25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

[motoboatguy26]

Hello, Ive got a 1990 bayliner that iv'e been getting ready for summer. I got a good deal on it & it was last tagged in june of 2006. It has 3/4 tank full of old gas, im assuming is from 2006. The tank holds 30gallons so I figure 3/4 full is probably between 20-25 gallons. Should I siphon it out and put fresh or put an addative like heat or stabil or something else to try to salvage the fuel, which I would prefer, because disposing 25 gallons of 2 stroke fuel the right way would be a pain. Ive got a 1978 mercury 140hp outboard on it & I just installed a water seperator kit in the boat. Thanks

 

[Rick.]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

Four years is really pushing your luck to try and burn it through your motor. Stabil only works when added to fresh gas and even then I have my doubts it would make a difference after four years. This morning our local fire hall is accepting all kinds of toxic stuff ,electronics, paint, etc. as a one day clean up campaign. I would take it there if it were mine. Perhaps check in your area and see if they offer a similar service. Best of luck. Rick.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I agree, I would not use the fuel. I would dispose of it through a local disposal place or put it in a jug and put a gallon or two in every almost full tank of my vehicle. (even if it's premixed) That's what I'd do but some would differ.

 

[F_R]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I certainly wouldn't put it in MY car. What would it cost to clean/replace the fuel injection system? Dispose of it properly.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I certainly wouldn't put it in MY car. What would it cost to clean/replace the fuel injection system? Dispose of it properly.

You have fuel injection?

I have no problem putting it in my car when dilluted with an almost full tank of fresh gas. Like I said, others would differ That'd be 10 or 20 to 1 ratio. I have no problem with that.

 

[motoboatguy26]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

Thanks for the replies! After leveling out the boat in the driveway with the trailer jack I clicked on the ignition & it's reading a little below a half tank now that its sitting level (didnt notice that before) So I have put a bottle of heat or (water remover) and I also put a bottle of "stabil" in as well. If one was to try to burn this fuel off, would you fill it up plump full to dilute/offset the old fuel or just burn the bad & start fresh? Is the problem with old fuel that it may have water in it? or that it just goes bad? Ocatne booster? Also has anyone siphoned fuel out of a boat? Hard to do? Thanks

 

[Rick.]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I would not put fresh fuel in with it. You may end up with a whole bunch of bad fuel. I took some old paint to the fire hall after I last posted and they informed me they would take the old fuel and would do so year round. Again I would suggest this as a better route. It would not be too difficult to siphon it. Rick.

 

[restornator]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

quit being so cheap.

it's easy to siphon fuel out, thieves do it all the time.

 

[motoboatguy26]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

quit being so cheap.

it's easy to siphon fuel out, thieves do it all the time.

Thats Funny!!!

Its more with me, Laziness than cheepinessness!!

I guess I will siphon it out & take the mouthfull of gas like a real man!!

 

[Philip_G]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I guess I will siphon it out & take the mouthfull of gas like a real man!!

yeah that part sucks.

I used to "borrow" gas out of my parents 3/4ton pickup when I was in highschool, eventually I learned to use a 12v air pump for an air mattress with the tube on the suck side to get it going
No one has ever accused me of being sharp.

 

[tootallofwa]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

You can really tell if the fuel is old if it smells like turpentine. Don't swallow that... Siphon pumps are like ten bucks. Or use your primer bulb to start the siphon. (without engine side fitting).

 

[FFScott6]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

Similar situation here. I purchased a used trailer that came with a boat & motor (shoulda been my first clue) onec I got it home and removed the older than the boat tarp and debris I found two portable tanks (1 6gal & 1 12gal) between them I had about 15gal. This gas was old, before ethanol, The only thing left was MTBE (gas additive) and water. I just unloaded it at a boat service center...for 8.00 a gallon!!! but the good thing is it won't end up in the ground water. our HW recycling isnt for some time and I did't want it sitting around the house.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

After 4 years I guarentee the gas is sour and wouldn't be surprised at all if the carb isn't all gunked up too, I'll bet it does smell like turpentine.
Siphon as much out that you can get, draw the last of it out through the suction line, change the filters and try a gallon of fresh fuel, pull the carb line and put in a clear jar and crank the fuel pump to see what spurts out into the jar, if it's clean then try a start up but i'm just guessing the carburetor is already polluted and will need taken apart and cleaned too.

 

[marinemech1]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

using a 12v pump is a good method to see if fuel will explode...down side is you won't be around to use it.
siphon it out and dispose of in a responsible manner.
Wayne

 

[pointandshoot]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

try it in the lawnmower...maybe 50/50 it with some fresh fuel and consider it your endless supply (till you run out). better than paying to get rid of it, and shouldn't hurt the mower (i've put worse things threw mine).

 

[Cal_MI]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I drew off the old gas and put it in my pickup. I figure it was half old and half fresh. Next I had to have my fuel injectors serviced on the truck. Not nice. Theoretically adding some carb cleaner to the new/old mix would help. but I dunno. It plugged up the engine so well that the carb cleaner could not clean it by itself.

The old gas contained what looks like molasses or tar. I added some fresh fuel to the boats tank after I tried (!) to empty it. But next I still had to remove and clean the carbs on the outboard engine after I tried to burn the mix. Those carbs had some extremely tiny holes that were completaly plugged.

I used an air hose with a rag wrapped around it and stuffed into the filler hose to pressurize the tank and the gas flowed out the hose where it would normally connect to the outboard. No need to suck. Pressure is much nicer.

 

[robert graham]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

Remove all the old gas, use it to kill yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, fire ants, kudzu, poison ivy, clean paint brushes, degrease engine parts, etc.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

With an old boat you have no clue what's in the fuel tank, could be old gas, water, soda pop.

I drew off the old gas and put it in my pickup. I figure it was half old and half fresh. Next I had to have my fuel injectors serviced on the truck. Not nice.

I did the same with with my boat, emptied 15 gallons out of the boat's tank, and then dumped 2 gallons into the truck to "get rid of it". Right after dumping the mystery liquid into the truck I came up with the bright idea of seeing if the fuel from the boat would burn, so I dumped a bit onto a stick and hit it with a lighter. It didn't burn. I thought I was able to get all of the mystery liquid out of the trucks tank, but 2 weeks later I had top drop the tank to scrub it out and replace the fuel pump.

 

[madmattb]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I wouldn't run it if i were you it could do damage to the motor gas loses octane as it sits and could do bad things to the motor i just bought a boat with 2 year old gas and a marine mechanic told me to drain it or it could be bad for the motor and i'm not willing to pay for a new one!

 

[ftl900]

Re: 25 gallons of 4 year old gas????

I tried to run mine, added about $10 to an already half full tank, and it started ok but wouldn't get up on plane. After 7 or 8 minutes, it started running progressively worse and we were happy to get it back to the trailer. I thought it was a few MONTHS old, but called the PO and he informed me it was probably 3 years old.

We siphoned it out with a 10 ft garden hose section.... a wet/dry shop vac worked great for starting the siphon, and it cleans up easily to boot. I put about 2 gallons into my truck, and then changed my mind and stopped, but the truck didn't seem to mind it.

Changed the separator filter, oddly enough didn't find any water in it.