Bedminsterbob
New Member
I have a near full tank of 3 year old fuel, is it best to keep running the engine on it till the tank is empty or keep topping it up with fresh fuel every time I can get a gallon or so in it.
Stale petrol
- Thread starter Bedminsterbob
- Start date
sailorman
Well-Known Member
How big is the tank
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Best to ditch it. It will probably have lost most of its octane rating, and therefore will cause the engine to knock, if it starts at all. It really isn't worth the risk.
[2068]
...
Under no circumstances should you ever use stale two stroke mix on a bonfire.
This is potentially extremely dangerous, with a real risk of an explosive event.
(The bonfire did burn quite well, though
)
This is potentially extremely dangerous, with a real risk of an explosive event.
(The bonfire did burn quite well, though
)Bedminsterbob
New Member
The tank is 290ltr
Bedminsterbob
New Member
How would you go about getting rid of that much fuel
[2068]
...
Oh, if the engine is running well I think I would use it up as quickly as possible, refilling when maybe 1/3 left.
If it was stored in cool conditions, it could still be ok.
If the engine is difficult to start or knocks, I'd ditch it.
Properly disposing of large amounts of duff petrol is difficult,
.
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Bedminsterbob
New Member
adey
Well-Known Member
I'd drain as much as I could and use it in my car, mixing it 50/50 with good fuel. Perhaps a few tank's worth if I had time. Then top the boat's tank with high octane petrol.
No Regrets
Well-Known Member
Add a couple of bottles of Octane booster and keep adding fresh petrol. Assuming you're not running it hard shouldn't see any problems.
Bedminsterbob
New Member
Think I will give it a go with the additive and try and get the amount in the tank down so
I can add fresh fuel
I can add fresh fuel
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
You are placing your engine and bank account under unnecessary stress. Decant it off and dispose into the marina oil tank.
Hadenough
Well-Known Member
200lts + of Petrol?? They will love you for that!
Hadenough
Well-Known Member
And on another note. I run a dual fuel LPG vehicle. Very occasionally I switch it to petrol just to make sure everything is working and it does, perfectly. I have not added petrol in the tank for at least five years, where is the problem?
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rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Don't take my word, but do a bit of googling on petrol/gasoline and performance over time. I'm guessing your car engine is quite old? Land Rover V8? Low compression, and unstressed?
Hadenough
Well-Known Member
It's old, but I grew out of traffic light competition in my early 20's. Point is that old petrol is not going to trash an engine. Might not generate the 100% you need to create a truly spectacular wake shot but it will still run the engine. Top up, refresh but there is no need to dump it in the oil waste.
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Sorry, bad petrol WILL trash an engine very quickly when you get knock. Marine engines run at much higher duty cycles than automotive, and therefore any knock will quickly trash a piston. Does the OP need to run this risk for £200 of old petrol?
No Regrets
Well-Known Member
Hence the octane booster....
tico
Well-Known Member
Send it to me... it'll keep the mower going for a while 
