you're talking about.  I certainly did.  I've done the gasoline/diesel mix for brush burning and weed killing and burned fuel to stay warm.  My dad used to take a 500 gallon tank on wheels full of waste motor oil and transmission fluid and spread it on our shell road to keep the dust down.

But, we're not reminiscing about the good ole days.  We're talking about here and now.............and I'm telling you that what you used to do will get you big fines nowadays in my State.  What my dad did with waste oil would get you about 50 years in the penitentiary today.

 

[mptjelgin]

9 hours ago, Devilishjim said:

Sheesh forgive me for not realizing that some of you were raised in a sheltered childhood, What do you think is in the can when you watch the news and watch a fireman starting a backfire in the forest ? It's normally a 50-50 mix gas & diesel

I'm almost afraid to tell you that you can take a 5 gal METAL bucket dump fuel into it a gal will burn for almost an hr, just drop a match in....no flareup just burns on top of fuel...A coffee can works if you can find a metal one these days.We did it all the time when we were on a job and couldnt feel our fingers in our gloves It became defrost time

That is a drip torch and has nothing to do with using gasoline to start a campfire. And actually the most common  (and safest) mixes use significantly more diesel than gasoline.  https://wildfirelessons.wordpress.com/2017/03/14/who-mixed-the-fuel/

And being able to drop a match into a container of gasoline with no consequences has a lot to with with ambient temperatures. Having cold gasoline, frigid temperatures and no opportunity to accumulate vapor on the ground can make that work.  At higher temperatures things might get a bit more sporty.  

I'm sure that you realize that pouring gasoline onto a stack of firewood, giving it any time at all to accumulate vapors and then lighting a match is a recipe for disaster. Starting campfires with gasoline is a generally a bad idea.

BTW - I lived out in "the sticks" for several decades prior to retirement, and burned many a large brush pile. Used diesel to start them all, not gasoline...

[Kirk W]

12 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

Starting campfires with gasoline is a generally a bad idea.

Like most country folks, I did a lot of things that are high risk and go away with it, but history of good fortune doesn't make it safe to do.  

[Optimistic Paranoid]

It's interesting that no one asked the original poster if he was talking about "real" gasoline or the 10% ethanol junk most places are selling these days.  Cause the answer could be completely different depending on which it is.  Real gasoline can be stored in sealed  containers for many years.  10% ethanol, not so much.  See:

http://www.fuel-testers.com/expiration_of_ethanol_gas.html

Personally, I would dump my fuel cans into the truck once a month or so, when filling up,  finish filling the tank, and then refill the gas cans.  That way the cans would always have fresh gas in them.