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Petrol - how long can you REALLY store it?

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  • 11-02-2012 6:38pm
    #1
    baords dyslexic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 902 ✭✭✭


    Last time I filled all the petrol cans up (I've quite a few) was sometime in June last year. I noticed the car was really low a couple of days ago and decided to take the risk and throw in the petrol from the cans, started by putting in a gallon (so probably had 50/50 new/stored petrol) and the car drove fine no problems. Next I put in what I had left in store which was 4gallons, at this stage I would have been driving on petrol that had been stored for 7months with no obvious problems.

    Now I'd like to know what is the big deal about storing petrol and how long can you really store it for before it comes unusable?

    I know people say it goes off but what proof is there?

    The fuel I used up was from cans that were filled almost to the top and they had been kept tightly sealed in a cool dark shed.


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    #2
    bonniebede
    Registered Users Posts: 563 ✭✭✭bonniebede


    Several hundreds of millions of years, i believe, as long as it is underground in its crude unfractionated state. After that, umm.. not so sure.


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    #3
    Grizzly 45
    Registered Users Posts: 15,031 ✭✭✭✭Grizzly 45


    As it is a commodity that will be used quickly in normal day to day life,it doesnt have a huge shelf life..Untreated petrol will last about 8 to 14 months.Untreated diesel about 24 months tops.
    You can get fuel stabilisers.I use STA Bil fuel stabiliser.No other reason than its all I could find. It will keep fuel to 3/4 years if done right with both petrol and diesel.Classic car enthuaists use it for long term fuel storage in their classic petrol tanks..
    You are storing the fuel correctly too topped up and cool and dark.

    "If you want to keep someone away from your house, Just fire the shotgun through the door."

    Vice President [and former lawyer] Joe Biden Field& Stream Magazine interview Feb 2013 "



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    #4
    polishing peanuts
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6 ✭polishing peanuts


    I think grizzly has hit the nail on the head re the storage. I have messed about with cars that had been laid up for years and sure, mostly the carburetors were a mess of sticky deposits. But once cleaned off a bit we managed to get them running. Some of that petrol must have been over ten years old!!

    Difficult to determine though whether the rough ish running was because of the old fuel or the general state of everything, not forgetting why the car was shoved into the barn in the first place!


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