old fuel??

[jloch]

I bought a used motor (8hp 4 stroke evenrude) last spring and its been sitting since. The fuel is at least
1 year old, though I'm thinking its prob 2 years old since it was purchased early spring and unlikely used last year.
Anyway came with a full tank of gas and I have no idea if the seller used any stabilizer in it. So my
question is ...

Any way to tell if stabilizer was used?
If no ---> should I use this fuel?
if no ---> how do I dispose of it?

Thanks

 

[KD4UPL]

I'd get rid of it by burning it a little at a time in my car. I did that with about 6 gallons of years old gas. I put about 1/2 gallon into the 10 gallon tank each time I filled it up so it would be diluted as much as possible going thru the engine. I never had any problems.

 

[robert graham]

Just assume that the all the fuel in the tank, pumps, lines, filters, carbs is old and contaminated and clean out the entire system....save yourself a lot of potential problems.....that's what I'd do.....good luck!....

 

[Sea Rider]

Discard the old fuel that came along with engine, better consume the most fresh fuel bought for that outing, top the remains with fresh fuel for next outing and so on.

Happy Boating

 

[Mi duckdown]

What Robert posted. Most people forget about the bad fuel in the lines

 

[UncleWillie]

... The fuel is at least 1 year old, though I'm thinking its prob 2 years old since it was purchased early spring and unlikely used last year. Anyway came with a full tank of gas and I have no idea if the seller used any stabilizer in it.
So my question is ...Should I use this fuel?...

The fuel could be bad or it could be just fine. It depends on how it was stored, not how old it is!
Before pumping out the entire tank; Place a sample of the fuel in a jar.
Fresh fuel is light yellow in color and will loose its foamy "Head" when shaken in less than 5 seconds. (Center Jar)


If it has water in it, it will be Milky/Opaque looking. (Left Jar)
If it is badly Oxidized and full of "Gum", it will be Amber Colored and hold a "Head" for 10 seconds or much more. (Right Jar)
Adding fresh gas to dilute it at least 1:1 will often clear up any problems.

Test it before you blindly dispose of it!

 

[WIMUSKY]

If we're only talking 6 gals, get rid of it and start with fresh. Peace of mind is priceless...

 

[jloch]

Ok thanks for the advice guys, guess I'll use it in my truck a little at a time.

 

[john stewart]

Try putting some in your mower.

 

[jloch]

So are you guys against using last years fuel even if its been treated with a fuel stabiliser?
Thanks.
[h=3][/h]

 

[tomhath]

If you know it's been treated and if you know it's only a year old I'd say go ahead and use it. But as others have said, pouring a little at a time into a car/truck and buying fresh doesn't cost you anything extra.

 

[Stumpalump]

Best advise is to never buy fuel until the day you are going to burn it. If you want to test it with a glass jar on the boat then you need to shake the fuel in the tank before you draw the fuel sample. If not you left the water in the bottom out of the test. Personally I don't mess with fuel problems very often or very long. If the fuel is old I don't use it. If I have any sort of fuel related problem then I clean the tank, fuel lines and carbs. How many guys rebuild their carbs only to have a problem the next week or month? Old gas is not worth fooling with. I saw I guy yesterday blowing that old gas grey smoke and havering all sorts of running problems. No telling the harm running that supercharged big block on bad gas did. He never got a mile from the ramp. When I eased back over to help he was limping to the trailer. When in doubt throw it out. Do you question old food in the fridge or do you pop it in your mouth and hope for the best? Yummy. Your engine says the same thing. Lol