Convert everything you can to diesel and stop worrying about storage shelf-life, imho.
How to store petrol long term?
People on these forums have said petrol goes off... well after seeing comments on these fourms and looking it up elsewhere.
Petrol is stable, it does however oxidize.
Most Containers that store petrol are not air tight, they allow in air either as a pressure let off(Incase the tank gets to hot and the petrol pressure gets to high) Or because the tank feeds something like a cartank and the petrol volume used needs to be replaced with air.
Leaded Petrol had other additives to it and it also degraded and percepitated out over time.
However Unleaded petrol seems to have very few reasons why if its stored in a airtight container with limited oxygen, wouldnt be useable 100 years from now.
So the question is, am I missing something?
Is there another reason it wont store?
Petrol is stable, it does however oxidize.
Most Containers that store petrol are not air tight, they allow in air either as a pressure let off(Incase the tank gets to hot and the petrol pressure gets to high) Or because the tank feeds something like a cartank and the petrol volume used needs to be replaced with air.
Leaded Petrol had other additives to it and it also degraded and percepitated out over time.
However Unleaded petrol seems to have very few reasons why if its stored in a airtight container with limited oxygen, wouldnt be useable 100 years from now.
So the question is, am I missing something?
Is there another reason it wont store?
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Good question, I'll be looking for replies.
Diesel just makes more sense for internal combustion engines anyway. If we had gone entirely diesel decades back, we wouldn't be having near the fuel crisis we're currently having.Convert everything you can to diesel and stop worrying about storage shelf-life, imho.
You could use sta-bil fuel stabilizer.
Rotating is the only way to store fuel. Use old fuel and put fresh fuel in. Make it a habit.
Understand that gas has been reenginered not to last more than a few months or so, the industry doesn't care, they make money selling it, and the price is always going up so, if you can store it at a cheep price you are cheating them out of their profits.
There are several fuel stablizers , I prefir the ones for marine applications but Stabl works just fine .
There are several fuel stablizers , I prefir the ones for marine applications but Stabl works just fine .
Stabil is not nearly as effective as some of the others on the market such as Pri and some of the new brands. I've heard it's hard on rubber and gaskets too. I haven't used it in years because of lousy results with it.You could use sta-bil fuel stabilizer.
You can get a couple years or so out of it by using one of the better preservatives and storing it in a sturdy non vented container like a fuel drum, meant for the vapor pressure. But rotating is always the best way. To make sure the fuel in the drum is fresh when it's needed. You can always add the preservative if the SHTF.Rotating is the only way to store fuel. Use old fuel and put fresh fuel in. Make it a habit.
Uh..... I have used fuel that I stored without stabil, fuel purchased four years ago and it works just fine in my truck... Fuel does not go bad as fast as alot of folks think it does....IMHO. Stabil is made by who? How are their profits doing...?
I just (this month) rotated my storage gas. Used it in our vehicles and refilled the gas cans with new. The gas was stored using Pri-G as a stabilizer when bought, AND I added about an additional ounce of Pri-G to each 6 gallon can (jug) when I put it in our vehicles.
The gas was purchased/stored in December 2008 and both vehicles ran fine using the stored fuel. Pri-G is more expensive than Sta-Bil, but after much online reasearch, I learned that it is much better than Sta-Bil.
The only thing that I can add is that I used 87 octane gasoline with NO ethanol added. It is available, you just have to search for it. And, it costs more! When I rotated my storage, gas was around $3.05 - but, I paid $3.29 for ethanol free gas.
The gas was purchased/stored in December 2008 and both vehicles ran fine using the stored fuel. Pri-G is more expensive than Sta-Bil, but after much online reasearch, I learned that it is much better than Sta-Bil.
The only thing that I can add is that I used 87 octane gasoline with NO ethanol added. It is available, you just have to search for it. And, it costs more! When I rotated my storage, gas was around $3.05 - but, I paid $3.29 for ethanol free gas.
I store gasoline in a sealed steel gas can with sta-bil. I rotate it about once a year and keep it in a temperature stable room in my shop.
However, I once left my generator (that is set up to run on a natural gas well) full of gasoline for over three years (tank is vented and stored in a unconditioned gas house, temperatures from -10F to over 100F). When I discovered the gas, the tank was half full and smelled "old". I started the generator on natural gas to warm it up. Then I shut it down and re-started on gasoline. It ran just fine from idle to over 50% load.
I am sure it had degraded, but it still ran my generator with no problems.
However, I once left my generator (that is set up to run on a natural gas well) full of gasoline for over three years (tank is vented and stored in a unconditioned gas house, temperatures from -10F to over 100F). When I discovered the gas, the tank was half full and smelled "old". I started the generator on natural gas to warm it up. Then I shut it down and re-started on gasoline. It ran just fine from idle to over 50% load.
I am sure it had degraded, but it still ran my generator with no problems.
winter produced gas will also last longer than summer gas..........so a wise man told me.
Different additives for cold weather
Different additives for cold weather
Just ordered a 32 oz. jug of Sta-bil from Amazon yesterday.. wished I had of seen this post. Would like to keep my gas cans stored for longer than a year.
I rotate my gasoline to keep it fresh, but I also have used stored gasoline that was at least a year and a half old. It ran fine, and it did surprise me. I wouldn't want to bet my life on very old stored gasoline, so rotation , to me, seems to be the answer. Just as a side note, I was told by a small engine shop that if you ran your small engine completely out of fuel and stored it for any length of time that some of the additives that are in gasoline will actually get hard and "varnish" up the small parts and openings in the carb causing hard starting and idleing issues. I leave my mowers and generator full all year and , knock on wood, haven't had any issues yet.
Just started a bike I had in the shed today. The tax book says 2004 on it so that was the last time it was fired up.
Unleaded petrol. Sealed tank. 7 year - No problem.
The petrol myth is busted as far as I'm concerned. It stores.
Unleaded petrol. Sealed tank. 7 year - No problem.
The petrol myth is busted as far as I'm concerned. It stores.
In the past, gasoline stored was never a problem. It might well be that 50 year old petrol now will store another 50 years without problem.People on these forums have said petrol goes off... ...
Is there another reason it wont store?
THE ISSUE, is the new EPA crap in gasoline; and "they" keep changing the rules.
1989 gasoline might last 120 years, but 1992 gasoline might only last 2 years, and then 2001 gasoline might last 3 years...
ALL "My" experience with fuel is the same. It will burn years and years and years later.
Almost always, if it is a carbed system, things in the carb will varnish if the fuel is stored in "device".
A varnished carb doesn't mean the fuel is goobered up.
Let us know your results.
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