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MartyZ

disposing of old gasoline

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I have 30 gallons of gas I stow for our generator. Just try rotate it out when you mow the lawn. In any event, I add gas stabilizer to it every winter. Not probs yet and its been a few years. Obviously if it doesn't look like gas any more, might want to contact the gas station where you bought it and see if they can dispose of it for you.

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20 minutes ago, GunsnFreedom said:

5 gallons almost a year old?  Put it in your car.  A year old really isn't that bad.

That's what I wanted to do but I read that it loses all potency after about 3 months. I can dilute it with fresh gas but it has to be about a 15:1 ratio so it would take me 5 full tanks to get rid of it. And to be honest, for $10 worth of gas I don't want to create any issues for my engine. If I had a loan mower or generator I might use it for that, but I don't.

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35 minutes ago, MartyZ said:

That's what I wanted to do but I read that it loses all potency after about 3 months. I can dilute it with fresh gas but it has to be about a 15:1 ratio so it would take me 5 full tanks to get rid of it. And to be honest, for $10 worth of gas I don't want to create any issues for my engine. If I had a loan mower or generator I might use it for that, but I don't.

It doesn't lose potency...I'm not even sure if the octane rating changes over time, but it certainly remains plenty potent.  

Gasoline is mix of all kinds of molecules, and a small fraction of them are types that can polymerize over time...so they do, in the absence of gas stabilizer, and that leads to gumming up of carburetors and fuel injectors.  

I do what others here have suggested...I rotate my generator gas through my car every 6 months, and I don't hesitate to use older gas (it's rare for me to have any for over a year) in the mower or snowblower.

Because I like to help out fellow shooters, I'll let you come over and burn your old gas in my mower!  My grass is getting pretty long, what with all of the rain we've been having, so you might have to go over it twice to mulch the clippings.    :-)

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29 minutes ago, MartyZ said:

That's what I wanted to do but I read that it loses all potency after about 3 months. I can dilute it with fresh gas but it has to be about a 15:1 ratio so it would take me 5 full tanks to get rid of it. And to be honest, for $10 worth of gas I don't want to create any issues for my engine. If I had a loan mower or generator I might use it for that, but I don't.

If you're concerned about that, throw some octane boost in it.  If you have a large tank (16+ gallons) you can dump half of the gas in one time and then half the next.  I've never had issues but if you really want to get rid of it I would call your local/town "recycling center."  

The only thing I would add is to smell it.  If it smells like turpentine I would dump it.  If it smells like gas, burn it.

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1 hour ago, GunsnFreedom said:

If you're concerned about that, throw some octane boost in it.  If you have a large tank (16+ gallons) you can dump half of the gas in one time and then half the next.

This is what I was going to say. If it's only 5 gallons, dump a couple gallons in on one fill-up, then dump the rest on the next fill-up. Mixing it with new gas should cause zero issues.

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6 minutes ago, Sniper22 said:

This is what I was going to say. If it's only 5 gallons, dump a couple gallons in on one fill-up, then dump the rest on the next fill-up. Mixing it with new gas should cause zero issues.

Ok, I will try that, after smelling it.

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5 hours ago, MartyZ said:

The title says it all, I have 5 gallons old gasoline, almost a year old, that I need to dispose of properly. How do I do it, are their gasoline recycling places near manalapan?

only a year old? no water in it? pour it in your fuel tank.

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A year old is fresh for me LOL. Do it in two tank fulls to be safe..problem solved. With stabilizer my snowmobiles ran on some 3 yr old premium fuel just fine. More worried about old mix or the 2 stroke oil which is now pretty old. If fuel is crazy old and untreated (2+ years) ill siphon it and dilute it with fresh gas. A year old is fine as long as it was closed and theres no water in it.

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On 9/11/2018 at 9:12 AM, MartyZ said:

That's what I wanted to do but I read that it loses all potency after about 3 months. I can dilute it with fresh gas but it has to be about a 15:1 ratio so it would take me 5 full tanks to get rid of it. And to be honest, for $10 worth of gas I don't want to create any issues for my engine. If I had a loan mower or generator I might use it for that, but I don't.

Disagree.  I had an old car I bought 2 years ago for my kid to drive when he turned of age.  It sat lonely until 2 weeks ago.  Replaced the battery and it started up on a dime.

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On ‎9‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 9:12 AM, MartyZ said:

That's what I wanted to do but I read that it loses all potency after about 3 months. I can dilute it with fresh gas but it has to be about a 15:1 ratio so it would take me 5 full tanks to get rid of it. And to be honest, for $10 worth of gas I don't want to create any issues for my engine. If I had a loan mower or generator I might use it for that, but I don't.

nope. I had a run where I junked 4 cars. all had been setting for well over a year. all had nearly full tanks. I stored the gas, and dumped it into my expedition. didn't have to buy gas for a month. and she never skipped a beat

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22 minutes ago, MartyZ said:

Thanks for the response guys. I will smell it, if it smells ok I will use it, if not I will find a hazmat recycling center.

bring it to my shop. i have a old gasoline disposal tank. it just happens to be mounted underneath the rear end of a ford expedition. but it will be properly disposed of. :)

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12 minutes ago, 10X said:

I don’t think you can tell if it is too old by smelling it.    It’s going to smell like gas regardless. 

Someone mentioned that if it is old it won't smell like gasoline but more like turpentine.

If any of you want it you are more than welcome to it, minus the can. I would rather throw out $10 worth of gas than possibly shelling out a few hundred dollars, at least, repairing gummed up injectors. 

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2 hours ago, MartyZ said:

Someone mentioned that if it is old it won't smell like gasoline but more like turpentine.

If any of you want it you are more than welcome to it, minus the can. I would rather throw out $10 worth of gas than possibly shelling out a few hundred dollars, at least, repairing gummed up injectors. 

Believe me, old bad gas smells like turpentine.  It's happened a few times where there was a gas can about 1/4 full that sat in the back of my garage for a few years.  The smell changes a lot if it's bad.

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23 hours ago, MartyZ said:

Someone mentioned that if it is old it won't smell like gasoline but more like turpentine.

If any of you want it you are more than welcome to it, minus the can. I would rather throw out $10 worth of gas than possibly shelling out a few hundred dollars, at least, repairing gummed up injectors. 

injectors don't get gummed up from running old gas. they used to get gummed up from the heat cycle. you'd shut the car down, and there's always fuel pressure in the system. so some would sort of "cook" on the injector pintles. over time this would accumulate and cause running problems. best way to picture it is with a garden hose. you want that conical fine mist. but once they're gummed up, you get the sloppy course stream.

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