Fuel - how old is too old

[Jcary85]

I’m going to FL for jet ski school and have two full 5 gallons of 93 mixed with klotz from October. Was gonna pour it into every gas powered thing I have and get fresh fuel. Is that dumb? Is it fine or am I smart to dump it?

thanks!
-Jordan

 

[Blue]

My riding mower lives off old jetski gas. No issues in past 5 years runs fine. Chansaw, edger and weedeater too. Just dont put it in ur car.

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[Jcary85]

My riding mower lives off old jetski gas. No issues in past 5 years runs fine. Chansaw, edger and weedeater too. Just dont put it in ur car.

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Oh totally I do it all the time. Sorry, I was more asking if I should go ahead and run it in the ski

 

[TheBuzzard]

I siphon every drop of gas out of every old carcass that comes thru here. I used to run it in an old world finals winning superjet with 210 compression and never had a problem. I'd run what you got in 1 second

 

[Storbeck]

Ethanol or not makes a difference. If it has ethanol I would put it in something that I don't care much about. Either way it has probably lost some octane. I'd assume its about 85 octane and use accordingly. Stock ski probably run fine on it.

That's just me, pump premium is pretty cheap to just buy fresh

 

[Jcary85]

Ya idk why I’m overthinking this. It’s a friggin XS1200. Not cheap to replace lol. I’m not gonna risk it to save a few bucks of klotz.

 

[Storbeck]

I might be overly cautious but my pump gas 898 gets ethanol free no more than a week old. I have no idea I'd it really matters but if you're paranoid you're at least not alone lol.

 

[smokeysevin]

My biggest issue is properly getting rid of old fuel. I probably have 20ish gallons of multi-year old fuel that I need to dispose of but don't want to turn my house/neighborhood into a superfund site.

Sean

 

[augustaf]

To the op: once you mix oil with the gasoline, it starts loosing some of it's octane at an accelerated pace. If you can't use up your old gas in a mower or similar, you might consider using some of it mixed with fresh premium gas in your ski.

 

[TheBuzzard]

Ya idk why I’m overthinking this. It’s a friggin XS1200. Not cheap to replace lol. I’m not gonna risk it to save a few bucks of klotz.

I only run blue AV gas in my XS1200. Everything else gets the yellow varnish.

 

[jetpilot36]

pour some on the ground. light it with a match. do you see a flame? then it should be fine.

 

[Jcary85]

Lol man the advice is all over the place! I poured it in my generator and mower. Idk why I even considered running it. Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

[Storbeck]

I'm honestly not sure if some of these people are joking.

 

[Christian_83]

I have through the past 7 seasons had fuel (Shell Vpower 99 oct) mixed with 2 stroke oil, stand in a VP fuel can, for up to 5 months - put it on my ski and run it - never a issue.
This has been with DASA, TPE and ET egnines.

 

[Jcary85]

I have through the past 7 seasons had fuel (Shell Vpower 99 oct) mixed with 2 stroke oil, stand in a VP fuel can, for up to 5 months - put it on my ski and run it - never a issue.
This has been with DASA, TPE and ET egnines.

Ya I figured it would probably be totally fine and I’ve done it in the past. Big dollar motor at 210psi makes me nervous though.

 

[Storbeck]

Race gas in a non permeable container l like a steel can I'd be less worried and more motivated (cost) to try it.

My mind is boggled that on this forum, where the default answer is always "pay an engine builder" and "buy the expensive part" people are being cheap with gas. Pump premium is just not that expensive even my cheap ass is willing to buy 20 more dollars worth of pump premium and a few bucks in oil. I put premium in my lawn equipment anyway because that's all you can get without ethanol around here.

 

[Jr.]

Wow! Some of the answers for sure! Here is my 2cents! It depends how its stored? Cool, dry, low humidity, dark room. Fuel will last a long time. Only mix what you expect to run that day, or weeks time max. Pump gas is said to last longer than race? Not 100% sure I buy that one? But thats what I was told by a VP rep one time? Due to additives? like Buzzard, I run 100% Av gas in my personal stuff. Store it as I described above. If I have any left in tank after a ride? I blend in fresh mix the next go round. I feel synthetic oils have longer staying power in storage, than natural oils? However, Do my very best to only mix what I expect to burn that outing. Lastly, fuel stabilizers work! But, dont use the alcohol based stuff! Use a marine based such as CRC or MDR. When I had my shop on the Jersey shore, I was winterising 250-300 couches every fall. Many of them were stored outside, under shrink wrap. Never had a fuel related start up issue! Just asked clients to top off tank so no condensation would be present, and used one of the stabilizers mentioned.

to Jordans question? In your case, its only 10 gallons of 93, and some klotz. Dont risk your vacation, buy some fresh.
have fun at Flippy School!

P

 

[Jcary85]

Wow! Some of the answers for sure! Here is my 2cents! It depends how its stored? Cool, dry, low humidity, dark room. Fuel will last a long time. Only mix what you expect to run that day, or weeks time max. Pump gas is said to last longer than race? Not 100% sure I buy that one? But thats what I was told by a VP rep one time? Due to additives? like Buzzard, I run 100% Av gas in my personal stuff. Store it as I described above. If I have any left in tank after a ride? I blend in fresh mix the next go round. I feel synthetic oils have longer staying power in storage, than natural oils? However, Do my very best to only mix what I expect to burn that outing. Lastly, fuel stabilizers work! But, dont use the alcohol based stuff! Use a marine based such as CRC or MDR. When I had my shop on the Jersey shore, I was winterising 250-300 couches every fall. Many of them were stored outside, under shrink wrap. Never had a fuel related start up issue! Just asked clients to top off tank so no condensation would be present, and used one of the stabilizers mentioned.

to Jordans question? In your case, its only 10 gallons of 93, and some klotz. Dont risk your vacation, buy some fresh.
have fun at Flippy School!

P

Awesome info Jr. - thanks bud! The only reason it wasn’t used is cause I sprained my ankle and knee (small fracture) doing one footers in October. I never leave gas unused haha!

 

[badm0t0rfinger]

I know I'm not very active here, but this question was just recently (like this morning) brought up in my line of work (aircraft) so it caught my eye.

There are a lot of things to consider, obviously age being the biggest IMO. But don't discount the amount compared to the overall size of the container and how much surface area was exposed to air. Was it treated prior to being left?

Oh course, you're talking about 10 gallons of 93 and not 2300 pounds of JP5, so cost being a factor.

I'd throw it into my lawnmower, chainsaw, snowblower etc and just use it. I wouldn't let it go to waste you know?

 

[Freakrider]

Interesting read on Sunoco site here's a tidbit:

"87 octane fuels tend to be less refined and contain more unstable hydrocarbons. As the months pass during storage these unstable components react to form gums, varnishes and lower octane hydrocarbons. As a result the octane can decrease within months for 87 octane fuels, especially when stored under less than ideal conditions. 93 octane fuels are more refined and contain more stable hydrocarbons. These stable hydrocarbons can last 2-3 times longer than 87 octane fuel. Even in proper storage 87 octane gas can start to degrade in 3 months, 93 octane fuel should last closer to 9 months before degradation is noticeable. Keep in mind that 93 octane fuels are still susceptible to octane loss and vapor pressure decreases due to butane evaporation."