What, is he crazy?
Bear with me:
I had it stored in a hermetically sealed high end jerry Can ( the real NATO spec, Wavian )
So no light fractions could escape.
https://www.roverparts.com/off-road-accessories/jerry-cans/GJC20/
I filled it with ethanol free high octane fuel and topped it off with a double dose of stabilizer, then closed it and did not open it again.
This was anywhere from 5 to 7 years ago.
Call it 6 years.
So today I put that fuel from that jerry Can into my Nissan, (to be able to refill it with fresher fuel and also) I was curious how it had held up as I have 6 more cans just like this one ( albeit with much fresher fuel).
I drove it hard up the interstate ramp and kept it at 75-80mph for about 12 miles until the next exit.
On the return leg absolutely floored it on the on ramp.
The outcome:
- No sour smell , smelled like normal gasoline
- No check engine lights of any kind, no hestitation.
- Car drove/revved/accelerated normally.
The test limitation:
- This was not on an empty fuel tank. I estimate the 5 gallons mixed with another 5 gallons still in the car, so it was diluted making the test less valid.
On the other hand when using old fuel from a can in an emergency, more often than not, it will also mix with at least some prexisting fuel in the tank..
- This engine, the VQ40DE is rated for 87 Octane, the non-ethanol fuel I had stored was at least midrange. Stored fuel often loses Octane over time and one of the most common problems with old fuels is pinging and/or knock sensor SES lights.
So since the fuel was above the spec to begin with, prior to storage ,it is not a full test on how small the decay the Octane has seen.
Bear with me:
I had it stored in a hermetically sealed high end jerry Can ( the real NATO spec, Wavian )
So no light fractions could escape.
https://www.roverparts.com/off-road-accessories/jerry-cans/GJC20/
I filled it with ethanol free high octane fuel and topped it off with a double dose of stabilizer, then closed it and did not open it again.
This was anywhere from 5 to 7 years ago.
Call it 6 years.
So today I put that fuel from that jerry Can into my Nissan, (to be able to refill it with fresher fuel and also) I was curious how it had held up as I have 6 more cans just like this one ( albeit with much fresher fuel).
I drove it hard up the interstate ramp and kept it at 75-80mph for about 12 miles until the next exit.
On the return leg absolutely floored it on the on ramp.
The outcome:
- No sour smell , smelled like normal gasoline
- No check engine lights of any kind, no hestitation.
- Car drove/revved/accelerated normally.
The test limitation:
- This was not on an empty fuel tank. I estimate the 5 gallons mixed with another 5 gallons still in the car, so it was diluted making the test less valid.
On the other hand when using old fuel from a can in an emergency, more often than not, it will also mix with at least some prexisting fuel in the tank..
- This engine, the VQ40DE is rated for 87 Octane, the non-ethanol fuel I had stored was at least midrange. Stored fuel often loses Octane over time and one of the most common problems with old fuels is pinging and/or knock sensor SES lights.
So since the fuel was above the spec to begin with, prior to storage ,it is not a full test on how small the decay the Octane has seen.
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