[Mgs] Old Gas

[Councill, David]

I don't think I would ever dump the gas and a year is in most cases not
too old in itself. But there are a few factors to consider -
condensation in the gas which would add water (humid or moist climates).
Or high evaporation loss which would eventually would cause
precipitation in the fuel system (the high evaporation loss would also
cause loss of some of the more volatile petrol components which could
cause slow starting problems).

For the condensation problem, the addition of methanol (aka gasoline
anti-freeze) would allow removal of the water in the burning cycle. If
the gas has had a high evaporation loss, it can still be blended with
new gas to make it usable. If it is really old and you do see deposits
in the float bowls, the gas should be removed, the fuel system cleaned,
and fresh gas used. This may be more in terms of a few years though
depending on your environmental conditions. Otherwise, I would just add
about 5 gals of fresh petrol to the present tank and maybe pump out a
pint or so from the lines.

I am not sure in this day of environmental regulations where you would
dump old gas legally and inexpensively, at least in the USA. And old gas
dumped legally (recycled) is just going to get burned somewhere anyway.
I have burned some really old gas before - but the older the fuel, the
less I use when blending it with new fuel. Most of the old fuel I have
burned has been in my 74 Toyota Landcruiser - it loves gas and burns
just about anything. But usually it is mixed somewhere between 50:50 to
1:10 with new fuel for the burn.

The last few years, if I anticipate a vehicle being out of service for
more than a year, I have been adding Sta-bil to the fuel. It is supposed
to preserve the gas. But even then, I suppose it has its limits. Gas
with extreme evaporation loss would still be a problem - i.e a few
years, hot desert climate. If I was fortunate to live in such a warmer
climate, I would probably empty out the gas when the car was idled and
use it in another vehicle.

David Councill
67 BGT
72 B



-----Original Message-----
From: mgs-bounces+dcouncill=msubillings.edu at autox.team.net
[mailto:mgs-bounces+dcouncill=msubillings.edu at autox.team.net] On Behalf
Of Ron Fine
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:51 AM
To: MG List; healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: [Mgs] Old Gas

When is gas too old to use?  I have about half a tank of gas in my MGB
that
has been sitting for about 1 year.  I am finishing the rebuild of the
engine
and plan to fire it up later this month.  Should I dump the gas first or
should it be OK.  I live in Los Angeles and the car has been stored
outside
during this period.

Ron
61 BN7
66 MGB