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How long will bulk gasoline stay good?

L

littlefarmer

Member
A somewhat off-topic question, but how long will Ethanol gasoline stay good in bulk storage? I am thinking about buying a 500 gallon tank to have a year"s worth of gasoline on hand (this would be 10% ethanol). The tank would be stored inside a shed.

I have done some research on the internet, and can"t seem to find a real answer. Some say gasoline only lasts a few months at most, but I think that advice is referring to small quantities like if you keep it in a small lawn mower tank or maybe a five gallon can. Thanks for any info!
 

I would say anywhere from 6-12 months depending on your tanks, weather and tank size.

I would also recommend a good fuel conditioner or stabilizer designed to keep gasoline fresh.
 
Two issues!
The fuel if kept cool, and under fair storage pressure (without possible water or condensation contamination) (meaning it can prevent evaporation), it will last that long, but if it is used out of the tank, it will need to draw in air. to replace the fuel. I do not think it is worth it as a hedge against price increase. The tank would cost substantially more than the value gained.
The second is that there is probably drastic laws against having it in any building. Do not do this unless you get a sign off from the Fire dept. or Fire Inspector. Jim
 
I don't know about bulk tanks but I had two year old gas in the snowblower and it started right up and ran fine.
I couldn't believe it.
No Sta-Bil in it either.
 
My grandmother had an old Lincoln in her garage that sat for 17 years. I dropped the tank and drained 12 gallons. Dad ran the 200 out of gas a few days later when I was not around and dumped 6 gallons of that gas into it. The tractor never missed a beat and ran like a top. So good that I dumped the other 6 gallons in later and it again ran fine. The car was stored inside, but again it was in there for 17 years.
 
I think it would be against fire safety regulations to house a gasoline bulk storage tank inside a shed. You could put a roof over it, but no walls.
 
In 2008 I filled my outside storage tank with gasoline and finished using it a year later. I noticed no difference from first fill to last fill. I do add a bit of Stabil every time I fill the tractor's fuel tank.
 
I pumped out about a barrel and a half of premixed 2-stroke gas from two old boats . I have no idea how old the gas was. It took me at least a year to comsume it in a SMTA. Ya, the exhaust was a little smokey but the tractor suffered no ill effects. The exhaust is clean now with fresh pump gas.

I resisted the impluse to use it in my chainsaws.
 
Keeping gas for a year is no problem, but why not buy a 250 gallon tank that way it wont get that old. Im pretty sure you cant put a gas tank in a building its agianst the law where i live .The gas they make today is much different than the gas they made 10 years ago, it will go bad much faster i think its because they removed the lead.
 
Environmental laws now REQUIRE tanks to be in a shelter, to cover the containment tub. We all know that gasoline in storage evaporates constantly from the surface exposed to air. during the day expansion pushes vapor out. as it cools in evening fresh air is drawn in. which enhances the next da's evaporation. So as long as your tank is nearly full you will have very little loss of the volatiles.
 
(quoted from post at 08:35:17 03/07/10) Keeping gas for a year is no problem, but why not buy a 250 gallon tank that way it wont get that old. Im pretty sure you cant put a gas tank in a building its agianst the law where i live .The gas they make today is much different than the gas they made 10 years ago, it will go bad much faster i think its because they removed the lead.
Click to expand...
I believe it is because ethanol added, not because lead out. Ethanol loves to attract water from the air & it separates from the mixture over time. Just smell it & you will know when it has gone sour!
 

I read a service bulliten issued by "Mercury marine" stating that the shelf life of fuel is 11 days before it starts braking down.

Like the new E-teck motors that are 2 stroke epa legal motors bad fuel cloggs the primary metering circuits [pilot jets] causing them to not start or idle .

Up here in Michigan ware we snowmobile and i do alot of repair on them we see the results of bad fuel all the time.

Sea foam has proven to be great for getting the water out of the fuel and cleaning varnish.

We keep stabil in everthing all the time or you can by the fancy stuff made by Mercury and many other companys that do the same thing.

I keep stabil in mt Super M [ pulling tractor] as well as the W-6 and both cubs.

Fuel is not what it used to be.
 
Ethanol gas will not keep as long as regular unleaded gas. I would not keep Ethanol gas for more than a month, regular gas up to a year.
 
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