non ethanol gas

jwb267

I can get 93 octane non ethanol gas for $3.19 per gallon. BUT, I have to travel 40 miles one way to get it. no problem. I want to get 55 gallon because I mix it with 110 octane for my car. which is only taken out on weekends.
my question is HOW LONG WILL IT KEEP

jimdeere

I was told by a top notch small engine mechanic that octane begins to evaporate from the gasoline almost immediately if not kept in an air tight container. He said that even with a tiny vent hole it will evaporate. He recommended using it up within 30 days.

Hawk Carse

Rule of thumb is that straight dino shelf life is 6 months.
Back when I mowed my own grass, I found that gasoline left in the mower would start and run the next spring, but gas in the can would not. Why was the "evaporation of octane" different? I dunno.

I would want fuel as fresh as possible for my Ferrari or other high octane user. So that is what my BMW and elderly pickup get. But then I am only 6 miles from a station with straight dino and it is on the way to the shooting range at that. I am a long way from any place with extra high octane racing fuel. Maybe avgas.

Smitty500mag

I'd be willing to bet that the non ethanol gas you purchase from the gas station has been in their storage tank longer than 30 days. There's some of it that's been in there for a long time because they don't drain it dry every time they fill it up.

It's like those green weenies sitting in the pot on the steam cabinet at those burger joints back in the 50s and 60s. Some of those had been in there since before the big war.

nmyers

Why bother? I'd be happy if I could get unadulterated 93 octane gasoline.

Neal

Hessian

My research says 6 months, the wild card is you don't know how long it has been in storage before you get it. On the practical side, I've used gasoline a lot older than that. Though I do filter it before I use it, old gas has a tenancy to build some semi-solids. We called it varnish, but no idea what it is actually is, looks and acts like Jello.
I'm not a chemical engineer but have read a bit. Understand octane, it slows down the burn rate. Much like the difference between smokeless powder and black powder. The newer octane additives do it chemically, the old way was to add Lead. Some older motors need the Lead to prevent valve damage.

I ran some motors in Europe that were designed for a higher octane than was available here, two ways to deal with the situation, use an octane additive/booster. Or if possible you can retard the timing and compensate for the lack of octane. Retarding the timing will cause some horsepower loss, but doubtful if you'd notice, it can also improve torque. It will reduce pinging.

I've never tried "Sta-bil" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3gU75lZ9gc I'm pretty sure Sta-bil is a Henkel product (Loc Tite). Their stuff most always performs as advertised.

All 55-gallon drums aren't equal, some have a coating inside that inhibits rust and/or chemical reactions. The coating may or may not be compatible with gasoline. Some have plastic liners, again you may have no idea if the liner is gasoline proof. The best I've found is black plastic containers designed for solvents. I bought ten used solvent five-gallon black plastic containers for fifty bucks, the downside is no spout fits and I have to use a funnel or transfer pump. The upside is you can rotate them by date.

I have a forty+ gallon stainless truck/tractor tank I use for fuel storage. My get out of town tank, I live on a flood plain. IMO worth your while to hunt around a little and find a good reliable container. I picked up my truck/tractor stainless tank at a junkyard for a hundred dollars, cheaper than eight five-gallon NATO containers.

55 Gallons of fuel is worth ?175 bucks.

Brookwood

My question of the day is....Just how stable is STA-BIL? I have one of those large size bottles with the flow top measurer spout. It has been on my garage shelf for over 8 years. Opened and used it some but not for a long time.

These days I have more or less been forced to use the 10% ethanol in some of my larger fuel capacity engines. In these I have been using Sea Foam as an additive. So far no problem issues with the lawn tractor or the generator. I do buy those small cans of non-ethanol premix gas\oil for my chainsaw and a very old 2 1\2 horse boat motor.

bpost

I am lucky, my ethanol free comes from the major Sunoco distributor in Gallipolis Ohio, it is fresh no more than 30 days old. I add stabil to it for any left over the winter, it stored just fine. If you are really concerned about shelf life get some 100LL from the local airport. It ain't cheap but by golly it has legs for storage. Some testing done has shown it to be stable for almost 10 years. I have seen several aircraft started and run fine with aviation gas over six years old with perfect performance. The most important thing is without the ethanol the gas will not hold water in solution, it will be left at the bottom of the storage barrel, never mixing with the gasoline.

Hessian

bpost wrote:

I am lucky, my ethanol free comes from the major Sunoco distributor in Gallipolis Ohio, it is fresh no more than 30 days old. I add stabil to it for any left over the winter, it stored just fine. If you are really concerned about shelf life get some 100LL from the local airport. It ain't cheap but by golly it has legs for storage. Some testing done has shown it to be stable for almost 10 years. I have seen several aircraft started and run fine with aviation gas over six years old with perfect performance. The most important thing is without the ethanol the gas will not hold water in solution, it will be left at the bottom of the storage barrel, never mixing with the gasoline.

That statement about the water settling to the bottom is no joke. My old Dodge pickup had a 35 gallon tank. I habitually filled up the top half and never let it get below half full. We had a serious cold spell and I heard a racket coming from my gas tank, thought maybe it was part of my fuel level float or something similar. I dropped the tank to look and it turned out to be at least (conservatively) four handfuls of ice.

wpageabc

+1 on using stabil and also octane booster for any old stocks of gasoline.

When I fill my cans I date them with a heavy black marker so to keep track of aging. Unlike good wine old gas is crap.

jwb267

Hessian wrote:

My research says 6 months, the wild card is you don't know how long it has been in storage before you get it. On the practical side, I've used gasoline a lot older than that. Though I do filter it before I use it, old gas has a tenancy to build some semi-solids. We called it varnish, but no idea what it is actually is, looks and acts like Jello.
I'm not a chemical engineer but have read a bit. Understand octane, it slows down the burn rate. Much like the difference between smokeless powder and black powder. The newer octane additives do it chemically, the old way was to add Lead. Some older motors need the Lead to prevent valve damage.

I ran some motors in Europe that were designed for a higher octane than was available here, two ways to deal with the situation, use an octane additive/booster. Or if possible you can retard the timing and compensate for the lack of octane. Retarding the timing will cause some horsepower loss, but doubtful if you'd notice, it can also improve torque. It will reduce pinging.

I've never tried "Sta-bil" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3gU75lZ9gc I'm pretty sure Sta-bil is a Henkel product (Loc Tite). Their stuff most always performs as advertised.

All 55-gallon drums aren't equal, some have a coating inside that inhibits rust and/or chemical reactions. The coating may or may not be compatible with gasoline. Some have plastic liners, again you may have no idea if the liner is gasoline proof. The best I've found is black plastic containers designed for solvents. I bought ten used solvent five-gallon black plastic containers for fifty bucks, the downside is no spout fits and I have to use a funnel or transfer pump. The upside is you can rotate them by date.

I have a forty+ gallon stainless truck/tractor tank I use for fuel storage. My get out of town tank, I live on a flood plain. IMO worth your while to hunt around a little and find a good reliable container. I picked up my truck/tractor stainless tank at a junkyard for a hundred dollars, cheaper than eight five-gallon NATO containers.

55 Gallons of fuel is worth ?175 bucks.

I have a 55 gallon metal drum that had 110 race fuel in

jwb267

Brookwood wrote:

My question of the day is....Just how stable is STA-BIL? I have one of those large size bottles with the flow top measurer spout. It has been on my garage shelf for over 8 years. Opened and used it some but not for a long time.

These days I have more or less been forced to use the 10% ethanol in some of my larger fuel capacity engines. In these I have been using Sea Foam as an additive. So far no problem issues with the lawn tractor or the generator. I do buy those small cans of non-ethanol premix gas\oil for my chainsaw and a very old 2 1\2 horse boat motor.

what happens to the crap that stabil collects

Mr. Perfect

All the non-eth gas here is 91 octane. And actually, 91 is basically the max I have ever seen anywhere I get fuel. I think I saw 93 once.

nmyers

I hate to be a party pooper, but......I think that this may be a project that is better left undone.

Gasoline is far less stable than diesel fuel. Storing 55 gal could create a HAZ MAT situation that could destroy your garage, your house, or even your neighbor's. And, you would be liable for both legal & financial damages. Store it in the wrong kind of container, or the wrong location.....& you would be in deep trouble.

I will bet that there is someone at your local fire department willing to discuss the pros & cons with you.

Neal

spasmcreek

only way to store gasoline (in rural areas) is underground with a hidden pump... deep enuff so temp remains about the same (not hot no condensation) and hidden pump setup for u KNOW why......i had a newer 1000gal tank but a neighbor needed one for storage so i sold it ..still have 3 500gal left ...any tank setup have a filter on tank or pump......barrels are just asking for trouble

shilowar

I store PURE gas for my generator. I try to rotate it 10-15 gallons at a time keeping with 6-9 month rotation, but I've had some gas as long as 18 months and run it without any problems. I treat it with Stabil Marine 360 with good results thus far.


If I wanted a large fuel tank, I'd buy a plastic tank from a modern vehicle at a salvage yard.