How long can you let gasoline sit before it goes "bad"?

[Rusker]

I know gasoline cannot sit around anywhere near as long as diesel, but how can you let a tank of premium sit around? A buddy of mine had problems starting a car after letting it sit for 6-7 months.

Just curious what others have experienced.

[bo2o]

not reallie shure. but i let my car sit for about a year and it started right up. i would just put some stabil in your tank juss to be safe you can add it any time it says on the bottle.

but the problems mainly come from the tank if the car sits in moisture for long periods of time. wen i let my car sit it was in the sun mostly and i live in socal so ya.

but my friends car sat for about year a half and the tank rotted out.

[Rusker]

What engine is in your car? He had an SR20.

I recently read a post about someone on here that had the same problem. The fuel was fouling up the plugs because it was old.

[steve shadows]

5 seconds (and 2 years)

[mojos13]

If you're gonna let it sit for more than a month, you should put in a fuel
stablelizer, discount auto parts sells something called ( staybill ) that will
do the trick for up to a year.

[Jus Skott]

Originally Posted by mojos13

If you're gonna let it sit for more than a month, you should put in a fuel
stablelizer, discount auto parts sells something called ( staybill ) that will
do the trick for up to a year.

cant agree more w. that statement yo.


IMHO
if your car has been sitting "lord knows about mine" consider dropping the tank and getting it out. some might say thats an over kill. but heres a way of thinking about it. a tank will sit and get condensation from sitting causing rust. you can start it sometime late. then when you start to drive it sloshes around. this rust can get pilled in to the sock pump filter and even the injectors making the car run like a honda on a crack binge. a few months you should be ok. maybe even up to a year. but i would be anal about it anytime after that. I would rather clean a tank, a sock and filter before clogging some shit up.
~skott

[Rusker]

Well my 240 has now been sitting for more than 2 years now, so I was going to just remove as much as I could and run it through the lawn mower. I was just going to try using a hose and draining it into a few gas cans I have. I figured I'd get out as much as I could and top it off with fresh premium.

Wouldn't it be overkill to drop the tank? How hard is it on the 240? I suppose I could go the extra step.

[exitsine]

is your car NA or turbo'd?

[mikethebiker]

i dunno about a 14, but on a 13 its not hard, just a bitch. gotta unplug the fuel pump and lines, ... unscrew? the tank filling tube deal. now the straps on the bottom are the pain in the ass, at least mine was. so be prepared, but it should only take like an hour or so, and then putting th straps back on shouldnt be faster than 10 minutes

[98koukile]

Ironically a full tank is better to let sit because when the temp changes there's no room for condensation, but thats if you live in a hot/cold changing environment. I'd fill it with 87 to sit, with stabilizer, then drain it and use it elsewhere. Or you could just empty the tank and pull it off the car

[SINxSELEKTAH]

self life of gasline is 90~ days. after that time frame, gasoline starts to separate from all the additives and begins to turn into a varnish which damages fuel systems

Originally Posted by mojos13

If you're gonna let it sit for more than a month, you should put in a fuel
stablelizer, discount auto parts sells something called ( staybill ) that will
do the trick for up to a year.

i highly recommend spending the extra bucks at an RV shop on their products. they're known to work really well.

[datsundime]

I work at a lawnmower shop and we've had gas go bad as soon as 2 months. Most people have it sitting in 1 or 5 gallon cans outside. Try to keep your container covered. The biggest enemy is condensation. Fuel stabilizer works well.

[Jus Skott]

Originally Posted by 98koukile

Ironically a full tank is better to let sit because when the temp changes there's no room for condensation, but thats if you live in a hot/cold changing environment. I'd fill it with 87 to sit, with stabilizer, then drain it and use it elsewhere. Or you could just empty the tank and pull it off the car

very true. thought i scrolled that but since i forgot im very glad you did.
~skott

[babowc]

Hm..
I left my car sitting for 6+mos and it started up right away.
no problems.

Maybe I should go add fuel additive for it tomorrow..

[Addicted2Kouki]

Originally Posted by SINxSELEKTAH

self life of gasline is 90~ days. after that time frame, gasoline starts to separate from all the additives and begins to turn into a varnish which damages fuel systems



i highly recommend spending the extra bucks at an RV shop on their products. they're known to work really well.

word.
if it doesnt smell like gas anymore.
[maybe more like lacquer thinner]
then its more than useless.
drain it all out and get it outta the lines, filter, pump, etc.

you may have to replace lines because it can literally destroy lines by swelling them up, deteriorating, and cracking them.

[cdlong]

according to the movie Battlefield Earth, jet fuel is fine after 1000 years. gas should be about the same.

i could be wrong, it was a movie... and a terrible one at that. quite possibly the worst movie ever made, mostly because John Travolta is in it. ok, i'm done.

[Rusker]

^____ lol

I didn't know anyone who actually saw that movie.

[karmakaze]

Originally Posted by Rusker

I know gasoline cannot sit around anywhere near as long as diesel, but how can you let a tank of premium sit around? A buddy of mine had problems starting a car after letting it sit for 6-7 months.

Just curious what others have experienced.

it really depends.

the size of the tank that it is in, how much fuel is there, and the amount of air in the tank all play a factor.

but a general rule is, the more fuel that is there, the longer it will take to go bad.

[SINxSELEKTAH]

Originally Posted by Addicted2Kouki

you may have to replace lines because it can literally destroy lines by swelling them up, deteriorating, and cracking them.

we had to notify a customer to call his insurance and have his car a "total loss" due to high cost repairs. it was an 85 VW Cabriolet and sat for almost 2 years. the gasoline had varnished to almost a gel like substance and damaged the entire fuel system. the entire CIS K-Jet system need to be replace and cost of repairs was going to be close to $6k in parts & labor.

[Rusker]

Originally Posted by karmakaze

it really depends.

the size of the tank that it is in, how much fuel is there, and the amount of air in the tank all play a factor.

but a general rule is, the more fuel that is there, the longer it will take to go bad.

Well it was about 1/2 tank for about a year before I put it away. I added 3-4 gallons on top of that a year ago. This car has been stored in an unheated garage so hopefully it was of some help.

I guess I should drop the tank and see what I have. Hopefully the fuel system itself is fine and I'm only left with draining the expired gasoline.