Stale gas how long

It has been exposed to oxygen and other environmental "bad actors", and these actors cause chemical reactions to take place in the gasoline that lead to the formation of gums and varnishes that cause problems in engines. This is the half-way scientific way to describe the problem. What does it look like to the average person?

They want to know what are the symptoms of stale gas. The fuel you get at the gas station is cycled through quickly enough that you would never expect to have to deal with a stale gas problem in your vehicle.

Calling gasoline stale implies that it is old, that it has developed the problem over a long period of time. And this makes sense given that the symptoms of stale gas center on poor combustibility of the fuel. If the gasoline is old and stale, it will have lost a portion of its volatility. You may get a great mixture that will get your mower firing up. You will burn though the mixture quite fast as you cut the grass in your yard.

You may also opt to fill up the tank with the fresh gas, as you deplete what is already in the tank and you cut your grass. When you have the desire to mix new gas with old gas, just ask your local car shop or auto supply shop whether or not you need a fuel additive.

The fuel additive may help to increase the ratio of new gas to old gas. As we stated in the beginning of our post, pure gasoline without any ethanol blend or additive can last three to six months. Petroleum-based gas without any ethanol will eventually give way to volatile compound evaporation and oxidation. The processes generally happen slower in pure gas. So, expect your pure gas to last a good six months- given that the gas is stored properly.

Ethanol- blended gas typically can last up to three months. This is due to the rate at which ethanol oxidizes. This means that it can readily absorb any moisture, humidity or water in a sealed container. Typically, the higher the ethanol content in the gasoline, the shorter it can last on your shelf. We know what you might be thinking — if crude oil can last for millennia, why does gasoline have such a short shelf life? Gasoline is made up of a complex cocktail of carbon and hydrogen atoms, which bond together to create combustive hydrocarbons that make engines run.

The end product is an amalgamation of various compounds that work together to help power your vehicle of choice. This is thanks mostly to three big environmental factors: oxidation, water, and evaporation.

You might recall that we mentioned oxygen as one of the main ingredients in combustion — but it also causes oxidation. As the weeks and months go by, oxygen molecules in your gasoline will begin tapping healthy hydrocarbons and changing their structure, leading to increased oxidation. Your beverage becomes diluted and way less tasty, in our opinion. Experts caution against this. He says adding fuel stabilizer to the stored gasoline will help, but even that is not a cure-all over the long term.

Gasoline will still eventually start to break down, at some point, even with a stabilizer. If you do store gasoline, make sure you keep it in a DOT-approved, sealed container. This also helps the gasoline last longer. Brannon says that, just like with your car, store the gas can full to reduce sweating and exposure to the atmosphere. After my dad gave me a ride on his Yamaha two-stroke motorcycle when I was 3, I was hooked on anything with an engine.

My most thrilling moment so far has been hurtling down the autobahn at a GPS-timed On weekends you can find me churning dirt on my mountain bike or doing car or motorcycle track days.

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