Gas disposal

[GrantMO]

What's the best way to get rid of a gallon or so of old gas mixed with oil? All the recommendations for 2 cycle engines say to dispose of old gas/oil mixtures and use new but they don't say where to put the old stuff. What do you guys do?

 

[Chuck52]

When I lived in town, the city had "household hazardous waste" days when they would accept leftover chemicals, oil, gas, etc. These days, I'd burn it with one of the many brush piles I create whilst cleaning up around the place....carefully of course. It goes up with quite a bit more whooooosh than my usual starter of old oil.

Chuck

 

[beenthere]

I would just add any old gas to the fuel tank in my car or truck when the tank is near full. Also, I don't find that gas mixed with oil gets old as fast as gas with no oil.
That is if I don't have any brush piles to burn.

 

[TonyC]

I would not try to burn it if I were you. Gas is just so volatile. Being extremely cautious, I still nearly blew myself up once doing that. The fumes are completely unpredictable.

If the gas is only "one winter" old, it's probably fine to use. Next time put "Stabil" in it at the end of the season and I'm sure it will be fine. If you're concerned now, add a gallon of fresh gas with the appropriate amount of oil mix. That will freshen it up just fine. If it happens to be 3 years old or something, I would try to find a legal place to take it. Try calling a local agency to find out.

 

[gerard]

I would burn it. While gas IS volatile, it's the fumes, and not the liquid that is. To burn gas safely start the first FIRST and throw the gas on a cup full at a time at the base. You'll get a small woosh but you can do so from a safe distance with no problem at all. If there's oil in it it will be even less of a "woosh". Most people make the mistake of pouring gas on and waiting a few seconds before lighting it. That's when the vapors have a chance to disperse and you get a nice explosion, sometimes a good distance from where you threw the gas, depending on wind. Mixing with oil does a good job of dampening the volatility. (While I expect some "flaming", no pun intended, for my opinion, it CAN be done safely if you use a little common sense!)

 

[patrickg]

Grant, I can't even give away diesel contaminated with gas. Recyclers don't want it as it is hazardous waste. You sure don't want to burn it in a diesel, even diluted. In very weak dilutions it can be burned in a gas engine. I would suppose if you are talking small quantities, you could add it a bit at a time to a vehicles fuel tank. If that doesn't appeal to you then using it as a fire starter is a good option.

I have soaked wood chips in old gas and used them to start brush fires. If the chips aren't so wet as to drip a lot it helps control where the gas source will be. If you just dump a bunch of liquid gasoline on a pile of brush it will run wherever and send out a lot of heavier than air vapor that could cause you a nasty surprise when you light it. Corn cobs are a great alternative to the wood chips and if not dripping wet are easy to toss into a fire safely and fairly precisely where it needs a little help. Much safer than trying to add liquid gas to a fire in progress.

Whatever you do, be safe.

Patrick

 

[beenthere]

No flaming from here. You have a good solution.
If I ever have a yellow jackets nest in the ground, I pour gasoline into it, and then a 'fuse' trail of gas out about 10'. I light the fuse and watch her blow. Hasn't failed yet to get rid of the 'hive'.
Also, can mix the gallon with some old oil and decrease its flammability.
Many ways to get rid of it without carrying it off somewhere in a gas fueled vehicle to 'find' a deposit for it, which in turn requires someone on the tax roll to drive it off somewhere else to get rid of it. What is accomplished in all this PC disposal routine? Just burn it.

 

[TonyC]

<font color=blue>While I expect some "flaming"</font color=blue>

Good call...here it comes! Good natured flaming of course!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

There is absolutely positively no safe way to burn gasoline. The method you described might be considered safer by some standard but it's not. It's precisely the way a friend of my father's went up in flame 25 years ago. It seems the fumes got around a little more than he planned. He threw a cup on the fire and he went up like a torch. He spent the next four months in the hospital covered in a wet cotton suit and on morphine. I don't mean to sound dramatic but the risk is tremendously high no matter how you do it. It's just not worth the risk just to dispose of a little gasoline.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[TonyC]

<font color=blue>I light the fuse and watch her blow.</font color=blue>

Okay guys...I'm not trying to play Smokey the Bear here but on the bee thing I have to comment. If you pour a half cup of gasoline down into an underground bees nest they will all die instantly from the fumes. I've done it a hundred times. None will fly out...none will survive. They will be dead before you strike the match.

 

[chim]

Why not use it? I have a weedeater and leafblower that sit in the shed along with the gas/oil mix. When the fuel can is empty, I make more. If I have a quarter of a can left over at the end of the season, it gets used the following Spring. Never had any problems. Same goes for straight gasoline. I bought an old rototiller at a garage sale several years ago. Sometimes it sits for 2 years with gas in the tank. The old machine starts and runs when needed. I believe the StaBil and such are more hype than fact....................chim