I very clearly need to be more diligent about rotating the stored gas. case in point:
Yup…that’s five-year-old go-juice. It was treated with PRI-G as a stabilizer. PRI-G seems to get the nod over the more entrenched Sta-Bil product. I dunno. You can’t believe everything your read, but PRI-G seems to get more positive comments than Sta-Bil. :::shrug::: Whatever. I use it.
I keep a funnel paracorded to every other gas can since my experience has been that the nozzles for gas cans very seldom work as advertised.
Anyway, five gallons of five-year-old gas in the vehicle….I’m not expecting any problems, but I’ll let you know.
Never been able to find PRI-G on the right coast. I treat with double doses of sta-bil, but rotate every 12 months, just to be sure.
Amazon is your friend
Oldest I’ve used was 2.5 yr stuff with %150-200 dose of Stabil in a Jerry can. Worked great.
Used lots of 2 yr stuff without issue.
Steelheart
2-3 years is usually the way i run it. But, this will be interesting…oldest gas Ive used.
If you mix some of it ,say a third to a half, with a full tank I don’t see it given you any trouble.
Why would you wait that long before using it? I would not go more than a year, if that.
Bear in mind, if things go handbasket time, you may end up needing to use that fuel years later than you would expect. If it’s already several years into your rotation when this happens, you may be SOL when you finally fill that tank.
Expect that engines that are getting older, or not being regularly serviced, or being run on less than optimum condition fuel, will be more sensitive to fuel condition.
You’ll use more gas stabilizer, of course.
Maybe buy the PRI in a bigger quantity for better price? Group buy with your local LMI’s?
I think the opening line of “I very clearly need to be more diligent about rotating the stored gas” indicates that I agree it was a failure point and something I need to not do.
It was more along the line of writing aimed at your readership, to give them a little more background about why it may not be an acceptable practice. Sometimes knowing why, make the info more real to people. Nudges them to stop and think about the subject.
I use PRI-G as well, seems to work fine. I think over-age fuel in a car works better than in small engines. I guess the fuel injectors and computerized ignition can more readily adapt. BTW, PRI says you can re-treat old fuel and bring it back to spec. You might try that before you use it.
The smell could be important. If it smells like turpentine, or something other than normal, don’t bother trying to salvage it, unless you are desperate. Along this line, make damn sure none of your fuel cans have open vents, as that really hastens the degradation of gasoline. If you have partial fill cans or tanks, make an effort to keep this a short term situation, as the air space can dramatically shorten the life expectancy of it.
CZ,
the rust on the outside of that can indicates either a bad paint job, or a bad storage situation, or both. You might want to consider adding a top coat to the paint on all your cans. Make sure the original paint is adhering first, as any paint job is only as good as the under layers.
Slapping on your own paint may make them slightly less desirable for theft, and potentially easier to track down.
Don’t forget to examine the inside surfaces whenever you empty one. The earlier you catch rust, the better.
They’ve been stored in less-than-optimal conditions, but they were milsurp when I got them. I have a post sitting in my draft folder about how I usually use the power washer to strip the peeling paint, wire brush the rest, and coat it with rustoleum OD paint.
Ah! Thought it looked a bit out of style for you. 🙂
Nobody’s perfect, of course. However, I do tend to think of you as a benchmark in the prep arena.
Im less of a role model and more of a negative example.
I broke into my cans to run the generator for a while after Irma knocked out our power.
Q- How do you scratch the label on your metal tab label?
I’ve been using Sharpie but would like to be able to inscribe the way it looks you did.
I replied since I noticed some external rust flaking off on the bottoms of the cans when I opened them. Mine had been stored (ethanol free with Stabil) for about a year and a half.
The cans sit outside on a concrete patio but must have been standing in water for a bit. After rotating/refilling, I laid down some 1×2 sticks for the cans to sit on, so that they’re not directly on the ground.
Having read your tip about wirebrushing and repainting the cans, I think I’ll do that when I get around to it.
I think I posted about this a ways back. I just take a nail and scrive it into the soft aluminum of a dead Coke can. http://www.commanderzero.com/?p=1415
Nozzles on cans work a bit better if you hold the gas can sideways but you need flexible nozzle most of the time.
I am in the same boat. Just started rotating 91 octane treated with stabil april 2013. I have a 25 gallon tank so when it shows 3/4 I add five gallons and then top of at the station and refill the five gallon can. So far all is well.
RE: NATO can nozzles. Since nothing else fits the can, have several. Lowe’s plumbing dept has galvanized steel ribbed 1/2″ nipples for about $2 (they have brass and plastic, too, but I don’t trust the plastic to hold up and why pay 2.5X more for brass) and 5/8″ ID X 3/4″ OD clear plastic tubing in bulk, which happens to fit perfectly into unleaded filler necks. 16 inches of tubing seems about right to reach every filler neck I’ve ever encountered, and tubing+nipple=about $3.25, so I equipped every NATO spout I have.
Pro tip: Keep a couple modified spouts handy for everyday use, but wire a modified spout to about every 3rd-4th can (every 2nd can if you’ve got the bucks) to improve the odds on always having an exptended spout at hand.
The nipples are a snug fit in the can nozzle end and the clear tubing, but I added a 720 degree loop of tightened safety wire (I had stainless .041″ on hand, but galvanized wire works just as well, as does bare copper conductor from 14 gauge Romex wire) just to make sure 1) they’re always attached to the nozzle and always go with it, and 2) they never come loose and slip into the tank.
As to performance, whatever restriction the nipple and tubing impose doesn’t seem to be much – I can still completely empty a 20 liter can in about 75 seconds.
Just opened 3- 3yr old can stabilized with nothing. The cans stay in the greenhouse, which can range from meh to damn it’s hot. The gasoline was almost carbonated, as it fizzed when poured. Made it really fun to open. Kinda like opening a shaken soda. Truck (4L ford ranger) didn’t care, and didn’t exhibit any problems using them all on an empty tank. Mileage didn’t suffer, still my normal 18mpg.
Keep the seals on the tanks in perfect condition, and I can’t see any degradation without lab testing the stuff.
Question to you gas experts: if I live in a state where ethanol is mandatory, is it best to store high octane (89, 91) gas, even if I normally use 87 octane?
Thanks!
Are you positive it is mandatory? I ask because CA isn’t mandatory, and you would think it is. I think it is done by specifying the performance of the fuel, not it’s actual components.
Chevron has no alcohol added here in CA. My turbo Talon runs like crap on the ethanol gas, no matter who makes it. They may claim it has 91 octane, but my engine can’t see it. It seems to back off the timing, I suspect, since the fuel mileage sucks, in addition to barely running. (it has a knock sensor that controls timing)
I use to live in a east coast state that was very difficult to find ethonal free fuel. We use to go to the local airport and buy low lead av fuel 103 octane I think. We used it in everything that didn’t run weekly, even some of our tractors. Now living in thd redoubt ethonal free is on every corner.
Be very careful about using non-road taxed fuel in a street vehicle. Here in CA the fines are well into 5 figures for both parties involved. Most, if not all states, will assess high fines.
If they anticipate the possibility of catching someone doing this, they will park a state car within sight of the nozzle, hoping to catch a vehicle with license plates being fueled. I’ve seen this done at race tracks, also.
If you want to use up some of that gas and you have too much money how about a NFA LEGAL MOLOTOV COCKTAIL for $125 [build] + $200 [tax] + transfer cost + cost of the bottle [Yes for $125 you still have to supply the bottle use. I’m thinking Champagne, Single Malt Whiskey, a good Cognac or Coca-cola – one of the old 1950s 26oz glass ones].
Odd how it’s common to see molotovs used on the news in riots sorry protests but you never hear about the BATFE going after the people for making. having or using unregistered Destructive Devices under the National Firearms Act.
http://www.txmgo.com/index.php/shop/guns/product/53-nfa-legal-molotov-cocktail-build
The gasoline is clearly the weak link. Why not just store Pri-G and skip the gas. I bet it would last FOREVER.