Huge wrote:
On 2009-05-10, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Alan wrote on 10/05/2009 :
I bough a gallon can of lead-free petrol when there was all that
kerfuffle about fuel prices a few years ago which has sat at the
back of the garage ever since. During a clear out I unearthed it
again and now I need to get rid of it (especially as we've got a
diesel these days). I tried taking it to the council dump but - "we've
got no facilities
for handling liquids guv - do you have a lawnmower?" - yes I do but
it's electric :-).

So the question is - will this old petrol be usable in a petrol
lawnmower? If so, I can pas it on to a mate.
They say it goes stale in just a few months, but I have never had a
problem using old petrol stored for lawn mowers or in the bike which
can stand throughout winter. I suppose you could always mix it with
some fresh petrol if there are doubts.
How does petrol go 'stale' then?

It doesn't. But the low boiling point fractions evaporate, which can make
it hard to start whatever it is you're using it in. But like everyone
else here, I've never had any problems with restarting the mowers in the
spring.



Its 2 years on it gets a bit hard.

Likewise 2-stroke mix left in not well sealed tanks can leave the oil
behind and gum up clunks and carbs..