jon_banquer wrote:
On Nov 2, 10:46 am, wrote:
On Thu, 1 Nov 2012 21:53:10 -0700 (PDT), jon_banquer









wrote:
On Nov 1, 9:47 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
"Steve W." wrote in message
...
Existential Angst wrote:
"jon_banquer" wrote in message
...
On Nov 1, 8:10 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...gasoline-go-st...
Basically answered all my questions -- I don't necessarily agree with it
all, but it's a good discussion.
For example, it's very difficult to oxidize a hydrocarbon without
enzymes,
catalysts, and the like. And I don't think the "lost volatiles" in old
gas
amount to much ito performance.
Bottom line is, I don't think "bad gasoline" ito age is much to worry
about.
After this bull**** with Sandy, NOW we got a gas crisis, so ahm fixin to
store a bunch. I figger I'll "exchange" it yearly -- it's own pita, but
it
beats waiting 4 hours on line for 10 gals of ****ing gas.
I used to scoff at survivalists.... but not any more. I'm realizing that
urbanites/surburbanites are essentially walking around with their cheeks
spread.
--
EA
"Bottom line is, I don't think "bad gasoline" ito age is much to
worry about."
I don't agree. If you store it you need to use a stabilizer.
==============================================
Mebbe a stabilizer would help for really long periods, but I think it
could be stored for a year and still be OK, without stabilizers. The
article seemed to indicate as much, if stored properly.
I have stored gas for a year and although it will run a modern vehicle IF
you blend it into fuel already in the tank you can tell that it isn't
quite right. In small engines it runs MUCH worse. I rotate my gas every 3
months, not hard to do if you just dump the can into your vehicle, then
fill the can back up. I tag all my cans with simple string tags and a
marker. I have 20 gallons that is back-up for whatever. Then there are a
couple others that are for the mowers/trimmers/ saws and such. The mixed
fuels get mixed 1 gallon at a time and ONLY with non-ethanol gas. The saws
and trimmers run MUCH better without the booze. So do most air cooled
engines. The ethanol causes the engine to run leaner and hotter causing
problems.
In response to jb, I think gas left in a lawn mower carb and gas left in a
storage can are a bit different.
But, I'm all for feedback here, and mebbe 1 year is too long. I proly
couldn't handle the gas-exchange hassle more than every 6 mos, tho.
The article did point out that booze gas should be more prone to aging
effects, as the hydrophilic ethanol can attract more crap, like, well,
water.
I'm basically looking for a ballpark as to what I can reasonably get away
with, storage wise.
Funny thing, tho, this gas aging stuff.
--
EA
--
Steve W.
I think the problem is how gummy the gas gets with time from all the
additives they now use. The gasoline sold today is garbage compared to
what it use to be.
Gas 50 years ago went bad too. Perhaps not QUITE as quickly - but I
remember well draining awfull stinky gas from vehicles and equipment
that had been sitting back in 1969 as an apprentice mechanic. The
smell hung around for what seemed like an eternity if you spilled the
crap anywhere - and even just the vapour made your coveralls stink for
a week.

Without all the additives in older gasoline my guess would be that it
didn't create the kind of gummy sludge that today's gas does when it
sits for extended periods of time. I could be wrong and I have no
personal experience with older gas. Unfortunately I learned the hard
way with today's gasoline.

The old leaded gas would take longer to gum up BUT it would. It would
actually dry up to a hard glaze (just like varnish).
Then when the EPA started pushing the lead out and all the different
additives tossed in to replace the lead as an octane enhancer made
things get interesting.

On the flip side current gas isn't as bad if you get it on you and
doesn't smell anywhere near as bad when it goes bad.

BUT the ethanol causes problems in older systems with materials that are
not ethanol safe.

--
Steve W.