Binman
Well-Known Member
How do you dispose of contaminated fuel?
Contaminated Fuel
- Thread starter Binman
- Start date
pvb
Well-Known Member
I use contaminated diesel for lighting bonfires.
VicS
Well-Known Member
You dont say what sort of fuel. Diesel, petrol, heating oil, wood, coal , coke, uranium etc or what its contaminated with.. Radioactive ????
Council tips won't usually take diesel or petrol but local garage might.
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Binman
Well-Known Member
Hi 2 Stroke, I get rid of my marine 4 Stroke in my car before, but I've changed it to diesel car, so I'm left with both,
Should have said old fuel, that I have drained out and refilled with fresh
Should have said old fuel, that I have drained out and refilled with fresh
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pvb
Well-Known Member
I've never found a problem with old 2 stroke. My 2 stroke petrol strimmer, hedgecutter and chainsaw all sit happily in the garage all winter, and start promptly the next year. Why bother draining and refilling?
richardabeattie
Well-Known Member
Lucky you! In my bitter experience leaving old petrol in the tank leads to bunged up carburetors.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Stored correctly, ie in full metal cans to minimise contact with air, loss of the more volatile components and exposure to light, I always store 2 stroke mix from one year to the next.
I do always however always filter it before reuse and mix it 50:50 with fresh.
GrahamM376
Well-Known Member
VicS
Well-Known Member
Because if the strimmer, hedge cutter, cahinsaw lawnmower etc play up it matters not a jot.
If your outboard plays up due to dodgy fuel at an inconvenient time and place you could be in trouble. It happened to me once in my early boating days but its fecking well not going to happen again if I can avoid it!
Removing, stripping, clening and refitting a carb on a dark windy night in a bsy rirver estuary is no joke!
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Fantasie 19
Well-Known Member
It's awlays amazed me that there isn't any legitimte way of disposing of fuel you don't want... the more "illegal" ways I've used in the past include..
tipping it into the used oil container at the tip - if asked I say it's oil from service, but I've only been asked once
putting it in old milk containers and throwing it into the bins at the tip
...we're only talking 5 ltrs tops though...
pvb
Well-Known Member
True, but if the evidence suggests, as it does, that there isn't a problem, all that changing the fuel does is give you reassurance that a non-existent problem won't occur.
Modern 2-stroke oil mixes very thoroughly and stays mixed.
rbmatthews
Well-Known Member
I think that it is more the additives in modern petrol that cause the problems, rather than the 2-stroke oil itself, isn't it?
Our Tohatsu 3.5 always gets fresh fuel each season, any remaining at the end of the season goes into the car. It seems to work.
VicS
Well-Known Member
One bad experience was enough to persuade me that simple precautions like good storage conditions, filtering or simply replacing small volumes are well worth it. Believe you me a blocked outboard carb jet on a windy night in the entrance to the Medina is not a " non existent problem"
I think my troubles may have been caused by the oil itself, although it was a 2 stroke outboard oil.
Advice and experiences I read about on the American forums suggest that as the % ethanol in gasoline increases we may well run into more troubles with stored fuel. Stabil fuel stabiliser seems to be very popular over there, although probably will be dismissed here as snake oil
Fantasie 19
Well-Known Member
I take advice from Bill at Home Marine in Emsworth - with 50+ years repairing and maintaining outboards I think he probably knows what he's talking about -- he always reminds me to get rid of last years fuel and fill with fresh... the additives in modern petrols are the issue..
Seajet
...
Even the mechanics at the garden centre we use reckon they do a roaring trade in the Spring with mowers, chainsaws, strimmers etc failing to run due to last year's fuel; very good car mechanics I know ( working on restored / hobby cars ) agree.
With something as important as a boat, why anyone should try to economise on a few litres rather than start with fresh is beyond me.
With something as important as a boat, why anyone should try to economise on a few litres rather than start with fresh is beyond me.
