Last seasons fuel

[qmackay]

I have a 2004 2.5 Mercury 2 stroke outboard and I have some leftover fuel / oil mix in a container in the garage. Can someone please tell me if it is safe to use last seasons mix in the outboard or if a fresh mixture should be used. If a fresh mixture should be used, howe can i safely get rid of the petrol / oil as i presume it can't go down a drain.

Thanks.

 

[machurley22]

Opinions seem to be divided on this. Several people have told me that it "goes off" but an old salt whose opinion I respect, told me not to be so bl**dy silly when he heard that I was planning to dispose of some that was two seasons old. So I didn't, but gave it a shake and used about two gallons in my Yamaha 8 with no apparent problems.

Dave

 

[jimbouy]

Plenty of people use last seasons, but to reassure yourself mix up some fresh and then use half and half of each in the OB.



Jimbouy

 

[VicS]

If it has been stored in an airtight metal can which is full, ie minimum air space, in a cool place then it will be probably be ok. Plastic containers are slightly permeable to air (oxygen) so are not good for storage. Exposure to light may be a factor as well, another reason for storing in metal cans.

I always filter stored fuel, in fact the only time I had trouble was when I didn't bother. I also do as Jimbouy suggestes and mix 50:50 with fresh fuel.

If you have less than a full can or havn't stored it as above stick it in the (wife's) car.

I have also had problems with the last of 2stoke oil left in a bottle. One lot went all lumpy and wouldn't mix with the petrol or go through a filter. Heaven knows what the reason for that was, I certainly don't.

It certainly CANNOT GO DOWN THE DRAIN.

 

[Lakesailor]

If you really can't face using it (and why not?) The local "Civic Amenities" site will have an oil and solvents tank.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Sniff the old stuff then sniff some fresh petrol, notice the difference?

Leaded petrol 'dies' after a very short period. I change my petrol for the outboard halfway through the season. There are plenty of people around who don't though. They are the ones you see drifting down the Medina on a Sat evening, pulling their arm off, swearing at their unreliable outboard!

For the sake of a couple of quid, ditch it.

 

[LORDNELSON]

I have always used any petroil mixture left over from the previous season. Mind you, not much is usually left over, probably about 2 litres. I have had no problems with the old petrol. The outboard (2 HP Yamaha) has run OK on it. I do not see what the problem is; if you buy petrol for the outboard at the beginning of the season there would be no worries about using it at the end of the season, any petrol left over at the end of the season was most likely purchased towards the end of the season, so it is no older the following season than April's petrol used in September/October!

 

[fastjedi]

Depends what you are using it for. It is absolutely true that modern pump petrol has a shelf life of about 4 - 5 weeks. My Honda CBR powered racing car wouldn't start or run on 8 week old fuel. My 2004 Mariner 2.5 (same as Mercury) ran just fine last weekend on it's August 2004 mix

 

[muchy_]

Chuck it in with some fresh. It'll be alright.

 

[Guest]

I run a Petrochem lab .... so :>

If the fuel has been kept in a reasonable gas-tight and dark container in a cool place - there is no reason why it should not be in good enough condition. Yes it is true that some cheaper blends of Supermarket petrol do gum up easier than higher priced grades .... this is due to eth blending components. In normal car use - the fuel does not stay long enough in tank to worry about this.
My advise is - mix it 50-50 with new and go about merrily as though all was normal !! If really worried .... use it in lesser quantities mixed with fresh .... but honestly don't throw it away unless you know my address and have key to my shed and can dump it in my fuel can !!!

I regularly use petroil mix up to 2 yrs old ....

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Rabbie]

My Mercury 6 4stroke positively refused to start last year. When I changed the fuel she started and ran immediately. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Dunno about my Stuart Turner 2-stroke . . yet, but my Flymo NEVER starts on last season's leftover mix.

 

[Gunfleet]

For God's sake not the wife. Break down yourself and have done with it

 

[webcraft]

The Rotax on my old microlight used to start OK - I flew it with premixed 50-1 2-stroke fuel that was well over a year old, and it never faltered.

Hardly as critical with an outboard, is it? This is just another one of those things for people who don't have enough real problems to worry about, isn't it?

- Nick

 

[webcraft]

Re: Last post

. . . was not meant as a personal criticism (which, re-reading it, I see it might be)

More a general comment on our never-ending capacity to focus on the trivial and miss the critical.

Libby Purves once wrote an article in YM along these lines. We buy a new first aid kit and throw our old 2-stroke mix away, then forget to change our impellor, let the bilge pump silt up, allow our through-hulls to rot and continue sailing with an anchor rode we know is too short . . .

- Nick

 

[tcm]

pah!

i totally disagree. My own organic petrol oil mixture is prepared freshly each morning, which gives me a vastly superior feeling and the aura of someone who pays careful attention to detail, somehow.

 

[tcm]

Re: Libby Purves

i reckon her boat must be a right mess. Dangerous, antisocial, everything. I mean, how did she get all those stories? Either by proximity to a now quite unbeleiveable set of numpties and morons or MUCH more likely - it all happened on her boat...

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
Dunno about my Stuart Turner 2-stroke . . yet, but my Flymo NEVER starts on last season's leftover mix.

[/ QUOTE ]Out of curiosity, how many times did you carry on trying the previous season's fuel mix in the Flymo before coming to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work? Having decided that it wasn't going to work, what did you do - did you clean out the carburettor, just empty the tank and refill, or what?

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
My Mercury 6 4stroke positively refused to start last year. When I changed the fuel she started and ran immediately. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]How did you change the fuel? Is it possible that something happened during the process that solved the problem as opposed to it having been the fuel per se? Airlock? Muck in the carburettor? Moisture on the electrics drying out after removing the engine cover?

 

[Lakesailor]

I don't think you've actually tried using it have you?
Where's your sense of adventure?