Stale fuel

[DeadDruid]

I keep reading that you shouldn't use stale fuel, but what do you do with it?

I've just acquired a Stihl HS80 hedge trimmer, with the tank full of fuel. It appears to have been stored for ages, and I'm going to have to rebuild the carburetor... but what to do with the old fuel?

Mark

 

[BeatCJ]

I usually add it to the nearly full fuel tank on my old truck, it burns well enough in it when diluted with fresh gas.

 

[DeadDruid]

That's a good idea. Unfortunately mine runs on diesel, so it might not like having petrol added to it!

Mark

 

[BeatCJ]

Meh. A little dab in a full tank helps winterize it.



Realistically 500 ccs in 20 liters won't even be noticeable.

Again, That's in an older vehicle, I wouldn't do it in a modern diesel. My old 87 Ford F-350 IDI ran fine on 50% straight WVO.

You can help out the neighbor that does run petrol.

 

[PapaWhitebeard]

I add soap and water to it and spray it on weeds. Really… that’s what I do with it.

And it’s not like you’re talking about a 30 gallon tank or a 2000 gallon tanker truck… you’re talking about what, 6 bucks of fuel? I’d dump it on weeds coming up out of brick wood or use it to clean tools or my driveway…

I mean for 6 bucks I’d use it for something that isn’t going to cost me a fuel filter later…

But sure diluting one gallon of bad gas in a 20 gallon tank is probably not going to hurt anything… I mean… California is adding 10-15% ethanol to everything at the pump other than the pumps at somoma raceway and thunderhill raceway where you can buy beautiful Sunoco and VP 100% gasoline up to 130 octane (yum yum yum). I stock up on that stuff and add sta-bil to it… it’s so so yummy.

 

[dandan111]

I dump that in my bucket for burn go-go juice.

 

[cookies]

oil catch pan set in the sun all day then dump in the used oil container or use for parts washing, fire starting or filter to add to a full tank in a old vehicle.

 

[diver64]

I keep reading that you shouldn't use stale fuel, but what do you do with it?

I've just acquired a Stihl HS80 hedge trimmer, with the tank full of fuel. It appears to have been stored for ages, and I'm going to have to rebuild the carburetor... but what to do with the old fuel?

Mark

Dump half out into a container and add fresh with StaBil then burn it up. Do the same with the other half. It's not a gas station tank, one or two tanks won't do much.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

oil catch pan set in the sun all day then dump in the used oil container or use for parts washing, fire starting or filter to add to a full tank in a old vehicle.

This is what I do as well. The shallower the better. Assuming it's mixed I throw sawdust into the pan after the gas evaporates.
If I am not worried about water or dirt in the fuel it goes into the truck. I have a 42 gallon tank so I can be reasonably sure it's diluted enough to be harmless.

 

[DeadDruid]

This is becoming a really interesting thread!
I would never have thought of using it as a weedkiller, and I'm not sure why it would work. However I like the idea!
Adding it to a much larger quantity of fresh fuel makes good sense, too.
Evaporating it away also makes sense - I guess it would have to be a little at a time, to avoid it being too dangerous.
StaBil is a product that I hadn't heard of. However after looking into it, I think I'll have to get some.
Could it be used in a "weed burner", I wonder? However I think those are designed for paraffin, so they could be dangerous with petrol.

Mark

 

[PapaWhitebeard]

Gasoline fumes are explosive so you can leave any amount of it in an evaporation pan as long as it’s *outside* and nobody brings an open flame into contact with the fumes.

My brother left a held empty fuel can in his shop up at the cabin over the winter with the cap off it. That spring he was alerted in the middle of the night that his fire alarm was burning down and it burned to the ground before we could get there. Flashpoint from the fumes oily rags in his shop and a foolishing unattended 40 amp charger on an electric snowmobile he built. Big big big expensive mistake. I have loads and loads of 5 gallon fuel containers little one gallon containers etc and now I keep the window of my shop open and leave the fan in there on all the time.

As for sta-bil it really works. I have many many vehicles and so I don’t operate them as often as they need to be. Unlike diesel that has a ~30 year lifespan, gasoline can go bad in less than a year… so… FWIW I’ve found Sta-bil additive to be deeply worth it in for instance, my old Toyota FJ62 that I only get to drive when I’m in the wintertime. I keep it on a one amp trickle charger (or disconnect the battery) as it sits the rest of the year. And it fires up and runs great every time I turn the key.

 

[PapaWhitebeard]

As for the killing weeds note that it will kill *everything*

We have a lot of poison oak here in Northern California… gasoline a squirt of dish soap and water… poison oak gonzo…

Use at your own risk. Don’t light it on fire. Don’t hurt yourself or others doing it please

 

[Mad Professor]

If it is at all nasty with snotty stuff or water I mix it in the winter with drain oil to light brush piles.

Otherwise I pour small amounts at a time into my 1940 Ford 9N or 1952 Ferguson TO30 tractors. They have gravity feed fuel tanks, and the petcock is actually a filtered/glass sediment bowl. They are not to picky about fuel but still don't run E10 crap in them.

 

[muddy42]

I keep it and mix it with new fuel in less fussy vehicles. Its great for cleaning out chainsaw bar oil tanks. Or I mix it with other thicker oils for lighting bonfires (be careful doing this).

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

Gasoline fumes are explosive so you can leave any amount of it in an evaporation pan as long as it’s *outside* and nobody brings an open flame into contact with the fumes.

My brother left a held empty fuel can in his shop up at the cabin over the winter with the cap off it. That spring he was alerted in the middle of the night that his fire alarm was burning down and it burned to the ground before we could get there. Flashpoint from the fumes oily rags in his shop and a foolishing unattended 40 amp charger on an electric snowmobile he built. Big big big expensive mistake. I have loads and loads of 5 gallon fuel containers little one gallon containers etc and now I keep the window of my shop open and leave the fan in there on all the time.

They say a nearly empty gas can is more dangerous than a full one.

 

[PapaWhitebeard]

They say a nearly empty gas can is more dangerous than a full one.

That’s a fact. First thing they teach you at welding school. It’s because of the fumes in the mostly-empty tank (and associated flashpoint risk)

 

[Mad Professor]

That’s a fact. First thing they teach you at welding school. It’s because of the fumes in the mostly-empty tank (and associated flashpoint risk)

I had to braze a gas tank from an old tractor last fall.

I let it drain out in the sunlight a couple days the rinsed out with non- flammable solvent, DCM/dichloromethane based paint stripper (might be EPA banned now?) to remove any flammable varnish/gum.

Let that dry out, then put the exhaust from a shop vac into the fuel filler for an hour, brazed it with the vacuum still running and flushing tank with clean air.

 

[lone wolf]

Burn the garbage !

 

[PapaWhitebeard]

I had to braze a gas tank from an old tractor last fall.

I let it drain out in the sunlight a couple days the rinsed out with non- flammable solvent, DCM/dichloromethane based paint stripper (might be EPA banned now?) to remove any flammable varnish/gum.

Let that dry out, then put the exhaust from a shop vac into the fuel filler for an hour, brazed it with the vacuum still running and flushing tank with clean air.

That’s how you do it… and even doing that I would have been in nail biter mode brazing with an open flame…. But I’ve seen some guys do amazing things with a torch and gas… things the engineers told us were impossible…

As for being banned by the EPA… they ban all the best stuff when I find NOS pre-ban EPA stuff (like old R22 air conditioning freon or whatnot I buy that stuff up every chance I get!)

 

[fishdrivel]

I keep reading that you shouldn't use stale fuel, but what do you do with it?

I've just acquired a Stihl HS80 hedge trimmer, with the tank full of fuel. It appears to have been stored for ages, and I'm going to have to rebuild the carburetor... but what to do with the old fuel?

Mark

There are lots of bad things done with stale fuel.
Don't dump it out.
Don't spray weeds or driveway with it.
Don't use it for starting fires (very dangerous)
Do not use to wash parts. It still does not get rid of it.
Don't evaporate it in a garage connected to the house or with water heater in it.
Do not put it in a pan to evaporate on a day it could rain.
Do use it in an old pickup diluted with a full tank of gas.
Do put it in the sun in an old turkey pan or oil pan and let evaporate on sunny day. This is the EPA recommended way of getting rid of it if you cannot get a recycling center to take it.

Note: Ask your local boat repair shop who they give the stale gas to. You will have to pay a fee to dump in their tank.