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Old 17 May 2019, 18:17   #1
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Fuel storage

Can anyone tell me how long I can store fuel for,my fuel tank is still full from last summer
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Old 17 May 2019, 18:45   #2
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Personally if its been in a sealed good condition tank then I'd use it, maybe top off with some fresh. As fuel ages the more volatile compounds tend to gas off first. Those are the parts that aid initial starting so basically if it starts your good to go.
There will be several people along to tell you thats a terrible idea& your engine will self destruct. but 40 odd years boating and many years in the motor trade I've never seen old fuel from a clean tank cause a problem.
Old fuel in carbs and lines yes but not in the can.
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Old 17 May 2019, 19:22   #3
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Thanks Beamishken
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Old 17 May 2019, 22:11   #4
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Beamish is probably right - if it starts it - its probably OK.

He makes the point that some VOCs may be lost, and that they affect starting. Some might also offer some 'engine protection' properties or some other sales spin. I suspect they don't do much in an OB vs a Car.

How full is the tank? A full tank has less air space, which means potentially less evapouration. But also less moisture in the air which will potentially have been absorbed into the fuel.

It looks like you only run a 20HP so we are presumably looking at <40L of fuel.

I'm assuming its a 4 stroke (or at least not pre-mix 2st). Do you have a petrol car? If so mixing a wee bit at a time with your car will get rid of it and doing it bit at a time would avoid any losses being too important. Its probably not necessary - BUT if you are 3 miles off shore is that the point you want to discover an issue?
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Old 18 May 2019, 19:32   #5
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A while ago I fired up an old honda generator that had been sat with half a tank of petrol for about 15 years. It ran fine. shouldn't be a problem.
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Old 19 May 2019, 05:52   #6
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I agree it will not be a problem. There is a lot of theory talked about this which generally is not bourn out in practice. I have fired up 4 of my boats with last years petrol and all fired up well..... If you don't use it what would you do with it ????
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Old 19 May 2019, 07:17   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil M View Post
A while ago I fired up an old honda generator that had been sat with half a tank of petrol for about 15 years. It ran fine. shouldn't be a problem.
Yeh but lets be fair those old hondas will run on a decent smelly fart as long as no lumps in it.🤣🤣🤣
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Old 19 May 2019, 08:25   #8
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I agree it will not be a problem. There is a lot of theory talked about this which generally is not bourn out in practice. I have fired up 4 of my boats with last years petrol and all fired up well..... If you don't use it what would you do with it ????


Molotov cocktails at the gin palaces ???
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