Old Gasoline

rockhillmanor wrote:
On the same subject. I put Stabil in my tank before I parked it. Due to health issues unfortunately it has sat for a period of time.

Will the Stabil 'already in the tank' be ok to start it up? Or should I add fresh gas to the tank BEFORE I start it up? V-10

As per Stabil, with the proper amt you should be good up to 24 months. ( The myth of adding more Stabil does NOT prolong things longer than 24 months).

When storing a partially full gas tank, it can allow moisture to gather in the tank and lines more so than a full tank. Ethanol gasoline adds to that reaction more than non ethanol gasoline.
Gasoline will oxidize and deteriorate in storage. Old gasoline will cause hard starting, and it leaves gum deposits that can clog the small passages in the fuel system. If the gasoline in your vehicle deteriorates during storage, you may need to have the carburetor and other fuel system components serviced or eventually replaced.



It will depend on how long the gas has been sitting. See how it starts up, if it runs rough, stop, drain and refill it with fresh gas and a bottle of Seafoam to clean things out. I would drive to get the rpm's up to allow the Seafoam to work. You can add more Seafoam to the tank as the formula suggests, it would not hurt the system. I have done a double dose many times on a gunked up generator engine. I let the rpm's crank up under a load .

I hope you are feeling better,

Bob

On the same subject. I put Stabil in my tank before I parked it. Due to health issues unfortunately it has sat for a period of time.

Will the Stabil 'already in the tank' be ok to start it up? Or should I add fresh gas to the tank BEFORE I start it up? V-10

IMO, it could be a coin toss.
Hopefully the previous owner topped that tank off with 'non ethanol fuel' and used either Seafoam or Star-Tron Enzyme as an initial stabilizer.
Ethanol gasoline begins to separate in a few short months and tends to leave a Vaseline type of coating on the inside of carb bowls etc. At that point, an additive may help it run the tank through but it's not going to dissolve all that gum and you might have fuel related issues or you might get lucky.
I always pull things apart and physically clean things out on snowmobiles and boats because fuel issues could be life threatening in sub zero temps or out at sea of which I do spend some time.

Thanks for everyone's input. It's been very helpful.

Wow, there is a lot of advice on doing special things and adding special products to deal with 3 year full tank of gas. I was going to say.... Since the rig is running fine, just use the rig for all your local travels around town to your job and stores until the tank is 1/8 full. Then fill it and rest easy.

Now there are other non-gasoline matters to take care of like change the oil after your first run to the store, inspect for rodent damage, maybe get your brake system inspected for disk brake rust damage, flush the braking system, etc. etc. Such matters are dependent on whether the rig was stored in a garage or outdoors.

I can tell you what you'll have to do if the seafoam frees up junk and then your fuel filter goes into bypass mode. Then some injectors get plugged up.

Change fuel filter right now. Suck out all old stuff you can. Get cheap scanner. Buy 1 spare injector. When check light comes on, about 10 min to change. That is 10 min if your are unfortunate enough to fowl them out time after time. Carry spare filter. After about 3 or 4 tanks of new gas you'll be ok.

x2 in this case 2 is better than one.

DougE wrote:
Agree with fiveeyes. A full tank gets less contamination than a partial tank. Best news is that it runs now. So put a can of Seafoam in it to help with any residual varnish and just run it. Would recommend an oil change and an antifreeze replacement before this winter.

Make that 2 cans, 1 pint of Seafoam (which I use in everything) is good for 25 gl, a 55 gl tank needs at least 2 cans.

Even after using stabil in my rototiller ,it ran poorly when I went to use it. i figured it was time to once again remove the carburetor and clean it. i read about a product called mechanic in a bottle. I purchased some at the local hardware store, followed the directions and let it idle for about an hour, the issue cleared up and it runs under full power once again.
I used to use sea foam until I discovered Berrymans. I add to the MH once in a while plus all my other vehicles.

Agree with others. Since it start fine I would just run Seafoam and run the fuel through it.