Old Gas
 

I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Depending on the size of your tank you could just
mix in more gas. Or you could siphon it out and then
add just a little to each new tank of gas that you
get. 1.5 years is really not that old. If mixed in
at 40% with new gas I'd bet you'ld never have
a problem at all.

Old Gas
 

"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Depending on the size of your tank you could just
mix in more gas. Or you could siphon it out and then
add just a little to each new tank of gas that you
get. 1.5 years is really not that old. If mixed in
at 40% with new gas I'd bet you'ld never have
a problem at all.


This gets my vote as well.

I've used up 9 year old gas doing this with no problems.

db

Old Gas
 

On 7/13/2004 12:40 PM, Harvey Arkawy wrote:

The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it.

Depends on where you are, but around here the county's hazardous
household waste disposal program takes care of stuff like that.

Try looking under "hazardous waste disposal" in the online yellow pages,
and failing that, I'll bet that a local petroleum distributer
(wholesale, not just your average gas station) would know where to look.



--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Old Gas
 

I think I'd at least pour it out into another container before mixing it
with new ... just to make sure it's all gas.

"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Harvey Arkawy wrote:
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Don't be concerned at all... that's not very old gas. If you feel you
must purge it, just drive your car/truck right up next to it and fill
up, oil & all. I just did this again a few weeks ago with a 6 gallon
OMC tank I found in the garage with gas of unknown vintage - this boat
was last used Sept. 2001 so it is at least that old. The Taurus didn't
even hiccup - and I've put on 2000 miles since - and it's going to the
Cape this week...

Rob

Old Gas
 

If your concerned, put in your buddy's car.

trainfan1 wrote:

Harvey Arkawy wrote:
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Don't be concerned at all... that's not very old gas. If you feel you
must purge it, just drive your car/truck right up next to it and fill
up, oil & all. I just did this again a few weeks ago with a 6 gallon
OMC tank I found in the garage with gas of unknown vintage - this boat
was last used Sept. 2001 so it is at least that old. The Taurus didn't
even hiccup - and I've put on 2000 miles since - and it's going to the
Cape this week...

Rob

Old Gas
 

Or flush it down the toilet...

"Jim Kelly" wrote in message
...
If your concerned, put in your buddy's car.

trainfan1 wrote:

Harvey Arkawy wrote:
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Don't be concerned at all... that's not very old gas. If you feel you
must purge it, just drive your car/truck right up next to it and fill
up, oil & all. I just did this again a few weeks ago with a 6 gallon
OMC tank I found in the garage with gas of unknown vintage - this boat
was last used Sept. 2001 so it is at least that old. The Taurus didn't
even hiccup - and I've put on 2000 miles since - and it's going to the
Cape this week...

Rob

Old Gas
 

Given that it has oil mixed in the gas, I would not recommend using it in
the car as your cat and oxygen sensor will not like it and could cause
premature failure.

2 stroke engines don't like old gas. As gas gets old it will loose its
octane rating and can easily cause pre-detonation. I would suggest you use
3/4 tank of 93 octane fuel to 1/4 tank of this old gas and use it up that
way. The higher octane fresh gas will compensate for the older stuff.


--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Or flush it down the toilet...


Why not just pour it directly into the bay?
Same difference. The sewer treatment plant won't do squat to remove gasoline
from the sewage before it pipes it back out to the water.

Dumping petroleum into the sewer is specifically illegal in some locales, by
the way.

Dispose of it properly. If you're really nervous about it, burn it in your
lawnmower. Otherwise, put a quart or so in your car every fill up until it's
gone. (the gas, not the car)

Old Gas
 

Given that it has oil mixed in the gas, I would not recommend using it in
the car as your cat and oxygen sensor will not like it and could cause
premature failure.

If the mix is 50:1, and somebody puts 1 quart of the stuff in with 15 gallons
of gas the mix goes to 3000 to 1. I'd be surprise if the o2 sensor is that
sensitive. Nobody sells gas any purer than that.

Old Gas
 

Harvey, Gould 0738's suggestion is the correct one. Even a gas/oil mix, when
added to your car's tank in small quantities, won't harm your car's engine
or fuel system.

Today's gasolines go bad in 30 days. Using gas any older than that will
varnish your carb/fuel system, and you really don't want that to happen.

Drew
Waco, TX


"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Tony,

Thanks for your reply. I think I like your's best. They say that
great minds think alike.... I was planning on using 89 octane and
burning about two gallons of the old stuff after each fill up. Not
filling up until the gas gauge indicates less than 1/4 tank.

Thank all of you for your replies as well.

Harvey

"Tony Thomas" wrote in message news:KH1Jc.85677$Oq2.4017@attbi_s52...
Given that it has oil mixed in the gas, I would not recommend using it in
the car as your cat and oxygen sensor will not like it and could cause
premature failure.

2 stroke engines don't like old gas. As gas gets old it will loose its
octane rating and can easily cause pre-detonation. I would suggest you use
3/4 tank of 93 octane fuel to 1/4 tank of this old gas and use it up that
way. The higher octane fresh gas will compensate for the older stuff.


--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Just for non mixed fuel.
I'll agree with Drew, on 1 part of his post quote--"varnish your
carb" I agree. I'm not so sure about Drews's quote --" Today's
gasoline's go bad in 30 days." I own 5.4l mercruiser w/90 gal fuel
cap, also Correct Craft 302 w/20 gal cap. I've had old fuel in the
both 20 and 90 gallon tank stored over 9-to 12 months - aprox 45gals
or more in big tank.
If you ad "Fuel Stabilizer" along with some octane booster and of
coarse some new fuel mixed in should be ready to go. The best advice
is to RUN the motor frequently to move any varnishing on fuel Carb -
jets.
If I'm wrong please correct me or just feel sorry for me.

Regards
Ron
Central FL.

"Drew Shuller" wrote in message ...
Harvey, Gould 0738's suggestion is the correct one. Even a gas/oil mix, when
added to your car's tank in small quantities, won't harm your car's engine
or fuel system.

Today's gasolines go bad in 30 days. Using gas any older than that will
varnish your carb/fuel system, and you really don't want that to happen.

Drew
Waco, TX


"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4
five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Fuel stabilizer is supposed to help, a lot. Let's split hairs:

Would adding fuel stabilizer after the fact turn stale fuel into good fuel?
How much would you have to dilute stale fuel with good fuel so there
wouldn't be a problem? We can all agree that allowing stale fuel to rest in
a carb can varnish it up, but will running the engine with stale fuel cause
problems?

Drew


"test" wrote in message
om...
Just for non mixed fuel.
I'll agree with Drew, on 1 part of his post quote--"varnish your
carb" I agree. I'm not so sure about Drews's quote --" Today's
gasoline's go bad in 30 days." I own 5.4l mercruiser w/90 gal fuel
cap, also Correct Craft 302 w/20 gal cap. I've had old fuel in the
both 20 and 90 gallon tank stored over 9-to 12 months - aprox 45gals
or more in big tank.
If you ad "Fuel Stabilizer" along with some octane booster and of
coarse some new fuel mixed in should be ready to go. The best advice
is to RUN the motor frequently to move any varnishing on fuel Carb -
jets.
If I'm wrong please correct me or just feel sorry for me.

Regards
Ron
Central FL.

"Drew Shuller" wrote in message
...
Harvey, Gould 0738's suggestion is the correct one. Even a gas/oil mix,
when
added to your car's tank in small quantities, won't harm your car's
engine
or fuel system.

Today's gasolines go bad in 30 days. Using gas any older than that will
varnish your carb/fuel system, and you really don't want that to happen.

Drew
Waco, TX


"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into 4

five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Adding fuel stabilizer after the fact will not fix the fuel.

As for running it - depends on the engine. I would say you can get away
with fairly bad fuel in an I/O and not have much problem - especially if you
mix say 50:50 w/ fresh 92/93 octane.
As for running it in an outboard 2 stroke - they will detonate and punch a
hole in the top of the cylinder. You can probably get away w/ a 20:80 mix
of old to fresh 92/93 octane but I would not go past that point.

--
Tony
my boats at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com

"Drew Shuller" wrote in message
...
Fuel stabilizer is supposed to help, a lot. Let's split hairs:

Would adding fuel stabilizer after the fact turn stale fuel into good
fuel?
How much would you have to dilute stale fuel with good fuel so there
wouldn't be a problem? We can all agree that allowing stale fuel to rest
in
a carb can varnish it up, but will running the engine with stale fuel
cause
problems?

Drew


"test" wrote in message
om...
Just for non mixed fuel.
I'll agree with Drew, on 1 part of his post quote--"varnish your
carb" I agree. I'm not so sure about Drews's quote --" Today's
gasoline's go bad in 30 days." I own 5.4l mercruiser w/90 gal fuel
cap, also Correct Craft 302 w/20 gal cap. I've had old fuel in the
both 20 and 90 gallon tank stored over 9-to 12 months - aprox 45gals
or more in big tank.
If you ad "Fuel Stabilizer" along with some octane booster and of
coarse some new fuel mixed in should be ready to go. The best advice
is to RUN the motor frequently to move any varnishing on fuel Carb -
jets.
If I'm wrong please correct me or just feel sorry for me.

Regards
Ron
Central FL.

"Drew Shuller" wrote in message
...
Harvey, Gould 0738's suggestion is the correct one. Even a gas/oil
mix,
when
added to your car's tank in small quantities, won't harm your car's
engine
or fuel system.

Today's gasolines go bad in 30 days. Using gas any older than that
will
varnish your carb/fuel system, and you really don't want that to
happen.

Drew
Waco, TX


"Harvey Arkawy" wrote in message
om...
I just purchased a used boat with a 1995 Merc 70 hp, 3 cyl. 2 stroke
"Force" motor. The previous owner said that the gas (~ 17 gallons)
was about a year and a half old. I would like to siphon it out into
4

five gallon cans. Has anyone done this and where do you suggest I
dispose of it. Please be kind.... I know where I don't want to put
it. I contacted the local Air Force Base Fire Department to see if
they could use it to burn during a practice fire, but the local Air
Quality Management Department (AQMD) required them to install
propane
burners and burn propane during fire practice.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Harvey

Old Gas
 

Tony Thomas wrote:

Adding fuel stabilizer after the fact will not fix the fuel.

As for running it - depends on the engine. I would say you can get away
with fairly bad fuel in an I/O and not have much problem - especially if
you mix say 50:50 w/ fresh 92/93 octane.

Why use higher octane?

Shawn.

Old Gas
 

"Shawn Willden" wrote in message
...
Tony Thomas wrote:

Adding fuel stabilizer after the fact will not fix the fuel.

As for running it - depends on the engine. I would say you can get
away
with fairly bad fuel in an I/O and not have much problem - especially if
you mix say 50:50 w/ fresh 92/93 octane.

Why use higher octane?

Shawn.

I don't know if the higher octane has anything to do with helping out with
the stale gas situation. I do know that with my old I/O, the compression
and/or timing was set up in such a way that low octane fuel caused knocking,
dieseling, and my mechanic told me, would cause damage.

Old Gas
 

Camilo wrote:

I don't know if the higher octane has anything to do with helping out with
the stale gas situation. I do know that with my old I/O, the compression
and/or timing was set up in such a way that low octane fuel caused
knocking, dieseling, and my mechanic told me, would cause damage.

Right, I understand that high octane fuel prevents premature ignition (that
being the whole purpose of high octane fuel), and that premature ignition
causes damage.

Is old fuel more prone to premature ignition? That would be the only
obvious reason for a recommendation to mix with high-octane fuel.

Thanks,

Shawn.