Old petrol

A sib is a soft floor inflatable boat that will roll up and fit into a bag to ease with carrying or storage.
There are many different floor designs, exampoles include - Air floor mat, Wooden/Metal boards over an Inflatable Keel or a High Pressure V Floor.
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Re: Old petrol

Post by ArcusFlyer » 03 May 2017, 21:18

Reading around you get the impression that unless your fuel was freshly pumped from the ground as crude oil, fractionally distilled to the finest octane, and poured into your tank the very morning of your sib trip then you are asking for terminal engine issues. Personally ive had no issues with old fuel but Ive jinxed myself now saying that :)

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Paul » 03 May 2017, 21:53

ArcusFlyer wrote:Reading around you get the impression that unless your fuel was freshly pumped from the ground as crude oil, fractionally distilled to the finest octane, and poured into your tank the very morning of your sib trip then you are asking for terminal engine issues. Personally ive had no issues with old fuel but Ive jinxed myself now saying that :)
Curse you Arcus :Boxsmile :lol:

I think it comes down to that the latest engines with the latest technologies to meet the higher emission regulations are very 'touchy' about fuel :|
Unless all the sensors are getting all the correct readings they'll cause issues, what with all this 'lean burn' malarky :roll:
My old lawn mower runs on fuel 2 years old ..... coughs a wee bit but cuts the grass anyhoo ;-) .... wouldn't put in my OB though :no
I believe it's all down to the increased ethanol (might be wrong) they're adding to fuels causing the issues of evaporation thus causing gumming up of carburettors/injectors unless the fuel system is run dry before long periods of storage :Confused
I'm sure the OP will be safe to use his fuel ..... that's now a double jinx Arcus :o :lol:

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Martin » 03 May 2017, 22:52

Don't believe all you read lol... (including this maybe)

Petrol has a short shelf life yes, but you can help it along..
Keeping your supply full & sealed rather than leaving it vented or half empty will give it a better life. Basically with petrol, the good stuff evaporates leaving behind the poor gummy stuff. If you were to do lab tests on older petrol you will notice globs of gum, these don't do jets/injectors or fuel filters any good. Apart from that it's the stuff in petrol that gives it the voom voom that evaporates, so your left with sluggish, gummy old stinky fuel.
low temp storage is the key, expect an easy 6months storage at 20 degrees but only 3 months at 30 degrees...
I see no reason why you cant use the petrol at 9-12 moths old if it's been stored correctly or re-mixed with some newer fuel that gives back some of the old fuel volatile properties it had.


Diesel is different, i'm sure you've all heard of the diesel bug?
micro-organisms in other words....
Keep your fuel in a cool/dark/dry storage - in dry I mean unvented and full...
Diesel will store for 12 months if looked after, maybe longer if you remove the moisture as it settles.

Low sulphur fuels don't have the bacteria fighting properties that old diesel had. European legislation stipulates the bio content required these days, and its increasing all the time.... more bugs !!!!

Stick to the good fuels, shell/bp/esso/texaco etc.. they have good additives and will give greater power and mpg than crappy supermarket fuels. fuel is fuel, yes... but the decent suppliers have the additives in (octane/cetane improvers & anti waxing additives) where as supermarket fuels don't.
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Re: Old petrol

Post by The Gurnard » 04 May 2017, 06:21

Personally I don't worry about keeping fuel. :shame

Just back from three days at Loch Etive. My first tank of fuel was 25 litres on Morrison's supermarket stuff.. and it was mixed with 2 stroke oil..last June..so one year old. No additives or anything like that...I look at that as snake oil ..and is a gimmick to get more money out of me. :o

The 25Hp mariner two stroke ran sweet as a nut on it until it was used. however myself and Paul B did have to free a corroded throttle part before it would accelerate .. but that was nothing to do with fuel. Thanks for the assistance Paul..it went great when back on the water. :thumbsup

I also used 8 month old Morrisons petrol in my Yamaha 4 stroke at start of the season..no problems there either.

So if anyone local to me wants to give me their fuel..and I'm happy to take stuff up to two years old..just let me know :rofl

Just home to vote..change ..refuel my body ..then its off to go round the Small Isles of Eigg Rum and Muck .. sadly no old fuel left..so will have to buy more :yay

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Martin » 04 May 2017, 11:50

The additives most certainly aren't a gimmick Donny. Perhaps not that noticeable in a small vehicle such as cars, but I now only run my hgv on shell fuels due to the mpg gains.
Having spent many years in and around the petrol-chemical industry and seeing the products being made/tested and using them myself, you really do get to appreciate what goes into the fuel/oil additives of today and just how they've progressed and adapted. :thumbsup

Fuel storage is a science too, stored too long it can loose its volatility somewhat, not only that but condensation can easily form within the receptacle. Put that fuel in your vehicle and you could well be introducing water into your fuel system causing carbs/injectors/sensors to corrode or blockages to occur ...
Water separators help vastly, pre filters in the tanks are standard these days on commercials, catching any of the diesel bug/debris before it gets further into the fuel system. :thud

I use approx 1000lts of fuel a week and struggle to pull 8mpg, so you can imagine how close to my heart or should I say pocket fuels are.
Just my 2p, some will believe it, some will contest it.. but hey, that's what makes the world go round.. or is it ? :LMT :clappy
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Re: Old petrol

Post by The Gurnard » 04 May 2017, 13:00

I believe you Martin..its your trade after all so will know the ins and outs :thumbsup

However for my own use in a 2006 25 HP two stroke outboard ..which is simplicity in itself..now there is not even points to worry about nowadays .. So Im not letting it know it needs fresh fuel..it just don’t care and I have abuse outboards for more years that I care to remember ..not just the past few years...and none have complained yet. :D

Also my 6HP Yamaha fourstroke is a simple fourstroke outboard too..no fuel burn stuff for me..Im old school

As mentioned..just send your old fuel to me ..and most stingy Scots I know.. will accept it willingly too.

I do pay a small fortune for Terra cleaning on my diesel car and I also buy Shell fuel .. its hammered by emissions control. :o

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Martin » 04 May 2017, 13:12

Very surprised to hear the need for terraclean if you run shell fuel, Donny :o
Unfortunately I don't have any old fuel Donny :lol: I use it up in my generator or compressor, both thankfully have water drains on the fuel tank and are powered by proper Honda engines which cope superbly with 6 month old fuel I've used. :mrgreen:
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Re: Old petrol

Post by The Gurnard » 04 May 2017, 14:24

Martin wrote:Very surprised to hear the need for terraclean if you run shell fuel, Donny :o
That is probably why some people get a bit suspicious of all these new fangled things Martin. :(

The garage that maintains my car became the franchise for terra clean..then at my next service I was told ..my emissions were getting high and to keep them legal ..its best to terraclean.. cost me £400. :o

I paid it the first year as it was a second hand car (although only 19K on the clock) Last year he recommended it getting cleaned again and it had only done 9K all year. This year Im not going to get it done...bugger the garage snake charmers :stop

So perhaps you can now see why I'm very sceptical about all these modern treatments ?

I ran two stroke motorbikes for many years .. since 1973 and as long as I remembered to put in oil.. I never had a moments problem. I learned to service them too..so only time they went to a garage was for MOTs.

The two stroke outboards that I run today as the very same technology as back in those days.. which is why Im happy using old pre mix..it can smoke a bit until it heats up..but doesn’t complain... and runs very nicely.

I do drain the carbs and squirt in fogging oil at winter storage though. Once I get time I will pop on a video of Loch etive.. you can hear the OB running like a sweet sewing machine .. and I do practice what I preach.

I don't even know where the carburettor is in my diesel car ? ..I'm an old analog man who remembers lorries lighting fires under their tanks in winter time ... cos the diesel in the tank had frozen.

Petrol car drivers always looked shocked when passing :o

Guess you don't do that now ..with all them fancy additives ? :D

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Davo » 04 May 2017, 16:19

"Just my 2p"

Youre obviously a young whippersnapper Martin. To us oldies, it two penneth worth :thumbsup

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Re: Old petrol

Post by Martin » 04 May 2017, 17:44

Davo wrote:"Just my 2p"

Youre obviously a young whippersnapper Martin. To us oldies, it two penneth worth :thumbsup
Hahaaa, bit that young but not old. :shame
I got the 2p thingy from years of Paul saying it, you easily pick up other peoples phrases etc..
We'd say t'uppence :lol:

I'm old enough to remember comma British telecom vans, I've driven many eaton twin splits.
I've driven a thornicroft.
No cab night heaters, We just wrapped up.
Air lines used to freeze, diesel used to wax... see, I do know :lol:
As a kid we had 3 tv channels lol.
We had the Rag and bone man round every week, standpipes were the norm in summer.. yup, we used to have a summer summer and a cold long winter :thud
So not young young but not old old either. :yay
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