How long can you store gas & diesel?

[KiotiKowboy]

...
Strange - I've never had a moments problems with ethanol gas. And I use it in everything - lawn mower, chainsaw, weed whacker, ATV etc, etc. However, I do put Stabil in all my gas and its probably never over 3 months old.

I've never had a known problem running ethanol in my vehicles but now run only non-ethanol fuel in them. My lawn equipment; mowers, trimmers, saws, etc ALL RUN POORLY on ethanol. They are harder to start, sputter and fail to reach full rpm when on ethanol.

These days, I opt for non-ethanol in everything. Ethanol simply makes no financial sense, from production to efficiency.

 

[davesl708]

The label on Stabil says up to 12 months for gas. Doesn't say if they mean ethanol gas or non ethanol gas.

Strange - I've never had a moments problems with ethanol gas. And I use it in everything - lawn mower, chainsaw, weed whacker, ATV etc, etc. However, I do put Stabil in all my gas and its probably never over 3 months old.

StaBil has a separate additive for ethanol fuel. Prevents the phase separation.

The problems I have seen with using ethanol is reduced power and fuel lines harden up over time and crack. If left in a steel tank corrosion will set in.
Primer bulbs will dry and crack with ethanol.

I can get pure gas in 93 octane and 87 octane so no need to risk using ethanol.

 

[techman]

Diesel can be stored a looooong time w/o problems. The two problems with diesel are containments (rust in a steel tank, for example) which can clog filters, and algae growth in the fuel. The best way to eliminate algae is to keep moisture out of the diesel. An oil breather on the tank, or a desiccant breather is the best. Using a diesel (or fuel oil) additive is the second best thing. Properly kept, diesel can be stored for years.

paul

 

[TnAndy]

Stabil is junk. A year with it, even in sealed containers, and gasoline smells like varnish.

PRI-G will keep gasoline in good condition for many years in SEALED containers. I've stored gasoline as long as 4 years with it, and it works as good as fresh....ethanol or non ethanol gasoline.

PRI is harder to find, Stabil is available everywhere.

PRI-D for diesel.

 

[jymbee]

Stabil is junk.

Well shoot-- just when I think I now know it all...

Which makes me ponder-- absent any kind of definitive, scientific examination, understandably most of the opinions expressed here rely on one's own anecdotal experiences. Many here that have indicated that they use Stabil and that it's effective.

I'm left wondering if there's some kind of definitive test that can measure the physical characteristics of gasoline which is stored over time? The clear consensus is that gasoline stored over time deteriorates. Just how much & how fast seems to be debatable and varies based on what kind of gas and how exactly it's stored. Opinions of length of time varies from weeks-- to years.

 

[teejk]

Never had a problem with non-ethanol fuel mixed with Stabil. Granted my 4 cycle gas (lawnmowers etc.) rarely goes beyond 6 months but my 2 cycle mix (chain saws/weed whackers/single stage sno-blowers) might sit for a year or more. My proof is always in whether a machine will start. As a rule I only buy non-ethanol fuel for any of that and add Stabil regardless of how long the gas can might last. Makes a big difference for me.

 

[teejk]

Well shoot-- just when I think I now know it all...

Which makes me ponder-- absent any kind of definitive, scientific examination, understandably most of the opinions expressed here rely on one's own anecdotal experiences. Many here that have indicated that they use Stabil and that it's effective.

I'm left wondering if there's some kind of definitive test that can measure the physical characteristics of gasoline which is stored over time? The clear consensus is that gasoline stored over time deteriorates. Just how much & how fast seems to be debatable and varies based on what kind of gas and how exactly it's stored. Opinions of length of time varies from weeks-- to years.

Guessing ambient temperature might also come into play..."phase separation" on ethanol fuels is a given (most 2 stroke engines discourage its use now) but I'm pretty sure that is partly a function of temperature extremes.

 

[corl]

I use StarTron which is said to stabilize fuel with or without ethanol up to 2 years. I have been using it for 6 years and have not had any problems. The fuel that sits around longest for me is in the boat's tank. It keeps getting diluted with new fuel each year. It is a little cheaper than stabile which I use to use but had some problems as it only is supposed to work for up to a year.

 

[dstig1]

I only use non ethanol in small engines anymore. Especially after I added up how little I really use. For less than a buck or two a year, it is an easy call. I have a can of 50:1 mix for the chainsaws that uses the Stihl Ultra synthetic oil. It is pushing 3 yrs old and no problems with any of the saws/blowers/etc that I use it in. But I will admit it is making me nervous at this age... Not a lot left in the can now but i am in a lull of using my 2 strokes these days as i am focused more on the house build, so it is older than I would like to see.

In the past i have found a gas station or two that causes rough running in my cars. After a couple times where I filled up there and had issues, I went hmmm, and never went back. And the problem disappeared. Can be hard to pinpoint stuff like that. And i use regular 10% ethanol in the cars, but then they get gassed up frequently, so they get churned a lot and little aging.

 

[stan33]

Was once told that one of the main problems with gas going bad is condensation building up inside the can and the moisture falling into the gas. This would seem to be more of a problem in the summer with hot days and cool nights. I find my Stihl chainsaw only likes very fresh fuel and I was told by a Stihl dealer not to use gas that is more than a month old otherwise the engine wont last as long. If I have fuel in the can which is older than that I use it in the car and get some fresh for the saw.