What to do with last seasons outboard petrol ?

[affinite]

Any ideas how to dispose of last years outboard petrol (3-4 litres) ?
Having been caught out with old petrol gumming up the carb in the outboard I want to start with a fresh tank this year.

Canopus is in a Greek marina so I wont have a car to offload the old petrol into ?
I seem to remember talk of putting it into the diesel tank of "the mothership" but is this safe ?
Marina has an waste oil disposal tank but again - is it safe to dump in there ?

 

[sailorman]

Any ideas how to dispose of last years outboard petrol (3-4 litres) ?
Having been caught out with old petrol gumming up the carb in the outboard I want to start with a fresh tank this year.

Canopus is in a Greek marina so I wont have a car to offload the old petrol into ?
I seem to remember talk of putting it into the diesel tank of "the mothership" but is this safe ?
Marina has an waste oil disposal tank but again - is it safe to dump in there ?

just dilute it with some new petrol & use it
my ride on mower has just had last years 2T put in the tank

 

[David2452]

Depends on how much diesel you have in your tank, should be fine if you have, or can put in at least 30 litres.

 

[reeac]

I always use up old 2T fuel in my 4T Honda mower ...no problem.

 

[ghostlymoron]

My guess is that the OP doesn't have a mower in a foreign marina.

I always use up old 2T fuel in my 4T Honda mower ...no problem.

 

[wiggy]

Offer it to a local for their car, one on the bank for when you need a favour.

 

[Lakesailor]

It's not the fuel per se that is the problem. It's sitting unused in the carb that does it.
Just clean the carb and carry on using it. I've never had a stale fuel problem with a small outboard.

 

[VicS]

If your put it in the diesel tank you may have created a situation where the air space contains petrol vapour and could be as potentially as dangerous as a tank of petrol until the percentage becomes so small that the flash point returns to a safe level. Equally any leakage could release petrol vapour where you would not normally create a hazard from diesel leakage.

I put very old petrol, a little at a time, in the petrol tank of an old car. One which does not have a catalytic converter.

One year old petrol, provided it has been stored in a full tightly capped metal can, I filter and mix 50:50 with fresh petrol and then use as normal. I am concerned this may not be such a good idea as the ethanol content increases.

 

[affinite]

My guess is that the OP doesn't have a mower in a foreign marina.

Yup - I go to the boat to get away from cutting the lawn

 

[nigelmercier]

Offer it to a local for their car, one on the bank for when you need a favour.

Good idea.

For next year, get some fuel stabilizer: http://amzn.to/1jpCxR5

In fact get two, and decant one for storage; these bottles are perfect for diesel bug additive.

 

[affinite]

Thx Stabilizer is already on this years packing list .
I'll try and pay the airport taxi driver with petrol

 

[bert49uk]

If you always get in to the habit of stoping the engine by turning of the fuel so the carb is dry you wont have a problem, fuel in my engine is two years old and always starts

 

[charles_reed]

It's not the fuel per se that is the problem. It's sitting unused in the carb that does it.
Just clean the carb and carry on using it. I've never had a stale fuel problem with a small outboard.

+1

 

[alan17]

It's not the fuel per se that is the problem. It's sitting unused in the carb that does it.
Just clean the carb and carry on using it. I've never had a stale fuel problem with a small outboard.

+1

 

[Seajet]

Thing is, if the engine is going to play up it will be when I chop revs to select reverse or something like that, guaranteed to be in a marina with a strong current...

I always run the carb empty when stopping, so as not to spill fuel in the locker when I stow the engine - but why even consider poncing about with old petrol ?

I was told by the ' engineer ' at our garden centre machinery shop that modern unleaded petrol is a lot worse for jellying, he reckons 3 months - and, he smiled, he gets lots of work fettling stuff in Spring which won't start.

The OP has a different problem, somewhere to dispose of it, but it strikes me the other people here are being a bit tight and possibly losing perspective.

Happily I have various mowers & garden machinery to use up old stuff, where it is just a slight pain if it goes phut.

 

[oldharry]

Any ideas how to dispose of last years outboard petrol (3-4 litres) ?
Having been caught out with old petrol gumming up the carb in the outboard I want to start with a fresh tank this year.

Canopus is in a Greek marina so I wont have a car to offload the old petrol into ?
I seem to remember talk of putting it into the diesel tank of "the mothership" but is this safe ?
Marina has an waste oil disposal tank but again - is it safe to dump in there ?

why throw it away? Gumming up the carb only happens if you dont run the carb dry anf the fuel evaporates out from it. I never have a problem with old petrol as long as it is properly stored. Properly = airtight light prrof container.

Lightproof? yes, its light that causes fuel to deteriorate.

If you are really worried mix it 50:50 with fresh petrol. I.e if you have a standard 5 litre petrol can half full, fill it up and go on using it.

 

[Thistle]

I didn't really believe that the oil in 2-stroke mix lost its lubricating properties over time until I was shown the badly scored bore of my last - and very dead - chainsaw. I now mix it as I need it and have never had any problem with either neat petrol or fresh oil going off. Like the OP I'm happy to get rid of any small quantities of excess mix (usually < 100ml). I generally either manage to use it in another tool, use it as a cleaning solvent or burn it off.

 

[daviddb]

snipping<< Properly = airtight light prrof container.>>snipped

And full. Otherwise condensation within the container will quickly jell with today's fuel blends

 

[chewi]

If you always get in to the habit of stoping the engine by turning of the fuel so the carb is dry you wont have a problem, fuel in my engine is two years old and always starts

Bert,
2yr old petrol did not have the ethanol content that current stuff has.
Enjoy it while it works, and until you run out, but don't expect new petrol to last like that.

ethanol separates from petrol with very little condensation, leaving the corrosive ethanol at the bottom. It will do your carburettor no good at all.

 

[catmandoo]

Agree I just remove carb drain screw to empty and hey presto as good as last season