So if we can skip the obvious questions of how I got into this situation, that would be terrific…
Basically, I have three 5-gallon containers of mixed fuel (1/2 diesel and 1/2 petrol/regular) and I have no idea how to dispose of it. It is prohibitively expensive to take it to the local hazardous chemical disposal site, and my girlfriend is getting pretty tired of having it in the garage. I’m obviously not going to empty into the water table. Can I pour a gallon at a time into my regular 14 gallon tank? Set it outside to evaporate? Any suggestions on the best way to get out of this at the lowest cost?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
I don’t know where you live, but where I live in the West, the local landfill has several tanks, one for anti-freeze, one for used motor oil, and one for diesel and solvents.
Many cities have the fire stations conduct a “hazardous rpoundup”" twice a year. That’s also free.
Check with your local landfill; your stuff is not “hazardous waste” in the true sense. Hazardous waste costs $1500 per ton to dispose of at a designated site.
Don’t try to put it through your car. If you have a friend with a diesel, he might put it through his truck/car a little at the time, provided it is clean.
Thanks for the advice.
The first place I called was treating it as hazardous waste - $.80 per pound, or $1600 per ton. That would have run me around $96, assuming gas weighs somewhere near 8 lbs/gal. which I’m guessing is close.
I did find another place that charges $1 per gal, which is much more reasonable.
I wish I could find a more productive use, but at this point I’ll just be happy to get out cheap.
Thanks.
A little bit of the wrong fuel will do no harm to your engine, at least not immediately, as evidenced by this Fifth Gear video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ0DwF9dJSs
That said, long term damage may be possible.
Do have any yard equipment. I got rid of excess heating oil(untaxed diesel) in my lawn tractor. It loved it!
Well, if you wait for it to evaporate you will be waiting a long time. Besides that, if you are worried about the water table, why wouldn’t you be worried about the quality of the air? Thats just not groovey, man. There are a couple of things you can do: it makes good camping fuel or you can use it in your lawn mower. It will make the lawn mower put out some smoke, but at least you wont see any mosquitos or bees for awhile.
Now you know why Al Gore and other socialist liberals are so interested in the environment - there is a lot of money to be sucked out of the people through fines and disposal fees.
Do not! I repeat! Do not put this blend in a diesel engine. The gas in this mixture will destroy the injector and injector pump seals.
Tester
have a few huge bon fires,do not put that mess in anything.
“Now you know why Al Gore and other socialist liberals are so interested in the environment - there is a lot of money to be sucked out of the people through fines and disposal fees.”
That is one of the most bizarre things I have ever heard. You’re right though. I’d rather my neighbor just dump all of his volatile and toxic chemicals all over the ground - preferably on my side of the property near my well.
- Oh, and in answer to the question, I also live in an area with 1-2 times yearly hazardous waste collection. It is free during those times. If your own city/county doesn’t do it you could always ask around for friends in neighboring places.
You do not want to put it in anything with a catalytic converter. If you don’t mow enough lawn to use it up yourself, why not put an ad on the craigslist under the free section-- I’ll bet someone would take it.
I’d burn this is an old beater running a gas engine. But, would not think of doing it to my 2000 Exploder. Lawnmowers and weedeaters would be another good choice.
If this were my car I would not be afraid to add a quart at a time to my car’s gas tank. Normally a little bit of motor oil is easily handled by the engine. Diesel? No big deal. And the cat converter doesn’t mind a bit. Assuming everything went well with the first quart I would repeat after every fillup. Just my opinion.
AA–Welcome to this board.
As you will soon see, Norm’s postings usually contain off-topic rants against anyone whom he perceives to be liberal, against Al Gore, against Hillary Clinton…ad nauseum.
And, he is a big fan of George Bush! Luckily for Norm, we protect minority rights in this country.
;-))
However, I do agree with Norm that using this fuel a little bit at a time in lawn mowers and the like is probably a good way to dispose of it if you don’t have a free “Hazardous Household Waste Disposal” program in your area. In my county, they sponsor this type of event 4 times a year, and they gladly accept the type of fuel that the OP has on hand.
See if you can find a farmer who burns his fields or brush. He can use it as a fire starter.
Agree with Norm that the whole world is out of step with George Bush, just as the whole world was out of step with Richard Nixon.
At $1 per gallon x 15 gallons, isn’t $15 cheap to get rid of this stuff, all things considered?
Hey, BustedKnuckles, was “Exploder” a misprint or is that actually the case? (Big ‘smilie’ goes here).