unused fuel

[pugbro]

I end up with several gallons of mixed fuel at the end of each season. I hate to throw good fuel away..If I only added maybe a gallon or two of the mixed gas to my automobile fuel would it harm the engine?
Maybe foul spark plugs??
Cause emmission light to come on??
My truck has a 15 gal fuel tank.....

Thanks

KEEP IT FUN...KEEP IT SAFE!

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: unused fuel

It may, depends on the year of the truck.
Why not just store it and use it next year?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: unused fuel

Stabilizer in it and you will be good to go for next season. Must be good fuel to begin with though. It will not make old fuel new again it just stops good fuel getting old for a while.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: unused fuel

My HUNCH is that it would be OK to burn a little at a time in a carborated engine, But i would be hesitant to put it in my fuel injected truck - 01 Chevy Clogged Injectors ???

 

[justchange]

Re: unused fuel

Could use it in the lawn mower.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: unused fuel

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've done that......

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Re: unused fuel

Don't use it in an EFI boat or car. Use it in your lawn mower or older carbureted vehicles.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: unused fuel

As long as the fuel is good, you may burn it in any car, truck, motorcycle, chainsaw etc. I would dilute it with ~5 gal of unmixed gas to keep the smoke down, in the car/truck.

I usually just stabilize it and use it in the boat next year.....

 

[rwidman]

Re: unused fuel

OK, we have some folks who warn against putting it in a car or truck and some who say it's fine. Now, you have a "non answer".

My suggestion is first, if you've been adding a good fuel stabilizer all along, fill up the tank, adding the correct amount of stabilizer, and use it next season.

If you don't think that's a good idea or I've somehow misread your post, I would suggest checking with your car or truck manufacturer before running a fuel/oil mix in it.

 

[109jb]

Re: unused fuel

All I will say is I would occasionally run old premix through my fuel injected car back when I had my 70 hp Johnson outboard and I never had any problem. I put 236,000 miles on that car (1988 Honda Civic) and it was still running great when I sold it. I would put 2 to 3 gallons in at a time and the rest of the 10 gallon tank was filled with non-mixed gas.

 

[642mx]

Re: unused fuel

Mix a gallon or two of your premix with a full tank and you'll be fine. Its not going to clog anything or smoke. 2 gallons of 32:1 premix is 8 ounces of oil... that's nothing in 15 gallons of gas.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: unused fuel

Running thru a fuel injected engine won't hurt anything. My 4.3 MPI can't be fogged the standard way, so merc. says to mix up a batch of fuel and 2 cycle oil- 2 quarts of oil to 5 gallons of gas. That's about a 10:1 mix- way more than any usual 2 stroke mix. I've done this evey winter I've owned the boat.
Fuel injection handles it no problem.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: unused fuel

Won't be a problem. I do it every year with the chainsaw, trimmer, outboard, and dirtbike gas cans. I like to start fresh in the spring. Just don't overdo it - mix in a gallon with each tank full and you'll be fine.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: unused fuel

I end up with several gallons of mixed fuel at the end of each season. I hate to throw good fuel away.

I wouldn't throw it away either, I'd give it to a fellow boater who will be fishing this fall and winter . I'll come pick it up from you and put it to good use .

 

[geeco1]

Re: unused fuel

Depending on where you live, there are several things that you can do with the left over fuel. I am assuming here, that you are only talking 1-2 gallons, not 20 gallons.

1.) Put in lawnmower
2.) Put some on a rag and use to remove bugs/tar from car.
3.) Use to remove grease build-up on parts
4.) Makes a great fire starter on burn pile (BE VERY CAREFUL HERE)!!!
5.) Sprinkle some on weeds in gravel driveway.
6.) Use to clean paint brushes.
7.) Use in weed eater / chainsaw

For Item #4.... let me clarify how I do this. I use a metal coffee can and put in the gas. I then go to my burn pile which has no hot coals. I poor some fuel around on the brush and then I pour a stream from the pile out into the yard.... that is my "wick". I can then light the end of the wick and the flame will go to the brush. You don't want to use a lot. About 2 cups is plenty.

 

[jusfloatin]

Re: unused fuel

As long as the mixture is not a lower than 25 to 1 pour it into anything that uses gas to run. If it is lower than 25 to 1 than do it in stages if you have that much fuel.

At most you can expect is a puff of blue when it starts and if it is a governed motor it will rev a bit higher. It is not because of the octane level but that the gas has a lubricant in it.
My lawn mower does smell a bit like an outboard but I do not buy gas for it, I take if from the boats and have been for years.

It could carbon up a any motor if left at a low idle and run on nothing else but mixed gas.

It makes no sence to me too spend good money to buy a stabilizer for fuel that will be left in something for a long period of time. That is unless to get it out is near impossible.

By starting out with fresh gas you have just eliminated 75% of know associated problems a 2 stroke has.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: unused fuel

Here's another method that's more fun:
pour gas all over the pile.
Fill an old Mayo jar and set it in front.
Pour a little gas on the ground near the jar and light it
Shoot the jar with a shotgun.
Fireball!

Ah to be 16 and unsupervised again!

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: unused fuel

Running thru a fuel injected engine won't hurt anything. My 4.3 MPI can't be fogged the standard way, so merc. says to mix up a batch of fuel and 2 cycle oil- 2 quarts of oil to 5 gallons of gas. That's about a 10:1 mix- way more than any usual 2 stroke mix. I've done this evey winter I've owned the boat.
Fuel injection handles it no problem.

I like this response.. Kinda says it all as far as fuel injectors ... Not only is he running 10% two stroke oil thru the injectors. The entire fuel system incluiding injectors sit all off season loaded up with that all that oil

 

[shrew]

Re: unused fuel

If you're going to burn old gas on a brush fire, the advice to stand clear and ingnite with a 'wick' is certainly good advice. A word of caution. Teh fuel vapor is actually what ignites first. I've seen several occasions where someone douses the brush pile with fuel then waits far too long. As they wait the gas is evaporating into vapor that is sitting low in the brush pile. If enough (too much) fuel is used and left long enough (too long), when you do go to light it, you end up with either a huge fireball or worse, the pile actually explodes and sends pieces of the brush pile into the air. anywhere the vapor has travelled along the ground also ingites so people should stand WELL clear until the fire is lit.

Believe it or not, I've had the very good luck lighting brush piles with molatov cocktails.

 

[northernmerc]

Re: unused fuel

This is a controversial subject, but I hear many people saying that the ethanol portion of gasoline causes a lot of the problems with fuel going bad (not to mention all the other problems ethanol causes for fuel systems and engines).

Around here (western Canada), a lot of the gas has ethanol in it, even though we have oil wells all around us. The retailers are required to post a notice on the pump if the fuel may contain ethanol. The regular and mid-range fuel has that warning. But the premium does not. So I buy premium gas for those engines and vehicles that don't get a lot of use and where the fuel may sit from one year to the next. So far, this works for me.