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I agree it's not a great idea, but where did this idea that "gasoline goes bad in 6 months" come from? I've let gas sit in a tank outside for a year and had no

by ken 8y ago

I agree it's not a great idea, but where did this idea that "gasoline goes bad in 6 months" come from? I've let gas sit in a tank outside for a year and had no problems starting the engine on the first try, so I'm skeptical.

brianwawok 8y ago
Gas very much does go bad, though the speed varies https://www.livescience.com/58117-does-gasoline-go-bad.html https://www.livescience.com/58117-does-gasoline-go-bad.html Ask anyone who has ever left untreated gas in their lawn mower over winter. It takes a drain and some work to get the mower started in the summer. Throw in 1oz of fuel stabilizer, and all is well. (So the obvious answer is to put fuel stabilizer if you are going to store gas for > 6 months. It only costs a few cents per gallon)
- sokoloff 8y ago
  100LL (aviation gasoline) also is much more stable over time. Ethanol polluted gasoline is less stable over time. All I can buy locally at filling stations has ethanol in it, so I try to run the last few mows of the season (and last few snows of the winter) on avgas.
  - brianwawok 8y ago
    Where do you even buy a can of AV gas?
- dwild 8y ago
  My parents recently (2-3 years ago) started their old generator, probably bought after the massive ice storm of 1998, and the gas that was still in it was enough to start it. They do have gas problem every year with their snow blower, it's systematic, they just don't put enough care about it. Is there anything about the generator that could have helped? Is there's fuel stabilized that can last a decade? We were pretty happy to see it start such "easily" and be able to plug our essential stuff on it without having to go buy gas.
  - sokoloff 8y ago
    For the generator, if permanently installed, I'd see if you could automatically exercise the generator every month. (DC/site generators are often exercised every 14 days.) If it's a portable generator, either put 100LL in it or (even better) run it entirely dry (to shut down) when done using it. To your stable fuel question, for a permanently installed unit in a residence, I think it's incredibly hard to beat natural gas as a fuel supply for it.
  - brianwawok 8y ago
    Agreed, I would run the snow blower dry at the end of the season. The amount of gas it would retain isn't worth it clogging up the works. It's pretty common for home generators to be natural gas. If gasoline, maybe keep the gas outside of it and rotate it every 3 months. I.e. have a 10 gallon can of it you buy in Jan. In april if you haven't used it yet, use it to fill up your car, and buy a new 10 gallons in a can. That way your gas is at most 3 months old, at the cost of having to lug around a can 4x a year. You could likely reduce to a 6 month rotation and not have much difference either.

by ken 8y ago

brianwawok 8y ago

Gas very much does go bad, though the speed varies https://www.livescience.com/58117-does-gasoline-go-bad.html https://www.livescience.com/58117-does-gasoline-go-bad.html Ask anyone who has ever left untreated gas in their lawn mower over winter. It takes a drain and some work to get the mower started in the summer. Throw in 1oz of fuel stabilizer, and all is well. (So the obvious answer is to put fuel stabilizer if you are going to store gas for > 6 months. It only costs a few cents per gallon)

sokoloff 8y ago
100LL (aviation gasoline) also is much more stable over time. Ethanol polluted gasoline is less stable over time. All I can buy locally at filling stations has ethanol in it, so I try to run the last few mows of the season (and last few snows of the winter) on avgas.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  Where do you even buy a can of AV gas?
dwild 8y ago
My parents recently (2-3 years ago) started their old generator, probably bought after the massive ice storm of 1998, and the gas that was still in it was enough to start it. They do have gas problem every year with their snow blower, it's systematic, they just don't put enough care about it. Is there anything about the generator that could have helped? Is there's fuel stabilized that can last a decade? We were pretty happy to see it start such "easily" and be able to plug our essential stuff on it without having to go buy gas.
- sokoloff 8y ago
  For the generator, if permanently installed, I'd see if you could automatically exercise the generator every month. (DC/site generators are often exercised every 14 days.) If it's a portable generator, either put 100LL in it or (even better) run it entirely dry (to shut down) when done using it. To your stable fuel question, for a permanently installed unit in a residence, I think it's incredibly hard to beat natural gas as a fuel supply for it.
- brianwawok 8y ago
  Agreed, I would run the snow blower dry at the end of the season. The amount of gas it would retain isn't worth it clogging up the works. It's pretty common for home generators to be natural gas. If gasoline, maybe keep the gas outside of it and rotate it every 3 months. I.e. have a 10 gallon can of it you buy in Jan. In april if you haven't used it yet, use it to fill up your car, and buy a new 10 gallons in a can. That way your gas is at most 3 months old, at the cost of having to lug around a can 4x a year. You could likely reduce to a 6 month rotation and not have much difference either.