In the column published in last Sunday’s paper Ray said year-old gasoline is still good.
I think that is really pushing the limits.
I normally drive 900-1200 miles over a period of ~2 months, on 6-7 gallons of gas , but I purposely refill the tank as soon as I’ve used that amount of gas.
Perhaps I’m being overly cautious, and everyone is free to do as they please.
From Rislone’s website
How long does gas last? That depends on a variety of factors, such as what type of fuel it is and how and where it is stored. Heat, oxygen and humidity all have an impact on the condition of stored fuel.
In general, pure gas begins to degrade and lose its combustibility as a result of oxidation and evaporation in three to six months, if stored in a sealed and labeled metal or plastic container. Ethanol-gasoline blends have a shorter shelf life of two to three months. Fuel stabilized gasoline can last between one and three years under optimal conditions. Gas stored in a car tank begins to degrade in just about a month.
Fuel stabilizers can increase that to as much as 2 years. Personally, my generator is filled with 5 gallons of non-ethanol gas with fuel stabilizer and changed yearly.
Thank you!
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Oh come on, 2 to 3 months. No gas goes bad that fast. Maybe 2-3 years…
I know my experience is an example of one, but who has had had trouble with 6 month old gas? And what kind of trouble? I use plain old 10% ethanol pump gas for all my lawn equipment and I don’t drain carbs or add Stabil. I throw the lawnmower in the shed in the fall and in the spring I top off the tank (usually from the same gas can that’s been sitting there since last summer) and pull the cord. This spring my mower started on the third pull, the edger on the second, and the 2-cycle leaf blower started normally.
Now my pressure washer did sit since the summer of 2021 and I went to use it 2 months ago and the gas had obviously turned. The carb was gummed up enough that I just replaced it with a new $27 part from Amazon and all is well now. But that was gas that was sitting for 4+ years.
Who’s had a noticeable decline in performance when using 6 month old gas and how was it determined? Are you running a quarter-mile with the old gas and then turning around and doing the same run with fresh gas? I can’t see how any standard configuration gasoline car would perform any different with 6 month old gas.
Like I’ve said in the past, I have a friend who has a pole barn where they rent out space to people who store their seasonal vehicles there. And those who didn’t prepare the fuel for seasonal storage would have problems getting the vehicle started, or if they got it started the engine ran rougher than a bent dick dog. And in some cases, the vehicle had to be towed away because it wouldn’t start because the gas went bad.
And some of these vehicles had non-oxy fuel in them.
Tester
Don’t leave your car in a Minnesota barn, the moisture will corrode the carburetor.
The fuel in my cars is 1 to 2 years old at times, more than 2 years and I may need to clean the accelerator pump.
I have replaced Takata airbags in cars that had been in storage for several years. Lots of cars came in for annual maintenance that had less that 100 miles since the last visit. Only 20 psi in the tires, are people draining the fuel tanks but neglecting the tires?
“Begins to degrade and lose combustibility”
A condition which no one will notice.
They sell fuel additives. If they sold fuel containers, their advice would be to buy 4 gas cans and keep a year’s supply of gasoline for emergencies.
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My fun car that runs on 93 octane (iron headed 9.5:1) sat for 2 years the last time while dealing with my parents, I checked the oil level and coolant, cranked it over a bit (build oil pressure and to pump the gas back up to the carb) and it started up and cleared up quickly, it still ran pretty good on the way over to it’s new home… I know the old 92 Chevy truck gas ends up being few years old between adding more gas no more than it is driven at times, always started right up… I have never bought any fuel stabilizer….
We’ve gone winter camping up in the White Mtns of New Hampshire numerous times over the past 30 years, where morning temps are often well below 0 degrees.
You learn quickly to only bring fresh Coleman fuel for the stoves. In cold temps like that, any Coleman fuel that’s a year old has a tough time staying lit.
But back to old fuel in cars, I’ve never had a problem with 1-2 year old fuel in cars.