Old gas

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have 5 gallons of 1 yr old gas that I syphoned out of my home generator. Is it ok to mix it in with the auto tank gas?

I have added gas stabilizer to the gas; does this help or is it too late once the gas is old? Any tips on getting the generator to start since it still has the old gas in the gas line?

2

Stabilizer simply slows down the chemical reaction “polymerizing” that is the major cause of old gas problems.

You can add a little of that gas at a time. I would suggest a quart or less each time you fill it up.

3

you should be able to drain most of the line going to the carb…assuming the carb isn’t gummed up …put in a small amount of new gas and run engine for at least 10 minutes or better still run dry or turn off gas line and run dry…stabilized gas should last 3-6 months…adding stabilizer to one year old gas will not work…adding a small amount to car prior to filling up would work…a half-gallon of old to 10 of new shouldn’t be a problem…

4

Thanks!

5

One year old gas should not be that big a problem…Does it still look and smell like gasoline? Does your generator have a fuel shut-off which allows you to run it dry? This prevents the carburetor from getting gummed up as the gas trapped there slowly evaporates…If it refuses to start, you may have to remove and clean the carb. Most generators come with lay-up instructions so as to avoid these problems…

6

Thanks!

7

Give it a shot of starting fluid and see if it responds to that…If it tries to start and then dies, you will have to pull and clean the carb…If the starting fluid does nothing, take a look at the spark plug and while it’s out, check that you have spark…