Posted: 9/27/2012 9:18:09 AM EDT
| I have a question about gasoline. Assuming 100% gas (ethanol free), how long will it be good if stored in a Jerry can? |
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I get a 2 year rotation out of 10% using PRI-G. I can use this gas in late model vehicles with no problems.
One of the guys I know and trust at the range told me he's seen 5 year old gas "come to life" with the addition of PRI-G. I don't kow if it was before ethonol or not. |
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Some cars sit on a car lot for years, and start right up and run on the gas in the tank. Yep, ran a wrecking yard for a while. The yard guys would siphon gas out in the yard for their yard cars if they needed gas. Some of that stuff was probably as old as 10 years. Now they weren't using it to drive 70 miles per hour, but it worked fine for around the wrecking yard. I just resurrected a 1989 Ranger pickup to use as a buggy around my property at home and the gas was at least 6 years old in it. Fired on the first turn of the starter and ran just fine. |
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I've come to the conclusion recently that the quality of the container is more important than anything else. This actually pains me a bit, because I have a considerable sum of money tied up in Pri-G and Seafoam (I buy the stuff a couple cases at a time).
Sealed in an airtight jerrycan? It will last a pretty long time. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I've come to the conclusion recently that the quality of the container is more important than anything else. Me Too This actually pains me a bit, because I have a considerable sum of money tied up in Pri-G and Seafoam (I buy the stuff a couple cases at a time). I called Pri-G about this. They said it would last indefinitely if it is in the factory - unopened - container. I keep mine as a fuel 'restorer'... Sealed in an airtight jerrycan? It will last a pretty long time. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I have a Jeep that does not leave my property. The last time i filled it up was at the gas station in 2004. I have not added any gas since and it runs pretty good. i just fire it up every now and then and move it around. Same story here. The Snake Oil Fuel Additives it seems to me are more of a Security Blanket in a Can to Pacify folks... 
...who have a mindset of hoping their stuff will work OK if they throw $$$ at it and are in many cases too lazy to develop skills to do simple maintenance and repair work to keep their engines running and inform themselves abt technical issues. The Additive companies prey on this mindset like the quacks who sold radium laced drugs that would cure all illnesses in the 1930's. 
Only this Snake Oil is Legal. 
The folks who can't fix thar shit are going to be in for a rude awakening whether they pour Snake Oil in their gas or not. YMMV. 
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You guys worry me sometimes. Maybe a chemistry class would help.
First let me say, I never pour gas out, however gas is a petroleum distillate. Petroleum distills with time and heat. More heat faster the time. Anyone who's ever owned a weed eater or motorcycle knows the PIA a gummed up fuel system is. Some systems are more subject to it than others, smaller ones and carborators less than injectors. Tale it from somebody in the industry, all those companies like Mercury Marine, Cummins, Volvo, etc. that have spent millions on research and have expensive test labs that recommend additives for storage aren't sold on snake oil or there is this mass conspiracy between companies to get you to spend more money. To answer the OP, with additives (I don't bother with PRG just use Stable, its cheaper), six months I do nothing but use the gas. Over six months, I add injection cleaner to thin the gum that may have been formed. Over one year, I mix 50/50 with new gas. I use it all by two years. That's not hard to do and it beats fixing a gummed up fuel system and/or replacing fuel filters every two years. If you are keeping gas more than two years, you probably should consider diesel in the future. Diesel is quite a bit lower on the distillation column which a way to think of that is already closer to gum so more stable. Tj BTW, I cringe thinking whats in the bottom of some of your alls tanks just waiting to be sucked up when enough of it gets built up. 
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It amazes me sometimes how bright folks think pouring some mineral oil-like Snake Oil into their gas can majically replace highly volatile gasoline fractions they lost while storing their fuel in a vehicle tank or red plastic H-D gas can.
It also amazes me when folks repeated recommend replacing gas after a couple years when numerous accounts are reported of gas working perfectly well in a vehicle that's sat 4, 6, 8, years or more. I've observed this with my vehicles several times. Also folks pour this stuff in their tanks and their vehicle runs... ...and then they draw the likely false conclusion that the Magic Additive was responsible and IF THEY HADEN'T, their car, boat, or truck wouldn't have even started. But they really DON'T KNOW!
[proving a negative and all that...] |
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Who knows bud, it could be some of us took a chemistry class or two and worked in test labs.
Flipping a coin and hoping it will work when you need it to..................................... After a half dozen or so gummed up fuel systems, you'll learn. I did, so it was no surprise when I went to school and later worked in the automotive industry. Tj |
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Play nice you two! Fuel additives will protect from oxidation/free radical induced polymerization but do nothing for evaporation loss. Keep gas in a full & tight metal can and you stop evaporation loss. With little airspace and no light exposure (light initiates free radical reactions) you have very little chemical degradation. When I store my geny I keep it full and add PRI-g to the tank. It gets run every 3 months and topped off with gas. Cheap snake oil insurance |
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Who knows bud, it could be some of us took a chemistry class or two and worked in test labs.
Flipping a coin and hoping it will work when you need it to..................................... After a half dozen or so gummed up fuel systems, you'll learn. I did, so it was no surprise when I went to school and later worked in the automotive industry. Tj Just as mentioned above, the container in which the fuel is stored is more important than additives. If you took a chemistry class, you also know that an air-tight container will prevent the fuel from distilling because the holding pressure of the container is higher than the vapor pressure of the fuel. I also believe the rate the fuel vaporizes is affected by the amount of exposed surface area and the amount of fuel that is already vaporized but contained in the air-space of the container... but then again, chemistry wasn't my specialty and I haven't done a terrible lot of it since college... BTW, IIRC, PRI-G etc works by leaving a thin film on top of the gas to prevent the vaporization of the fuel. Keeping it in an air-tight container will do the exact same thing, maybe even better... Of course this all changes if you reach the boiling point of any of the fractions in the fuel, it won't matter how much additive you have, the only thing that can contain all the fractions then is pressure, so the better your container the better your fuel is in the end... |
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"the holding pressure of the container is higher EQUAL TO than the vapor pressure of the fuel."
The most volatile fraction determines the pressure. [Not referring to a [a]zeotropic mix] Just a nit-pick... 
ETA- WHOOPS, I think I misunderstood your point- you're saying that the container can withstand the vapor pressure of the contents, right? Also–– the Mystery Additive likely DOESN'T create a floating membrane on the fuel surface. The additive is likely dissolved into the bulk of the fuel. Easy to evaluate. Sometimes liquid membranes are used with solvents, a common application is certain automotive parts cleaning systems, like the ~5 gallon can of very aggressive solvent that has components that have a strong tendency to be lost, so the mfgr uses a top layer of liquid that won't go into solution with the cleaning agent. It's very good stuff and used to cost abt $60 per pail with the perforated cleaning pan. Don't know if it's still allowed to be sold. |
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I think the key factors are 1. What you are storing it in, 2. What you are going to use it in.
1. Air tight is best. If it is letting air in and out, it is letting water in and volatile gasses out. This will degrade the quality of the fuel which can caused problems with... 2. The type of motor using the fuel. Things like weed eaters, gennys, B&S motors, have a harder time using old fuel, and will fail if they have fuel left in carb for more than a 2-3 months. Cars can handle old fuel better, the less complex fuel system the better. |
| My 2 cycle grass trimmer and blower are sensitive to old gas. I don’t know if my generator is or not, I keep treated gas in it. I treat all of my storage gas with Stabil and carb cleaner. I store 10% ethanol regular in the red plastic gas cans. Each month, I’ll rotate 5 to 10 gallons of year old gas in to my Honda or Nissan. The generator gets 4 gallons of treated gas around December and is ran for about an hour each month with an approximate 1500w load. In December, the oil gets changed and the gas tank gets refilled. For a 5 gal can, treating it only increases the price by about 3%. |