Hi All, I just found a Gerry Can of gas from a trip, lets just say about 2 years ago. I'm figuring it may not be a good idea to use it. Any thought on how to tell if its still OK to use or so I just figure out out to dispose of it and be safe not putting it in my TJ?
Is my 2-year old gas safe to use?
- Thread starter Dan T.
- Start date
Miracle Jeep
Member
If it has ethanol in it, which it probably does, dispose of it. E10 or gas that can have up to 10% ethanol that is old is notorious for clogging fuel systems. Problems are more common with small engines but I would not risk it. I had some old gas and my buddy that owns an auto repair shop let me put it in his waste oil drum.
It may have lost some octane from sitting. If it has ethanol it probably absorbed water. If it's ethanol free I would mix it 50/50 with a higher octane gas.
Its not worth it. Assuming its 5 gallons @ $3 .... 15 bucks.... there really isn't any way to tell if it will cause problems. And $15 isn't enough for me to attempt it.
....... just my opinion
I'm not sure what "properly" is. If you're referring to whatever the government says, it's closely related to why gas today can mess up a small engine in about 6 months. Gas used to work for years without any worries of ruining any equipment.
I'd be using it to clean greasy/oily parts, some kill weeds this spring, build a fire and hand a glass full to any politician responsible for this. I'm not saying they should drink it or light their smoke near it but if they do, that's OK too.
Always the ethanol hate.
Talking to petrochemical folks...they say they can blend 4% water into the fuel without loss of drivability. (Not in freezing conditions)
I remember my neighbor lady was moving and came over with a can of old chainsaw gas that she didn't know what to do with (about a gallon). I poured it into my '91 pickup and gave her back the can.
Solution was dilution
Talking to petrochemical folks...they say they can blend 4% water into the fuel without loss of drivability. (Not in freezing conditions)
I remember my neighbor lady was moving and came over with a can of old chainsaw gas that she didn't know what to do with (about a gallon). I poured it into my '91 pickup and gave her back the can.
Solution was dilution
Last edited:
Unfortunately these days that solution will eventually cause issues with your cats and down stream sensors.
The truck was a '91I bought new. Sold it to a friend with 200K miles. He drove it another 80K and sold it. Guessing the gallon of mixed bad gas didn't do much.
The truck was a '91I bought new. Sold it to a friend with 200K miles. He drove it another 80K and sold it. Guessing the gallon of mixed bad gas didn't do much.
Let me rephrase that:
Unfortunately these days continued use of that solution will eventually cause issues with your cats and down stream sensors. Not to imply that a single instance of that solution will solely be the cause of these issues.
I guess where I was going with it was the OP had a couple of gallons of gas that was two years old. If it was complete skank, I'd burn it off in an open can. If it was stored decent, I'd throw some in a full tank dilute it out and run it.
On a side note I've had really good luck using sea foam rather than Stabil to keep gas in condition (like the camper generator tank)