Old two stroke fuel ; what to do with it ?

Charles in Aus.

Well-known Member
I found ten litres of this at the back of a storage locker in my garage . It must be ten years old at least . It seems to me to be a huge waste not to try to use it for something practical rather than a big bonfire .
Dare I use it in my chainsaws ? By smell alone it seems to be unchanged from fresh fuel , but then the cost and pest of a rebuild would far outweigh the twenty dollars worth of fuel .
One thought was to dilute it with fresh fuel and run it through my thirsty beast ride on mower.
 
I have a gallon can mixed for my chain saw. I have been using out of it for three years. I fired it up last week to cut a coupe 4"x 4" posts. After being mixed I don't see any difference in my saws running. I filled the saw in the spring a year ago and cut off a couple fence posts. I didn't check if it still had gas and it started up easy after probly 15 months setting in the saw. Personally I would use it if a whiff didn't smell bad but I have always squeaked when I walk. No advise in here just relating.
 

Ten years old? Does that make it ethanol free? That would make it better than pump gas for your car.
 
I wouldn't try it in a small engine like a chainsaw.
Pour it thru a filter and just add some to your old gas tractor
every fill up til it's gone.
tractor won't care and the 2-stroke oil in it might even help your engine a little.
 
Gas with stabil in it won't even last a year and your engine gets hard to start and won't run right. I use it for weed killer.
Sure can't be any good after 10 years !
 
Most important is, the container must be air tight to prevent the light ends from evaporating. I think metal containers are better for this than plastic. The light ends give the gasoline it's vapor pressure which aids starting and provides for good throttle response. On a warm day you should hear a puff of pressure (similar a can of soda) as the container is opened.

Assuming a sealed container and the gasoline does not smell like the rest room in an old truck stop I will typically use the fuel. However, I don't allow it to sit for another long period of time in the vented fuel tank of the equipment. For two-stroke mix make sure you shake it good to put the oil back in solution.
 
Parts cleaner. I wouldn't take chance
running it through an engine. I'm cheap,
but not that cheap. You are only talking a
few bucks here.
 
Filter it good, maybe use a coffee filter in a funnel, and use a little bit at a time in your mower. Or better yet if
you have an old Farmall, they will run on darn near anything.
 
(quoted from post at 05:05:07 10/16/15)
Ten years old? Does that make it ethanol free? That would make it better than pump gas for your car.

Ethanol has been around for at least 40 years.
 
Dump it in your pickup's gas tank a quart or two at a time on top of a full tank of fuel. Dump out the last bit, since it's probably mostly water and crud.

The problem with using old fuel is that the most of the lighter distillates have evaporated, and what's left is likely to gunk up your carburetor. But mixed in with fresh gas it's unlikely to cause a problem.
 
I had the same concern with 500 gallons left in a storage tank since 1944...(US ARMY..ALASKA HIGHWAY) Ran it all through my JD D . Mixed it 50% old gas with 50% new gas. The D used it up at 200 deg F and never missed a beat!. Lapped it up like a politician on the take!
Bob...
 
Mix it @10-15% into good gas and run it in whatever. Just be sure to filter, and separate the water, toss the "dregs" on a bonfire, you will be
fine.
 
What do you pay for a liter in in Aus now? We are paying about $2.50 in the Midwest now, other areas higher or lower. We took a little trip into Canada last week, they are paying about $1.15 CA per liter, but most of them close to the border that have any reason to come to the states buy their gas over here, even though their $ is only worth .77 US now. Not as many Canadian shoppers in US as there used to be, but still a lot in our restaurants.
 
Thanks for the replies .
I just didn't like the idea of throwing it away .
Sealed in a metal Jerry can for all this time so no evaporation , certainly some settling .
Strained it is and set to be added to the mower and the tanks of both Ferguson tractors .
Ethanol fuel is a choice here , you must want to use it rather than have to , it sounds like that is a good thing considering what it can do to engines .
Fuel here is typically Aus $ 1.15 / $ 1.20 , a little less with a discount coupon . Diesel is usually more expensive , $1.20 to $1.40 . I filled up my diesel Landrover last week , it took $119 to fill it from near empty.
I wish I had found 500 litres though , what a bonus !
 
BIG difference between methanol and ethanol. Pure ethanol is just moonshine, mix and drink. 1 oz of methanol can blind you and 2 will kill you. Raced dirt track for 8 years on 98% ethanol without 1 problem.
So much nicer than methanol cuz when it burns, your eyes water and nose burns ect.
 
With that small of an amount I just don't see it considered a waste to use as something other than fuel for an engine. That's about the perfect amount to start a brush fire, kill weeds around a shed, fence or gates, maybe to degrease a tractor or clean parts.

What I find odd is some people being concerned about using a 10% ethanol blend but no concern about using 10 year old 2 stroke pre-mix.
 

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