I was going to title this “What to do with bad gas” but didn’t want to give Newton too much of a straight line.

While cleaning out the garage found 2 five gallon cans of gas. 1 was treated with Stabil gas additive but is 2 years old. The other is over a year old but not treated. These were to be used as back up for a generator but since we have survived for 2 years without a major electrical outage these fluids are out of date.

I should have had a plan and burned a gallon or so in the car each fill up when they were fresh.

Now I can take it to a toxaway day and give them the cans or I can still try to mix a 1/2 gallon at a time into a fresh tank of gas.

The gas is still clear and “looks” good. What say ye MRF members?

I take older gas and add it to our older truck about a gallon at a time, when the tank is pretty full. That dilution doesn't seem to cause a problem. The problem is we don't drive that truck too much, so it can take several months to use 5 gallons.

I suppose you could also be the gas fairy and just go around a parking lot randomly offering gas to people, not mentioning it is old.

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I'd have no qualms over using the stabil-treated gas in my car...for the non-treated, I'd probably be ok with using it like Markintosh suggested - a little at a time, mixed in with fresh gas.
But, my car has no fuel injectors, a catalytic converter, or other components I have to worry about getting gummed up.

I've used old fuel as described, mixed with fresh stuff.

I don't know that how it's mixed makes much difference.

Put in two gallons when the tank was low and drove straight to the pumps.

The theory was that filling up mixed the fuel well.

Put in two gallons when the tank was near full, and it worked well.

I never used gas stabilizer of any sort, only because I didn't know better.

But if it looks like gas, pours like gas, and ignites with a match, I'd mix it in.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2020 06:15PM by NewtonMP2100.

Use it as weed killer.

Like SDguy I too owned a car that I believe could have probably run on turpentine or alcohol, my first and last new car was an early Honda Accord with a CVCC engine. “Honda's CVCC engine technology, which had been under development since ... It had the advantages of not requiring a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel to meet the emissions requirements of the 1970s and early 1980s.”

My current car is a 1998 Civic which might be forgiving. My wife’s vehicle is a 2016 Honda Odyssey. If she found out that I had monkeyed with old gas in her van Please be suspicious of my disappearance

Dumping it on weeds would pollute the ground water. I will bite the bullet and probably donate these cans to the toxaway gods and let them dump it in bogey creek. At least I will have a clean conscious. Either that or donate to the local high school for bonfire at homecoming.

I should probably sell my generator and get one that uses LP gas which does not spoil.

Decades ago, when I took a Small Engine Repair Class, I asked that same question. The instructor’s response was to dump said old gas in with used oil that was going to be recycled.

I’d mix with new gas. My suv tank is 17 gallons. A gallon at a time, heck maybe two.

That would make a nice explosive combo.

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testcase
Decades ago, when I took a Small Engine Repair Class, I asked that same question. The instructor’s response was to dump said old gas in with used oil that was going to be recycled.

I wouldn’t hesitate a minute to use the 10 gallons. Put some Top Tier gas in your car. Then burn five gallons at a time in your car. It’ll be just fine because the gas you already have in your car will dilute the old stuff. If I had an ICE-only car I would use all 10 gallons at one time as soon as the tank had room.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Last week I put 7 gallons of 5 month old gas in a rental SUV that held 22 gal that I was about to return. I have no idea whether 5 months is considered old or not. But, it ran fine for the 18 miles back to the rental place. I'd mix the old with new as others have suggested.

I just use stuff like that to either start fires in the Fire pit or in the lawn mower mixed in with some fresh gas. I wouldn't put it in my car, too expensive if it causes a problem.

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testcase
The instructor’s response was to dump said old gas in with used oil that was going to be recycled.

That is incredibly bad advice. Used oil that has not been contaminated with solvents or gasoline can be re-refined into usable oil. Contaminated oil is hazardous waste that cannot be recycled and is costly to dispose of. All places that take oil for recycling test each batch with a volatile organic compound meter which can detect very small amounts of solvents or gasoline mixed with the oil. You can ruin a lot of oil with only a tiny amount of gasoline.

Do as most people here advise...dilute with good gas and use in the car, lawn mower, etc.

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My Chevy pickup has a 34 gallon tank. I would do as others have already said. Mix it with fresh and run with it.

Heck, I might even dump a five gallon container of the old in my trucks tank when it's at 3/4 full or so.

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why not refresh it every 3-4 months and not have this situation occur in the future?

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why not refresh it every 3-4 months and not have this situation occur in the future?

That would be the smart thing to do for sure. At least every 6 months. My generator has Stabil infused gas that should last a year but I need to siphon that out and flip it as well.

Other than the generator I do not use any gas operated devices (other than vehicles). I use a reel mower on a rather small yard. I sold my snow blower. So just need to maintain enough fresh gas for at least 24 hours of emergency back up. If something major happens and the gas stations are off line I can siphon the tanks of the vehicles I guess. That propane Generator is looking better already

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C(-)ris
I just use stuff like that to either start fires in the Fire pit or in the lawn mower mixed in with some fresh gas. I wouldn't put it in my car, too expensive if it causes a problem.

Exactly. With today's computers and sensors, it's not worth the risk of an issue.

If you're going to put old gas into any machinery, at the very least run it thru a filter to get as much crap out as you can.

Both will be fine used in your vehicle(s).

Wait until you get to 1/4 tank or less...take one of the cans with you plus a funnel to the local gas station.

Add the gas from the can first, then fill-up the rest of the way from the pump.

I'd probably add a gasoline treatment containing PEA to the tank before adding the old gasoline.

.....thought that 'old' things just became.....useless.......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

There are a hundred uses.

Sell it on CL

Using gas to start bonfires isn’t a great idea. Raw gas pollutes when burned like this.

As for the gennie, keep it dry of fluid until needed. It only takes a minute to fill with oil and gas ... and it’ll be fresh. Just make sure to empty the tank and float bowl after using.

I add Stabil to the gas I use in my generator. I run it once a month. Instead of turning the generator off, I turn the gas off and let it run dry. Has worked well so far.

That is my system too. Stabil in the generator tank and then turn off the gas and let run dry. While researching the best cleaner using PEA and reading about additives that promise to remove water due to ethanol breakdown I cam across several interesting videos. Everyone has a different story. One father/son removed it from a decades old motorcycle tank, poured the brown gas (rust infused) through a “cowboy shirt” filter, let it settle to get the gas a bit cleaner and poured it back in to the bike and it fired right up. The other nugget of knowledge gleaned from YouTube was that UNLEADED gas with alcohol is the issue so if you buy high horsepower canned racing fuel (Sunoco Optima) There is nothing to break down in the fuel and it lasts indefinitely as long as it is sealed (not exposed to air/moisture.

You can order this canned fuel or I can go pick up a can but it isn’t cheap $60 for 5 Gal?). Due to raceway being just a few miles away I can actually buy this “pure” racing fuel at the pump for much less. I remember when I was racing motorcycles I would buy aviation fuel, same difference. Pure high octane gas and it was a cool blue color due to no additives. I might go that route and simply fill the 5 gallon can to allow no air or moisture, then store it for emergencies.

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Randalls
That is my system too. Stabil in the generator tank and then turn off the gas and let run dry. While researching the best cleaner using PEA and reading about additives that promise to remove water due to ethanol breakdown I cam across several interesting videos. Everyone has a different story. One father/son removed it from a decades old motorcycle tank, poured the brown gas (rust infused) through a “cowboy shirt” filter, let it settle to get the gas a bit cleaner and poured it back in to the bike and it fired right up. The other nugget of knowledge gleaned from YouTube was that UNLEADED gas with alcohol is the issue so if you buy high horsepower canned racing fuel (Sunoco Optima) There is nothing to break down in the fuel and it lasts indefinitely as long as it is sealed (not exposed to air/moisture.

You can order this canned fuel or I can go pick up a can but it isn’t cheap $60 for 5 Gal?). Due to raceway being just a few miles away I can actually buy this “pure” racing fuel at the pump for much less. I remember when I was racing motorcycles I would buy aviation fuel, same difference. Pure high octane gas and it was a cool blue color due to no additives. I might go that route and simply fill the 5 gallon can to allow no air or moisture, then store it for emergencies.

There are gas stations that sell alcohol free gas. In fact, I think there is an app for iOS and Android to help one find such stations. Racers tend to prefer such gas. Small engine equipment prefers the alcohol free gas as well. Some places, its not too expensive and others, the cost per gallon can be 2-4 times standard gas. As noted, home improvement centers sell 2 and 4 cycle gas without alcohol. Expensive for what it is. I buy the 2 cycle variant as I only use a few cans per year and its cheaper than hunting down alcohol free gas.

Running filtered, old gas with an additive in it thru older engines probably wouldn't be a big deal. On vehicles with emissions controls, it could cause issues with sensors. Some manufacturers recommend against adding fuel additives to gas. In such a case, do so at your own risk.