3year old gas

[MH Hawker]

Re: 3year old gas

very odd I think their messing messing with with you Bruce

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 3year old gas

very odd I think their messing messing with with you Bruce

Wouldn't be the first time!

 

[BrianCinAz]

Re: 3year old gas

Green, Agree.
Red, Disagree.

Ethanol blends do NOT spontaneously separate.
It takes excess water to cause separation.
No Water, No Separation!
NON-Ethanol gas is even worse in this regard.
It E-10 gas will harmlessly absorb 0.5% water at room temperature.
That is over 6 ounces of water in 10 gallons!
Non-Alcohol blend gas will absorb None!

Smelling for water in Gas is almost too funny to comment on! Truly a fable!

Shaking separated fuel will not remix it, adding fresh E-10 Will!
Once separated adding addition E-10 gas to re-absorb the water works just fine.
THIS is Physics and Chemistry, and is a demonstrable Scientific Fact!

Considering the climate of the OP, the ambient humidity would have saturated that fuel with water the first year if untreated. By the end of the second year, even if treated, the gas would have absorbed a large amount of moisture. Consider the potential cost of having to be towed to the dock. Consider the potential cost of repairing a blown engine due to separated fuel. Consider the dangers of the engine stalling when you are dozens of mile out and the winds are picking up. If you can remove the fuel and store in in a 55 gallon barrel, then mix it 3 part new to 1 part old gas, then you may want to risk it. It is not worth $300 to me to risk the likely problems.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 3year old gas

What happened to this thread?

We are supposed to be having an animated discussion about old gas!
Yes it is! ... No it isn't! :mad-new:

Not helping each other make pretty Fonts! :facepalm:

 

[BrianCinAz]

Re: 3year old gas

One last point. I was at the Fort Meyers Boat Show in 2011 and this subject was brought up by a potential boat buyer. An engineer from the factory was recommending that the boat buyers keep as little fuel as possible in the tanks during storage. The reason was that all marine tanks are ventilated and the fuel will absorb moisture from the air. Less fuel in the tank means that there is less ethanol to absorb the moisture from the air. So you end up with a lesser amount of h2o in the fuel. If you have a full tank, then the fuel has the capacity to absorb more water and you end up with a greater number of ounces of water in the tank. Plus you end up with a larger amount of separated fuel. The separated fuel will predetonate and grenade an engine. Keeping the tank mostly empty during storage will minimze the amount of water and the amount of separated fuel. You add fresh fuel on the way to the launch and the risk of having a fuel problem is greatly diminished.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 3year old gas

Considering the climate of the OP, the ambient humidity would have saturated that fuel with water the first year if untreated. By the end of the second year, even if treated, the gas would have absorbed a large amount of moisture...

That's more like it!

We have no idea if the gas is good or bad.
The tank is reportedly full, so vapor intrusion should have been minimal.
E-10 does not magically attract moisture! It absorbs it.
No condensation. No water. No absorption. No separation!

What is so bad about the humidity in Salem, MA anyway? It isn't Miami!

Separated fuel is going to stall the engine, Not Blow it. This isn't a diesel.

If the OP were to pull a sample from the bottom of the tank, and it is clear and will Not hold a "Head", he should be good to go.
Otherwise a 3:1 dilution is a valid alternative. :joyous:

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: 3year old gas

What happened to this thread?

We are supposed to be having an animated discussion about old gas!
Yes it is! ... No it isn't! :mad-new:

Not helping each other make pretty Fonts! :facepalm:

Well it has been my observation this bunch is filled with old gas

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 3year old gas

... Plus you end up with a larger amount of separated fuel. The separated fuel will predetonate and grenade an engine...

The separated fuel A.K.A. Water and alcohol will put out the fire.
A Water/Ethanol mix does not detonate if/when it burns.
Ethanol has a Higher auto-ignition temperature than gasoline.

For those of you old enough to remember the time when straight gas was the norm.
If you got water in the fuel the engine would miss and stall.
The solution was to add alcohol in the form of "Dry Gas".

Plenty of autos get a bad batch of gas from time to time.
They may not get very far but the engines don't blow up!

A tank of Non-Alcohol gas (E-00) and an identical E-10 tank will both collect the same amount of water if stored in the same ambient condition.
The E-00 tank is going to need some Dry Gas (Alcohol) added before the first outing!
The E-10 tank may be fine to go if the water is minimal.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 3year old gas

The reason he says its going to detonate is that the alcohol that was in the fuel and was the reason the octane is high is now gone and the remaining fuel has a now reduced octane.

Even if you don't have the water issue, E-10 that is stored for a long time has reduced octane because of the alcohol that has evaporated off.

The E-00 tank is going to need some Dry Gas (Alcohol) added before the first outing!
The E-10 tank may be fine to go if the water is minimal.

As long as the E-10 didn't absorb enough water to cause phase separation. At least with E-00 you will just have a layer of water at the bottom of the tank instead of a phase separated slurry. At least its likely under you fuel pickup and at worst will get picked up by a water separating filter.

Dry-Gas is also a completely different form of alcohol that Ethanol. Its usually Isopropyl which does not phase separate.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: 3year old gas

The reason he says its going to detonate is that the alcohol that was in the fuel and was the reason the octane is high is now gone and the remaining fuel has a now reduced octane.

Even if you don't have the water issue, E-10 that is stored for a long time has reduced octane because of the alcohol that has evaporated off.

As long as the E-10 didn't absorb enough water to cause phase separation. At least with E-00 you will just have a layer of water at the bottom of the tank instead of a phase separated slurry. At least its likely under you fuel pickup and at worst will get picked up by a water separating filter.

Dry-Gas is also a completely different form of alcohol that Ethanol. Its usually Isopropyl which does not phase separate.

All valid points, Well Put! :encouragement:

I am wondering if the [OP], rememer him? has made a decision on what he is going to do, based on all this discussion!

 

[StevNimrod]

Re: 3year old gas

If water is the concern, you have two options:

1) Guess. Succumb to fear that may not be valid, and put $300 on the line (maybe unnecessarily); or
2) Get a tube of this stuff, and take the guesswork out of the equation.

In my experience, science works better than guessing; and is generally cheaper.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: 3year old gas

It appears this thread has run it's course, especially since the OP made his decision a while ago. Shuttin' 'er down...........