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Old Gas Stuck with it

B

bob_on_this

Regular Contributor
"I know that most everyone is

"I know that most everyone is in agreement that old gas should not be used, but here's my ordeal, and maybe someone can help me.

Bought a older boat with twin 220 Crusaders. Engines are out and almost ready to re-install.

I would really like to empty the old gas out (gas may be as old as one year, maybe two), and remove the two tanks for cleaning and inspection.
Once the engines are back in, the tanks can not be removed.
No one in my area is willing to polish the gas, nor remove it.
The tanks are 75 gallon each, and they are full.

I think one option is to suck a few gallons off the bottom, and see what kind of water / crud I get, and continue until I get "good" clean gas, then treat it with a marine stabilizer, then hope for the best when I'm ready to run the boat (maybe mid summer 2010).
I live and boat in the desert SW, so it's a little drier than what you guys on the coast see.

Anyone have an option #2?

Thanks
Bob"
 
In my opinion I would not risk

In my opinion I would not risk using old gas in good engines. The life of gas today is three months. if it is stabilized you might get twelve. If I was in your shoes I would take it out just with a electric fuel pump little by little and mix it 50/50 with good gas and run it in machinery or tractors. that’s what I did in my pacemaker I had 250 gallons of gas that was two years old. Good luck.
 
"If it was treated with stabil

"If it was treated with stabilizer before/when you got it, you may be able to burn it in your truck or car. I'd mix it 5% old to 95% new and if that works ok, maybe go up to 10% old. Take it out 4-5 gal at a time using a vacuum pump and an outboard can. I'd pull most of it out using the existing feed to the engines. Any remainder could be removed from the inspection port or just evaporated out with lots of air.

If it wasn't treated (or you don't know) you should be able to tell with the first 'extraction'. Maybe the local fire department could provide some ideas...do they have some new recruits that need some practice? Lawn and garden Co need fuel for their equipment?

I don't think adding stabilizer now will 'restore' the old fuel. Best case is it will maintain it in its present state."
 
"Makomark...some good suggesti

"Makomark...some good suggestions for getting rid of the gas...I would take exception to the burning it in the car option...cars built in the last 30 years have sophisticated and expensive fuel delivery systems which are far less tolerant to contaminated fuel than most boats(especially older boats). Oxygen sensors, catalytic convertors, fuel injectors and fuel filters are expensive and sensitive to contaminated fuel. If you have an old, pre-emissions truck, that may be a good place to burn it but I wouldn't chance using it in anything else. Just my opinion!"
 
I agree with Makomark. Althoug

I agree with Makomark. Althoug 150 gallons is alot. I had brand new crusader 300hp 350 cubic inch engines and with 2 year old gas they would not turn up past 1500rpm but I was able to pump out 5 gallons at a time and use in my wifes explorer and it ran fine. Once the tank was empty I refilled with fresh gas and the crusaders ran like new(which they were).
 
"Knowing what we go thru to in

"Knowing what we go thru to insure proper fuel handling, useage and storage, Do you ever wonder what the "life" of gas delivered to some marinas is like? Is it stored for longer periods when the price fluctuates and people buy 29 gallon fuel boys or 5 gallon jugs, is the tank clean, is the fuel ALREADY stabilized or treated, protected from rain or other weather?

Just sittin' here thinkin' ? Not all marinas are high volume places that blow thru supplies. There are even a few sleepy places along some of the back bays in what is left of NJ that may see little traffic even on good days."
 
"Al:

You are sounding like

"Al:

You are sounding like one of those "educated consumer" commercials.....

Your thoughts & concerns are valid - best way to gain the knowledge is to ask. Not only the supply side but the consumption side, too. If both sources point the same way, a valid conclusion is reached.

I always try to 'preplan' fuel purchases on the water, especially for 'new' visits. One complaint raises the flag, a second deletes those pumps from the list.

I'm amazed at the span of answers received over the years. I think some marina operators just rely on their petroleum supplier and don't give it a second thought. Then there are others that can show you the samplings their crew take and how well it tracks what the suppliers tell them.

I believe a couple cents over a couple hundred gallons is worthy premium when a verifiable "quality product" is provided. Just look at the hours Jim spent and Bob is likely to spend - without the aggrevation factor, its cheaper to deal with that 'top shelf' vendor."
 
In 2008 and 2009 I never bough

In 2008 and 2009 I never bought any gas "on the water".

I know many of you can not do that but the circumstances here are such that it can be done and many of us who boat all summer do it that way.
 
"I used to buy road gas, using

"I used to buy road gas, using 30 gallons plastic drums. Since I started feeding 2 big blocks, the best way to buy road gas is to pay for delivery service. Turns out low test delivered is =$ to high test DIY in my area. With a marina just 1/4 mile from my dock, I use marina gas now. They just put in double wall tanks, a new monitor system for leaks, and do move some fuel."
 
"yes,

The BTU test I'm

"yes,

The BTU test I'm aware of requires basic chemical laboratory type of equipment.

the octane tests I know of require special test equipment which we (reading this board) are unlikely to be able to afford."
 
"I just got back from the boat

"I just got back from the boat. I removed the sending units, fashioned a pipe and bulb pump to "suck" off the bottom of the tanks. I'm really surprised and happy, I got very little water, and almost no junk. I double dosed both tanks with USA Fuels Gas-Shok, and pumped the fuel around to mix it. I think I'll leave it for the winter and pull another sample next summer. I'm really tempted to run with this fuel. The gas sure looks better than the photos in some of the stabilizer adds. :)"
 
"How did the fuel smell? Appa

"How did the fuel smell? Apparently, there might be a process to fix sour fuel, simply
happy.gif
:

"A process for reducing the mercaptan concentration of a sour petroleum distillate which comprises treating said petroleum distillate with a hydroperoxide compound in combination with a strong base catalyst chosen from the group consisting of quaternary ammonium hydroxide salts from the group consisting of tetraethylammonium hydroxide, tetrapropylammonium hydroxide, tetremethylammonium hydroxide, tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, and mixtures thereof."

Free water may not be present in the desert, but oxygen was, and the remaining oxides are the problem. I'd be inclined to test a sample in a cheap, small machine, like a lawnmower or snowblower. If OK, I'd consider adding an octane booster, and still retard the ignition to 27 deg at 3000rpm. Delaying using the fuel yet another half year is sub-optimum as well."
 
"Thanks Dave,
Maybe I'll

"Thanks Dave,
Maybe I'll sneak some into the wife's motorcycle and see how it does :=) yes it looks and smells fine. The tanks a completely full, so I guess that helps with the oxidizers ????
I know you guys recommend using this in very small percentages (10% old to new), but maybe the best I could do, would be to drain half the old and replace with new. Do you think a 50 / 50 would work, or am I beating a dead horse?
I was told by USA Fuels to do a final treatment just before running the gas, and that it needs to be used within 30 days. (octane booster I guess)."
 
"Entirely FWIW......

I boug

"Entirely FWIW......

I bought a 28 Bertram this spring that had sat for two years with stabilized fuel with ethanol. The tank had been replaced on '07 and was a brand new (clean) aluminum tank. It was filled, the fuel stabilized, and then sat.

In short, I had no issues with the fuel this spring with my 2004 vintage low hour Crusaders. Yea! In fact, I could not even detect a difference when I filled with fresh fuel.

Good luck what ever you decide,

JD"
 
"Bob:

If it smells ok and l

"Bob:

If it smells ok and looks relatively clear, it may be usable but not worthy of 'dialing in' your fresh engines. You could run it straight up in an auto if you think it is fine, but I'd mix it no more than 50-50. You want known, good fuel in those tanks with those fresh motors.

You can never predict the winter weather so it is hard to say what could happen in the intervening months. If you control what goes back into the tanks, the weather won't matter.

DD: that paragraph from a patent application or a dissertation in organic chemistry?"
 
The 50/50 plan did not work fo

The 50/50 plan did not work for me. I tried it and rather than pumping out 25 gallons I had to pump out 50.
 
"Bob

I had bad gas with wat

"Bob

I had bad gas with water and phase seperation in my tank when I bought my boat. I found a place in annapolis, md that drove down to virginia where the boat was and pumped the fuel out and then cleaned and purged the tanks. They removed around 75 gals of gas and disposed of it and the entire process cost me 657.00.

I did have to cut acess holes in the deck above the fuel sender units so they could acess the tanks. It was not hard and i covered the hole with 4" screw in deck plates I purchased for 12.00 each.

all in all it was a painless process and I now have clean fuel tanks. I am not sure where you are but if you get on the internet you should be able to find someone close to you that can pump your tanks and clean them.

Bman"
 
"Well as we have discussed man

"Well as we have discussed many times in the past, bad gas is a bad thing to put in your engine. I bought my boat in 1988. It has two 454 CID Crusaiders. Over the years I have run it enough and the quality of gasoline was such that I never had any problems until the boat sat for two years in the slip without moving. That was the start of troubles. Two rebuilt carbs later I got all of the bad gasoline out but what remained was a black carbon buildup in the intake manifold just under the carbs. I don't know if this will go away over time or not.

The little bit of savings in the disposal of the gasoline is not worth the maintenance cost and headaches.

I found an asphalt plant close to Pickwick MS that picked up the gasoline that I finally discarded at no cost. They had a need for the fuel value.

Chuck Hanson"
 
"Bob:

Here's what I rec

"Bob:

Here's what I recommended to another guy with bad gas: Put it on Ebay. Seriously. Sell it to the highest bidder with the condition that they suck it out and take it away.

Hell, I'd happily do it myself if I was nearby. Think of what 150 gallons of gas cost nowadays! Dilute it 75/25 and it'll burn just fine in a car or truck.

Jeff"
 
"Hell Jeff, come on up to Main

"Hell Jeff, come on up to Maine. I have 35 gal of 5 year old gas you can have for free. just bring your own cans."
 
"Let's see now: About 500

"Let's see now: About 500 miles each way x 30 mpg equals 33 gallons of gas for the trip.

Thanks, but no thanks!

Jeff"
 
"B-Man,
Who did you use in An

"B-Man,
Who did you use in Annapolis? I need the old gas in my aft tank pumped out and hopefully it is not too late (i.e. Aluminum tank being eaten away). I keep my boat just south of Annapolis in Deale.

David"
 
"David,

The marina that was

"David,

The marina that was working on my boat brought them in to take care of the tank. I will have to get to the boat and check out the receipt. Wont get there till after the holidays but will let you know."
 
well i posted on craigs list t

well i posted on craigs list that i have 7 year old gas for free and received 13 responses. i had the first guy come out today and he pumped it out and took it. he was happy as could be and said he had a farm and was going to use it in his farm equipment. now i gotta find out how much it will cost to have the tank cleaned and inspected. any idea?
 
"i'm in the process of put

"i'm in the process of putting new tank in my 40' jersey , has glass tanks. been fighting the problem for 2 yrs ,12 bent push rods finally gave in . two new alum. tanks on the way .advertised 200 gal. of old gas with resin on craig list first hour 11 calls then continous all day .a fellow that makes biodiesel got it ."
 
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