Shelf life of top tier gas?

[SpeedyG75VW]

I got some gas in my all my lawn equipment and really don't want the mess of draining out the fuel. It's got Shell gas in it from Sept of last year. I don't think I will be using the equipment long enough this summer to use all the fuel. Is it ok to leave it for another season? I did remember adding some Sta-bil when I filled up the tanks last year.

Cheveron's website said their gas is good for at least a year....since they are part of the top tier gas club, I'm guessing Shell has a similar shelf life??? What do you guys think?

 

[Win]

It's fine, so long as it's dry, i.e. no water.

 

[eljefino]

Where it's OPE it might not be vapor sealed all that well and the lighter vapors might disappear on you, making hard starting etc.

My newest mower has a tight sealing cap. My older briggses have three holes in the gas cap and some paperboard stuff behind, which lets them leak and reek.

 

[SrDriver]

Pour the remaining gas in your car and burn it up then when needed replace the gas for your lawn equipment.

Try and find 100% gasoline for lawn equipment if possible for long storage.

 

[OneEyeJack]

A little Sta-Bil?

 

[Astro14]

A year is a VERY long time for gas with ethanol. Where I am (beach, with very high average humidity), it's more like 90 days before you start to see degradation of E10 fuel, top tier or not.

Personally? I would drain it and burn it in something that can tolerate poorer fuel (I have just such a vehicle...) and refill the OPE with fresh fuel. I've replaced a couple of carbs on OPE that have become gummed up after a winter's storage on Shell gasoline with Sta-bil. I don't blame Shell or Sta-Bil...it's the combination of ethanol and humidity...

 

[mikered30]

I thought shelf life of untreated pure gas is 3 months with phase separation in ethanol contaminated gas in 90 days in a sealed container.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
A little Sta-Bil?


+1 For smaller engines I would use the formula meant for Ethanol fuels.

 

[rjundi]

With stabil fine. I would not run it past one year with stabil. Lawn equipment especially two stroke engines can be sensitive to cruddy fuel.

 

[BearZDefect]

Fortunately I have only one container of gasoline to deal with for OPE, but I have found that it degrades faster in hot weather than cold weather. This is no surprise given that most chemical reactions occur faster at higher temperatures, and there is also more water in the air.

My observation: Gasoline purchased late fall works just fine in the spring. Gasoline purchased in early spring is troublesome when used in late summer.