How old is too old for gas

[tonka]

How long can gas sit before it is no good? I usually try not to let any gas go over a month. With the fuel stabilizer in 2 stroke mixes is that being too conservative?

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Ive let it sit for 6mo or more without any problems. Others seem to have trouble after 2mo.

I think a lot depends on your region (additives) and storage conditions.

Plus Im lucky to have a few antique tractors that will burn allmost anything. I just use my oldest, most questionable gas in these and no problemo.

 

[skwerl]

Yes, unless you are in an area using ethanol. I use premium and 30-60 day old premium will burn just as well as fresh regular. I also use a premium two cycle oil which has fuel stabilizer formulated into it. I have no issues with gas up to 3-4 months old. In my daily saws my gas is rarely more than 1-2 weeks old but I have saws sit all winter and they all always fire right up in the spring.

Use the smell test, if it smells stale then dump it in your car or truck gas tank, a half gallon of old 2 cycle fuel mixed with 10-20 gallons of fresh gas is a non-issue.

 

[THALL10326]

How long can gas sit before it is no good? I usually try not to let any gas go over a month. With the fuel stabilizer in 2 stroke mixes is that being too conservative?

You will never have any gas problems if your using it up in a month. There seems to be no standard on how long gas can sit. Different types of blends in different areas of the country all seem to react differently to aging. Here in Virginia the Stihl rep told us 3 months and no more. Best way to solve the whole issue is mix only what you will use and no more. Less storage, less worry...

 

[Simonizer]

There are too many variables to answer your question with any degree of accuracy. Things to consider are type of gasoline, storage temperature, volume of container, how full is the container.

 

[JohnL]

I've had gas be good at 6 mo. with no stabilizer. Depends on the gas and the environment. When it goes completely bad it smells funny, like laquer thinner.

 

[Fastcast]

Here's a test you can do. Take a pint Mason jar, add 1/4 gas & 1/4 water. Now shake it up. Gas will rise to the top, water to the bottom and small, cloudy alcohol line in the middle. If the the alcohol line doesn't dissipate/disappear in a minute or so, toss it or put in old lawn mower/tractor etc. If the cloudy alcohol line blends back into the gas and water it's still good

 

[12guns]

don't laugh, but...

I started using some sta-bil stabilizer last year in my 9.9 johnson...it sets year round and only gets used for duck season. I occasionaly (4 or 5 months) run the motor. This year I had to add some gas to the can. the old gas was at least 1 year old and i have had no problems. In fact, w/ the stabilizer, I was told by a small engine mechanic to leave the gas in the carb year round. he said he would loose half of his business if all his customers knew that little secret! The motor runs better than it ever has.
***************
Am I a moron? The gas smells fine, runs great, starts easy. Are there underlying problems I'm not aware of??

 

[spike60]

If you only keep it for a month, you have nothing to worry about. I go up to 6 months when using mix that contains a stabilizer. Then it gets dumped in either the lawnmower or the snowblower.

A couple of guys mentioned temperature. The thing to avoid here is storage in an area with wide swings in temp. For instance a shed which gets cold at night and then warms up a lot when the sun hits it during the day. This can cause some condensation problems.

 

[Lakeside53]

I fill up all my stockpile steel cans (5gal each, 35 gallons total)) with premium Chevron in summer to avoid the crappy winter gas we have, add Stabil at the pump, make sure they are completely full and seal them tight. I use it throughout the year and after the usual winter power outages and lot's of other uses, it's pretty much gone by same time the following year. Never had a problem even though some of it is a year old. The "stockpile" is really just for the generator, but it gets used because it's there. I also fill up when convenient at the pump...


What do I tell the customers? 3 months... then dump it in the car. What do they do? - generally ignore me.

 

[Patrick62]

2 strokes could be a little more touchy trying to run varnish. I have run 6 mo old stuff without issue. 3 year old gas drained into my pickup smelled awful, and ran worse.

-Pat

 

[stihlatit]

In my 19 foot boat I always fill it to the top and use stabilizer. It holds 41 gallons and I fill it to avoid condensation. One year I did nt use the boat as the water was to low in our channel. I added an other jug of stabilizer. The next Spring I fired the boat on a year and a half old fuel. No problems incurred. It ran fine.

 

[Lakeside53]

The stabil bottle says it's good for 12 months, and if you want to take it to 2 years, just double the amount. Never tried it though...