Stale Gas: Can it be treated with additives? My unscientific test and results.
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- čas přidán 18. 10. 2015
- After recently aquiring about 5 gallons of very stale gas I decided to try a couple fuel treatments on it to see if it makes any difference.
This was a rather unscientific of Star-Tron enzyme fuel treatment as well as Seafoam.
I've used seafoam as a fuel system cleaner, both on its own as well as mixed into the fuel tank many times, Its not marketed as a treatment for stale gas, but has excellent cleaning capabilities, so that's why I used it in this test.
Star-tron claims to do a ton of things, removing ethanol, preventing phase separation, preventing tears in the space-time continum, stabilizing fuel, and interestingly it supposedly will un-stale gas from the little booklet that comes with it. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I know for a fact you CAN restore old gas. I own several classic cars that sit for YEARS (Decades) and I have restored the gas with Seafoam and start additives combined. I make certain to use starter fluid in the carb to get the fuel pump moving and speed up the fuel getting into the carb until the car starts. THis also saves the battery and starter as you wont need to crank as much.
My updated video shows several year old (at least 3 years) stale gas running perfectly fine in a lawnmower with no additives perfectly fine, and we discussed in the comments how the more volatile components would be first to evaporate, which would make the fuel more difficult to ignite, thus leading to the "stale gas won't burn" theory many people have, when in reality it often tends to just gum up carburetors and get harder to ignite especially if the engine isn't super healthy
Please let me ask you what start additives you used I have my aunt and uncle’s Cadillac let it sit for 2 1/2 years that I’m trying to get started
@@lukebaehr3851 Any update?
Ethanol is trash & absolutely shits up our carbs , fuel delivery parts & basically internal combustion systems !!!…
(1) You need more that one control for this. You also need a fourth container of fresh gas of the exact same type.
(2) You need more than just a visual test. Staleness of gas is not just a matter of color or visual appearance. Staleness is several things. One aspect is the evaporation and lack of the more volatile molecules, so just replacing them can fix that instantly without any chemical reactions. Replacing the volatile molecules will allow the gas to combust properly Another aspect is the presence of oxidized molecules that can gum up an engine. A product that claims to solve this problem would likely not explain how they do it on the label. Searching out the patent number if there is one might get you to an explanation. I could speculate on some approaches: Reverse the chemical reaction (this is hard), or perform a further chemical reaction that causes the resulting molecules to be less harmful to engines, or add a carburetor cleaner type of substance that would prevent the gums from fouling up the engine and perhaps even dissolve away the gums that have already caused problems..
Startron says it uses enzymes .
He did mention this a unscientific test
Higher octane makes the fuel more resistant to igniting. That’s why it’s used in performance engines. It allows for higher compression and more power output without pre ignition.
TCW3 stands for Two Cycle Watercooled generation 3 outboard Marine oil. It's for Watercooled engines like outboard motors. It's what you add to the gasoline for lubrication in the engine. It cleans and lubes the whole fuel system.
Huh? You performed zero tests on the fuel's combustion characteristics. That's the point of gasoline....to burn in an engine.
*cough* czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html *cough*
You won't be able to tell a difference in the burn characteristics old or not. Lol
You should have also tested adding more water... Gas floats on both water and ethanol once all the ethanol has attached itself to the gas. A downside is that you have to drain out the water from the bottom. An upside is that you get basically 100% gas on the top.
I love the electrical outlet and cord by the gas
Gotta stay safe! 😄
Have you tried Helix 5in1 Ultimate Fuel Additive?
Looks like science to me! Thank you
I hadn't used my boat for 12 years ( 4.3 ltr GM inboard ) it was stored indoors, cold storage. Removed about 5 gallons of old gas that had been treated with stabilizer, it looked and smelled like normal gas. Didn't know how to dispose of old gas so I tried using some in my lawn mower, it ran fine. So I put the 5 gallons in my old pickup ( 2005 Dakota ) and filled the tank with regular gas. The truck ran fine, no issues. As they say " Your results may vary" . Oh, had no issues with the boat either, new gas, battery, oil change and spark plugs and it runs like new 50+ mph no problem. I admit I was very lucky.
John Dooley and that's exactly what I do with any stale gas I get. larger engines, especially fuel injected cope with it a lot better than small carbureted engines. all the stale gas from this video got mixed in small amounts with fresh gas and burned in my f150, and had no detrimental effects as far as I can tell.
Simple & Easy test--just put a match to it.
I have gas in my 1994 Lexus ES300 that was pumped in on 6-16-2016 (I know the exact date thanks to a forest fire that forced us to move it that day), then the car sat until this week 8-25-2019. I thought for sure it would be bad gas, but after installing a new battery, all new brakes and new tires, we have found that the car is running like a champ no differently then it did in 2016. I can't even discern any bad stale odor with the fuel cap removed. But I am going to burn this off anyway and then replace the fuel filter and replenish the fuel with some decent additive. I have seen cars found and started after ten or 15 years of sitting using only the gas still in the tank at the time of abandonment. So their must be one hell of a grey area in this bad gas assumption. IMO bad gasoline shouldn't be running a car just fine like nothing is wrong. Do you think my 1994 Lexus is pushing more fuel through in order to get it to run correctly maybe? The more impressive thing was it started like it had not been sitting at all, lol. Yet its the first time in over 3 years that a battery has even been connected to it. I guess this car wants to live...
I thank you for sharing your experience, It proves my most recent findings on this matter, I also apologize for the essay I've written, as well as the likely terrible grammar and spelling. but here goes:
My most recent findings is that the main issue with "bad gas" is not that the fuel actually goes bad, but in carbureted engines the fuel evaporates in the float bowl and creates a slimy mess that will eventually harden into jet plugging crud, then even pouring new gas in won't let the engine run properly.
EFI engines such as your ES300, and any relatively modern vehicle tolerate evaporation much better as the fuel systems are sealed much better, and have to meet EPA requirements for evaporative losses (biggest cause of check engine lights up in NY where I grew up was "small leak in evap system", or a pinhole, literally a hole the size of the head of a pin in the system designed to prevent gas fumes getting to the environment).
The fuel itself might lose a little energy content, so the MPG or available HP might be slightly diminished, but it'll still run fine, with most modern EFI engines there are oxygen sensors to fine tune the amount of fuel being burned, if you have a OBD2 scanner you can look at the datastream for the Short term and Long term fuel trim values, if they are positive values by more than a percent or 2 then your cars computer has decided that the engine needs more fuel to run optimally.
I've got ancient gas running perfectly fine in a follow up video I made to this one, in a carbureted lawn mower engine at that, just the gas wasn't sitting in there gumming the whole thing up.
I've used all the gas I've gotten, whether its been a year old, or as much as 6 years old without any side effects in engines from a small pushmower size, up to a V8.
Its the deposits from evaporation that I believe is the big issue. Which your experience further fuels that as being a fact rather than just my findings.
I think the temperature swings of something like an attached garage vs outside in the sun would probably make a huge difference.
@@corvairkid17no difference, people in Texas or Middle East must have bad gas
Are you just going for appearance? You have not verified the condition. Will the gas run in an engine. I don't give a shit what it looks like. Will it make an engine run. This is ridiculous.
It all depends on what engine it was in. I never filmed anything else on this, I need to revisit it sometime when I get another decent amount, but this gas would not run in anything small and carbureted, burned nearly identical to the naked eye with or without additives, but ran perfectly fine with no additive in a small modern EFI v8 engine, which has suffered no discernible negative effect from using it all up.
from experience star tron will work to a point but there is a point where it is just beyond saving i use it as a preventative masher and for cleaning out sightly dirty carburetors
the gas car will run on decade old gas, i have run an old bike on gas that was in for 12 years. you will have to filter the hell out of it, it will run like shit but it will run.
Depending on how much fuel I have in my tank that's what I'm gonna do after I filter and cleans whatever is in the tank as it's been sitting for 10+ years in the boat
good luck with gas but I like the syringes were did you buy them
Marine Gas without the Ethanol that most of us have to deal with makes this a waste of 7 minutes
I agree with what you're saying drain bad gas it's cheap compared to the damage it may cause or the cost of getting stranded.
fuel filters exist now
I’d love to see the same test done with Mechanic In A Bottle and Ethanol Shield.
I will have to do them as a follow up to the updated video I'm working on. I've got about 6 different additives we will be testing in stale e10 and stale 100% gas, with tests in an engine, as well as flame comparisons I'm thinking
This old gasoline will still burn, but run it through a filter first. Then, mix it with 75% new gas and use it. Don't dispose of it because it will end up polluting the environment. The Olefins and Paraffin's in the gasoline will dissolve in the new gasoline, and you wont have a problem.
Yep, I ended up burning all of this gas in the only gasoline vehicle I own.
GVS.
re:"Don't dispose of it because it will end up polluting the environment"
NO matter what you do with old gas eventually it will end up polluting the environment.
Either through evaporation or being in several different ways, burnt.
@@banno6938 But at least someone gets some use out of it, if it's mixed with new gas. Much better than pouring it out somewhere, or burning it and getting nothing out of it. :)
Gasoline Vapor Systems hello.. Is it okay to use a 3 months old, premium gasoline? It’s 95 octane with 10% ethanol.. because i forgot to put fuel stabilizer. I’m worried 😢😞😪
@@banno6938 funny how gas comes from the earth but every one is so afraid to put it back..
Starton is proactive for ethanol enriched gasoline while sea foam is a cleaner/water removing product. I am not sure that either will do what tou are asking but I am sure they will still do what they were designed to to even in old stale gas.
Has K100 been evaluated ?
The best thing is to do if you have old gas is to fill up with fresh gas that is high octane, premium grade. Or, using an octane booster should also help.
I do plan on doing some better tests at some point, I didn't really prove anything with this, next time I run across some stale gas to use I'll do some actual engine starting and btu testing.
Ryan Toomey Is it okay to use a 3 months old, premium gasoline? It’s 95 octane with 10% ethanol.. because i forgot to put fuel stabilizer. I’m worried 😢😞😪
have you tried drygas?
I have a couple of 5 gallon cans over 3 yrs old. My plan is to add them to my truck along with seafoam when filling up. My truck has a 40 gal tank so a 5 would be 1/8. Then, of course refill the can with new gas.
Yup, diluting it works great as a way to dispose of old gas.
My experience.......someone gave me an old car with a full tank of 15 year old gas in it, smelled like a skunk. I put it in my lawn mower and it ran fine, but when I shut it off the intake valve stuck open. I didn't know what happened, I just didn't have any compression, so I tore the engine apart and I couldn't take a hammer and beat the valve back in the guide, the head looked like someone melted a sugar daddy on it and the stuff was so hard you couldn't scratch it with a screwdriver, like glass. I took a propane torch and heated the valve guide and the valve came right out. I cleaned everything up but from then on the valve would stick open every time I mowed and I would have to heat the valve guide with a torch until I heard the valve close and then it would start. Don't use extremely old gas.
Excellent personal example! I attempted a revisit of this but ran into the issue that even 3-4 year old gas was running A-OK in the lawn mower engine I was using. Perhaps using a measured amount of the stale gas and pulling the head to investigate the amount of buildup is the way to see what effect the additives have (if any)
I'm sorry but this is one of the most genuinely comical posts I've ever seen! 🙃 Been 4 yrs now, hope you were able to get everything sorted! Hopefully a new mower LOL!
I had a 1980 Honda Goldwing that sat for 2 and a half years after I broke off a spark plug. I finally pulled the head, drilled out the plug, and changed the timing belt while it was apart. It started and ran fine on the old gas. I didn't put stabilizer in it because I hadn't planned on leaving it sit, life just happened and I didn't get around to it.
Awesome! I've found the larger the engine the less fuel seems to affect them. Tiny chainsaw and weedwacker engines are so finicky with fuel, I really want to try some more stuff and do a more real-world test in some actual engines. Ethanol fuel has been one of my biggest nemeses, I've never had an issue with 100% gas, even sitting for a year or more, but ethanol fuel seems to plug jets and stuff even after a few months.
The color has not change but has it taken care of the varnish?
Most often the varnish buildup is from evaporation, and will require a carb cleaning. The gas itself will still run A-OK, but those jet plugging deposits won't easily be budged regardless of how much additive is added, see this video for proof with some ancient gas that runs perfectly fine because the engine was stored with the carb dry: czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
I have a cabin where I have to use a generator, sometimes the gas gets one year old. The best way to deal with it is to pre treat it with MMO. I put some in the carb in the generator too. Never had any issues. I have also used chemtool and it is just as good. My experience is only with one year old 87 octane gas with ethanol. Cant speak for any other kind of gas or age beyond a year.
Pre treating seems to be about the only way to ensure fuel doesn't go bad. My best advice for storing stuff is if there is a fuel shutoff, shut if off and run the equipment until the carburetor is empty. If there isn't a fuel shutoff, either install one or drain the fuel out through the carb drain plug until the tank is empty (for small things like lawn mowers) as it seems like leaving fuel in the carbs is what causes the varnish buildup and that clogs jets and makes for problems.
You sold me. I'd love to prevent tears in the space-time continuum - if it's not too late. Maybe we need a DMC DeLorean at this point.
If I had the chance and the money to get a Delorean, I'd have to think long and hard about where I'd drive it first. 😄
Could you do a mixture of fresh gas and old gas and show the end results? 1 to 4 dilution rate.
I'll have to dig up some stale gas lol. I do need to do another revisit, my 2nd go at this kinda failed when the stale gas ran perfectly fine in the small engine I had planned on using to test each additive.
Some people say Pri-G fuel stabilizer is the best, at this time. Also, it has helped some people use stale gasoline.
Wish I could find the video where a guy has a chemist friend that works in the fuel industry. He gave him the secret to re-stabilize gas. I know acetone was one ingredient of three. He had eight year old generator gas and it worked.
I have suspicions about why acetone would work, its due to octane and evaporation of more volatile components that acetone would in a way replenish. I need to locate some nasty old gas and try it, but I don't often come across piles of it.
I am trying to read all the comments, it is October, 2021 as I write this. Starter fluid is mostly Ether and Ether is very volitile and you would need to burn the fuel as soon as possible. Also add as much fresh fuel as possible and for some reason I am thinking low octane, I am not sure why.
Isn't low octane fuel more volitile?
@@walterwjr947 Starting fluid is diethyl ether. Some more modern ones use heptane or even butane or propane.
I've never heard of acetone being used in starting fluid. That would ruin any plastic or rubber components that it comes into contact with in your intake.
Should we guess what you were trying to acheive with a 24h visual comparison?
Startron claims to "Rejuvenate old fuel", But it certainly appears to have done a whole lot of nothing (especially so if you look up the contents). As the revisit video I did a month or two ago shows, the issue with stale gas is not necessarily the gas itself, but rather the tendency for gas to evaporate and leave behind carburetor plugging deposits, as I ran into a generator that it had completely plugged not just the carb but all the way back to the petcock with a varnish like residue. I took that nasty old gas, and put it into a lawnmower engine that had been drained of gas before storage, and it fired right up on the very old gas. I proceeded to run that stale disgusting fuel in my weedeater and riding mower, ran fine in everything.
I drain the old fuel from the gas tank and return it to the gas can. Those bottles of OTP fuel system cleaner/treatment often come in 3-packs. I’ll buy one of those 3-packs and add them to my gas can and give it a good mix. Even if it doesn’t actually fix the fuel, it still combusts and that’s all I need for a running lawn mower.
Seems like a logical way to do it! I've found even diluting it with some fresh gas seems to liven it up enough to burn ok, I'm sure there is some performance difference from the old gas but I'm not really hunting for maximum performance, just good enough to get the job done!
I have a Dodge Caravan that's been sitting for 7 years with 15 gallons of 10% ethanol gasoline. It ran fine last year after adding a couple gallons of fresh gas and a can of "Heat".
It decided to run like crap and barely start after this winter. I then added 2 bottles of "Heat" and 4 fresh gallons of gasoline. It's won't even run now.
I've drained 4 gallons of fuel with no luck. Water is heavier than gasoline so it will settle at the bottom of the tank by the fuel pump pickup tube. It just must be that bad and I'll probably just drain it all out.
I burned the 4 gallons of extracted fuel and noticed that it has a very weak flash point and a kerosene like smell. I'm curious if the modern 10% ethanol gasoline chemically breaks down after so many years when being exposed to o2 and seasonal moisture?
It seems like old gas loses some volatility, makes it harder to burn, as the most flammable components tend to also be the ones that evaporate. Some of the heat and products like that are pure ethanol, which if any water got in there will phase separate the water out of the gas and make matters just as bad, possibly worse. I had a miserable time with heet and some watery gas in a motorcycle years ago. Ended up dropping the bike and failing my license test because I decided to fill up.
What is bad gasoline; After gow long of it sitting in a car not driven can one concur that the fuel is not longer optimal for use ?
Thanks
I have heard that the 10% ethanol fuel that is near impossible to avoid here starts degrading in a matter of about 3 months. I have seen that same E10 completely solidify inside a carburetor on a small generator in just about a year. I'm in the process of filming a updated video on this, with much better results, It will answer a lot of the lingering questions after I first had this idea. Hoping to get the first part of that out in about a week or two
trythistv Is it okay to use a 3 months old, premium gasoline? It’s 95 octane with 10% ethanol.. because i forgot to put fuel stabilizer. I’m worried 😢😞😪
But how do they run in an engine? Try each one to see.
+grassroot011 that's my plan for the next batch of stale gas I get. I tried to start a bonfire with this stuff and none of it burned spectacularly, the additives didn't seem to make much difference but the only true test will be in an actual engine, which I'll do when I get more sometime.
Good, Like to see that. Thanks
Why would you get stale gas in the first place?
@@nickv4073 lol
@@nickv4073 he said in the video his watercraft has been sitting for like two years, dumbass.
Try M-100 for a fuel additive to prevent fuel breakdown
good info .do you think a universal gas filter add to the gas line near the engine would effect the performance
As far as fuel degrading in storage, a filter won't really help, as it evaporates in the carburetor and gums up, a shutoff valve could prevent that gum forming by allowing you to shut the fuel off and run the carb dry, a bunch of my small power equipment (log splitter, pressure washer, lawnmower, etc.) has a small in-line fuel filter and a small in-line shutoff valve, so prep for storage is as easy as shutting off the valve and letting the engine stall out when the carb runs dry, and then summertime comes again and the filter catches any gum that could have formed upstream over the winter.
@@trythistv thank for taking the time to anwer
the gas tank was emty, but cannot remove gas tank to really good cleaning inside to big job on lrv 2000 with 951 engine
the gas was 10 year old .so the internal carb gas filter were really gum up after 1 hour of road test with new gas.it run really good for a hour then it would not go no more than 5mph so i took carb a part and the fllter were complet gum up on the 2 carb after road test
so i filter the new gas in the tank 5 time with a universal gas filter and replace all the fuel hose because of the gum. but to play safe i add a extra fuel filter in the system because it a big job remove carb to change filter
but now it will not go no more than 40 mph with that universal filter it chock and stall at 40 mph but goes good at lower speed
so i was thinking that the sucking side of the gas pump on the carb cannot handle the weight of the gas
what do you think, can the gas pump handle that more weight of gas on the line with the universal filter ?
Usually there is a small mesh filter built in to the fuel system, often either right at the front of the engine bay or right above the fuel tank in the front compartment, they have an awful tendency to leak air in because its a small plastic bowl with an o-ring, and the bowl warps or the o-ring hardens and causes all kinds of trouble. I wouldn't think adding a filter would restrict it enough to make that much difference.
You could do a plug read and see if it looks lean after a decent test ride.
If you still have the grey "tempo" fuel lines, I would change them out ASAP, they tend to degrade and cause all kinds of problems.
Also, the fuel selector valves can get gunked up inside as well, either one could cause some restriction that could be an issue for your performance.
@@trythistv i did change all the hose to black automotive and i did inspect that filter over fuel tank but did not replace oring on the filter
what i am going to do next is remove gas line from carb and plug line going to fuel gauge and apply vacuum with vacuum hand pump to see if it hold vacuum or leak before going to deep in the diagnostic
did you see some seadoo with a universal fuel filter on them that run good ?
I have seen various seadoos run fine with a universal filter, if you're questioning if the filter is the issue, try using one of the kind that has a mesh rather than paper, as long as any debris is smaller than the jets it won't clog stuff up. The stock filter is a fine plastic mesh usually, something similar would be fine, it could be your paper filter has started to clog up a little?
I have a car I store out of State and only use it once every few years and have no problems with bad gas. It is a 1984 carb chevy v-6. I wonder why the ethanol in todays gas doesn't mess with it? Been doing this for 21 years. My lawnmowers always gel up and I have to clean the carb.
I would suspect it may have to do with jet size, smaller engines have tiny jets that are easier to get clogged up.
But I wouldn't put any money on my suspicion because I see TONS of carbed boats with problems related to ethanol fuel, but of course a boat also id in a much higher humidity and has water all around it so the tendency for ethanol to absorb water could be at fault in those cases.
I wish I knew more of the science behind it, but thats way over my head.
yeah..did you try the fuel? and did you leave the lid off in order for the activators to perform? you have enclosed environments with nowhere for outgassing to take place and thus cannot expect much of anything to happen as youve pretty much entrapped it in a stagnated neutrality where it is essentially trapped in limbo.
*cough* czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html *cough* stale fuel burns a-ok in a healthy engine that was stored properly, each of these additives is basically a highly volatile solvent that makes ignition easier, and might even clean up any varnish formed on the Jets in a carb if the equipment was stored improperly. Look at the sds sheets for basically any fuel additive and its nearly all solvents like naptha, acetone or some other highly flammable compound. The main problem is that if stored improperly the gas in the carb will evaporate and leave behind sludge that clogs jets. If you drain the carbs before storing equipment you'll never have an issue. (Source: never once having an issue starting my stuff each spring. 1-2 pulls max)
I’ve got gasoline that I treated with sta-bil storage treatment before I parked the vehicle in my garage for 8 years, the gas looked fine not even showing signs of turning to the nasty varnish color or smell and after jumping power to the in tank pump to prime plus I drained a bit out at the fuel filter which I replaced to check it’s color and smell, she fired up a bit rough but smoothed right out, plus I added a dose of Lucas injector cleaner in the tank for the 17 gallons it had in it, and I let it run 5 minutes then shut it off and let it sit a couple days and it’s fine, no codes smooth as always and will use that tank full as fast as I can.
It’s a 2001 chev S10 with a 2.2 flex fuel engine that’s only seen regular gas it’s whole life.
Gas tank is plastic not metal so no rust worries.
Was I shocked, absolutely, had another old Nissan that had gas go bad, it was ugly repair to get it fixed and not worth the cost to finish it
It seems very hit and miss, I've seen gas go so bad it rots tanks and gums up the entire fuel system in less than a year of sitting, and I've seen others go years and years and fire right back up without even the slightest hesitation. I thought I was real scientific when I made this video, then I learned a ton, made a follow up, realized I don't have a clue, and have continued to learn and the more I learn the more I realize I don't understand.
Yes that Sta Bil stuff really works. It gave my sweet tea a little more octane. Lol
Adds a nice little extra zip in the morning coffee too lol
Hey guys what do you think I have a boat stop for over 2 years I stated few day ago the engine some normal, will that hurt the engine?
I've often found that carbureted engines tend to build up varnish in the float bowls which clogs the jets, but if its running ok then thats not really possible. If you had some stabilizer or it was a good quality (non-ethanol containing) fuel then it is probably fine.
The question that I have is how would it have preformed in a test engine. Perhaps one of the additives would have allowed a one of the test fuels to burn more efficiently?
This is exactly what I should have done. and will do as soon as I can get my hands on more sufficiently stale gas in great enough quantity to actually prove something one way or another
Where do you live. I am about to suck 20 gals of old gas out of my boat. Not even going to pretend like I am going to start It on that old junk. :-)
John Linebarger I live near Knoxville Tennessee, on Norris lake. My day job is as a jetski and boat mechanic, I fully agree with your plan to drain it. Modern efi on cars copes quite well with stale gas with o2 sensor feedback it can add more fuel or less, but not very many boats have o2 sensors, plenty are still carbed. Whereabouts are you at? If it's not too far I could come snag some stale gas for more tests. I'd expected to run into some before now
I am afraid that the drive would not reap a benefit worthy your efforts. LoL I live in south central Oklahoma a little east of I-35. I am blessed with some of the best fishing near me that there is! :-)
I was looking for this earlier and CZcams sucks and then unrelated I was looking for reviews on the fuel miser torque converter which is a low rpm stall converter they say can ad 1 or 2 mpg but 0 results that are about a torque converter but this video was down the list
How do you properly dispose of old gas?
The update I did to this video (czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html) Essentially proves it doesn't really go bad, but perhaps loses some volatility, I've had great success mixing it with fresh gas and running it in any sort of power equipment, especially something fuel injected, We've run probably 100 gallons of stale gas in our 01 F150 over the years, mixing in a few gallons with each tank, doesn't seem to have any effect on how it has run, BUT if it has any sort of dirt, water or other stuff then it could be mixed about 50-50 with some waste vegetable oil, or some other waste oil and then start fires with it, as that dirt/water could cause serious issues with your fuel system.
Or if you have a lot of stale (not very fragrant) or sour fuel (smells bad) you can always throw a bit in your tank every refill - like 1/4 of a tank. Fuel is fuel OK.
Yup, you got it. I did a follow-up video that essentially proves just that by doing what I failed to do in this video. I ran an engine on stale fuel with no additives, not diluted at all and it ran fine, started nice and easy too. czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
What about filtering after letting the additive do its thing
Very possibly a good idea. I've located some very nice (very stale) gas I will be doing a redo on this video very soon, and I will definitely try this idea!
I use an octane booster and mix that with 50/50 new gas with a little seafoam motor treatment and it works just like it would in anything.. the booster gets the stuff back to a good burn and seafoam will help clean out and burn whatever deposits the varnishing tries to leave in the carb or injectors.. use a whole can of each.. depending on how much old gas you got.. last time i did it with gas it was 7 year old 50:1 mix that sat in my boat but boat was kept indoors so it wasent weathered from temp changes and condensation from those temp changes and humidity so it was better bad gas if you could put a name to it.. but damn 13 gallon gas tank was full and that gas cost 5$/ga so ill be a monkey fart if im gonna throw out 65$ of gas and the oil i had to put in it... but the stuff worked great back in the boat and in the Mower and truck and to make a fire..
But i dunno about what it did to the color because i couldnt give less of a fuck what damn color it is..
2 stroke oil is a natural ⛽ stabilizer
I wish you had reviewed pri-g which is what I use. It also claims to bring old gas back to usable condition.
I was attempting to revisit this with a pile of additives including Pri-G, here is what I came up with after locating some nice old 3ish year old E10 gas, and then some 5-6 year old 100% gas: czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
@@trythistv do you think it will work with 12 year old 116 octane
Why don't you try K100. I love seafoam but it doesn't do a good enough job at getting the water build up out of ethanol gasoline.
franco annoni C
Do they taste different?
The vintage has a smooth, rich flavor with slight hints of varnish and gum, while the freshly bottled has a sharper body with strong octane and could have hints of ethanol depending on which bottle you buy.
Did they taste any different?
No, none got that same lip burning zip back.
I use acetone 40 to 1 won't dont change fuel color but it will bring back the octane needed to burn properly.
That should do it. We've had some real good discussion on this video and my newer ones on stale gas about how the more volatile substances likely evaporate out of gas, which makes it harder to ignite, and adding a little acetone would bring back that lower ignition point.
i have an automatic 2001 VW jetta 2.0 - it sat since december 2021 until now april 2023
mobile mechanic came by and put in a brand new battery, refurbished starter, cleaned up the rusted ground connection from the starter to the chassis or transmission whatever it is
the car now cranks, but won't start - he then took off one end of the cold air intake and sprayed something into the engine while i started it up but then it died after 2 seconds
the gas is original from probably november 2021 , i have about half a tank
he is telling me that probably the fuel pump needs to be replaced
any ideas if its just bad gas ?
i have 87 octane in there
There is typically a port to test fuel pressure, it may be possible the fuel pump needs to be replaced, but it may also be that a fuse or relay has corroded. I'd do some other diagnostics, check if the pump runs by listening when you cycle the key on, there should be a faint whirr from the rear of the car, it no whirr then I'd check the fuses and make sure power is making it to the pump, that fuel is 1 and a half years old, so it should burn ok, I'd make sure the pump is indeed providing fuel pressure, and then top up the tank with fresh gas, but there is no sense topping up the tank if youre gonna need to drop it becsise the pump isn't working right.
@@trythistv the fuel pump on these cars is accessible and changeable from under the rear seat - there is a video here on youtube, it takes literally 10 minutes
so i got lucky in that department
i will check the fuse panel and relay today or tomorrow - weather permitting
Oh man that is just the ticket. I was envisioning having to drop the fuel tank and that is a big pain. Its so nice when engineers think about the people that have to maintain stuff later!
If you've got easy access to the fuel pump you could check for power at the connector with a multimeter possibly as an alternative option.
Add an extra fuel filter and some octane boost, it will probably clog the first filter in a couple of months ($5 filter vs $40 gas, hmm) or you if your into bio fuels you could put all of your old gas in a barrel and add some KOH to convert the resinous laquer into a soapy crud, then just siphon off the clean fuel and leave the crud behind( this method will take about a week) I've never tried the KOH method, but it should work or it may make something else, who knows?
Interesting idea with koh, I've heard of using it for biodiesel but never gas. I ended up just running this blended with good gas into a fuel injected truck, ran a-ok. Also did a follow-up video not long ago where the stalest gas I've ever found ran perfectly fine in a little push mower. Likely the varnish buildup from sitting is far worse that the actual fuel degradation
what is koh?
@@trythistv what is KOH?
@@janpenland3686 Potassium hydroxide, more commonly called caustic potash, used in soap making, as well as biodiesel production, alkaline batteries and other stuff. I'm unsure how it would react with gasoline, but it is an interesting idea.
I didn't know they was supposed to change the color of the fuel. I have a jar of clear moonshine that burns into a blue flame. A jar of water that looks the same will not burn.
Part 2 of this mess has an interesting twist. Fuel doesn't actually really go bad, it just evaporates and clogs up carburetors. Took fuel that was several years ago and it fired right up and ran flawlessly in a small engine that had been properly stored by draining the gas from the tank and carburetor.
I don't know what you were really expecting it seems like you are just looking at it I mean I just put the trans back in my truck after sitting for like 2 and a half years and it fired up just fine
no burn test? WTF
You could try to re- distill it like diestilling water or shine. Just a thought
I've wondered about something like that, or filtering it really well and adding some of the more volatile components that evaporate off back into the gas
its the ethanol that breaks down, in gas that is high in octane with little additives it will last a very long time, but regular gas is where you want to try your tests
Zak thewarcat Is it okay to use a 3 months old, premium gasoline? It’s 95 octane with 10% ethanol.. because i forgot to put fuel stabilizer. I’m worried 😢😞😪
your safe basically gas has a shelf life of 6 months after that it starts to break down regular gas is bad for this ,but 91 or in your country 95 should have 0 ethanol @@Sebastian.12
Zak thewarcat But I’m from Philippines and 95 octane gasolines have ethanol. Because of our Biofuel act requires all company to use 5% ethanol in 2009 but in 2011 the mandate blend can go up to 10% ethanol. It sucks 😪
use a product called "start" works great with old gas
Try stabil 360 blue.
you didn't try k100 they have a water test video with their product and several other brands k100 claims their product will make water burn and restore old gas
If you go by appearance, this is the guy. Question never asked/answered: Does it burn well in an engine?
czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
should Star Tron be used in a brand new engine
Startron is over 95% naptha, which is a highly flammable solvent. I can't see any reason it would damage anything, but I also doubt it has much of of any real measurable benefit to using
i normally drink stale gasoline. it has a rich taste and smell that i absolutely love
this comment made my night..lmao!!
my mouth is watering as i watch this video. nothing like a big drink of stale gasoline. something ill even add a splash of off road diesel for a little extra flavor profile
David Brockman lier! lol
Especially good if you dunk Fig Newtons in it!
based and redpilled
modern day alchemy! When we do this stuff it is pure guess work, what we end up with is NOT the original gasoline formulation, but if we are lucky it still functions as a reasonable fuel. It will NOT have the same exact properties, in function, that fresh good grade gasoline has. Gasoline is a very complex chemistry, with carbon chains of C4 to C12 in literally hundreds of variations. With age and depending on storage methods the lighter aromatic hydrocarbons can vaporize off and exposure to air allows for chemical reactions/oxidation that modifies the original hydrocarbon mix known as gasoline. Ethanol content adds an element of "spoilage". Past a couple of years age I opt for new gas, although some gas several years old can still burn, but I want to have assurance that the gasoline is not doing damage with low Octane or deposit formations such as is very likely in old gas.
I feel like some kind of wizard messing with stale gas, in the end you are right though, the ways that gasoline ages are very strange, and ethanol content further complicates things.
I have brought back 15 year old gas by adding a gallon of thinner to the 10 gallon gas that was in the tank and adding star Tron enzyme and it worked
The more volatile components evaporate first, thinner is real volatile stuff so it makes sense adding some in could rejuvenate the stale gas in a way. I'm certainly no chemist though, idk whats going on with the stuff past my own hair brained theories.
@@trythistv hello just giving you a shout-out I'm about to try to rejuvenate about 11 gallons of gas in my Ford Escort that's been in there for 4 years four-and-a-half years... now what I've been doing for the last three years is my old acetone trick... what I've been doing with my carburetor Vehicles I've got two motorcycles 1998 Magna and the other is a 06 VTX 1300 Honda... and I've learned through some of the motorcycle forums that these guys have been for the last 10-15 years using acetone in their tanks putting a straight in and getting incredible results higher-mileage 5>15% increase in Horsepower and boost in the acceleration.. and I've been doing it the last 3 years and it has produced those results the issue was finding the sweet spot for the mixture for your particular vehicle.. in my 98 Honda Magna 750 is the mixture is about four-and-a-half 5-oz a two and a half gallon 3 gallon tank counting Reserve... and in my 1300 VTX it's about 3 oz per tank.. once the acetone and the cast mixture hits those carburetors and boom is like I have a rebuilt motor and brand new carburetor job... no Smoky exhaust smells great unbelievable I can't believe everyone's not doing this I've had no problems with rings rubber.. as far as seals.. last week I mixed it in with my weed eater about a capital for the little tiny tank and I couldn't even hold the trigger all the way down because the revs are going so high... so here I go this afternoon I'm going to try to reclaim 11 12 gallons of this gas and see what happens...
You should have also tested with Marvel Mystery Oil and also octane booster.
use camp stove fuel as an additive it will surprise you
You forgot to test the fuel
Lol yeah I didn't do nearly as much as I should have with this, check out the updated failed attempt at a revisit. Turns out 3-4 year old stale fuel runs perfectly fine in a lawnmower engine. It's more of the evaporation leaves behind deposits that plug stuff up rather than the fuel won't burn or anything like that.
you didnt even try to see if it lights or runs?
czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
Of course if I have an almost empty tank then I'll just toss it out
I have 18 gallons of bad gas in the newly purchased used boat it misfired and quit running on the lake I needed to be towed gas maybe six dollars a gallon but I’m dumping it it’s not worth mechanical issues Backfiring maybe slipping timing belt doing so trash your valve’s etc. . have a great day everybody
Its one thing to have a lawn mower break down because of stale gas, getting stranded on a boat is a whole different story. I've paddled back more than once, not a good time. Boats also do not cruise like cars do, because of the drag of the water, a boat is constantly under a heavy load, so it is much more important to use a quality fuel that is high enough octane to resist detonation.
Even at 6.75 a gallon like it is here right now on the lake, I totally agree with you, it isn't worth the risk. Drain that gas out, use it for something else!
It would be better to add it to a large fuel tank at a gas station and dilute it
put it in something it will still run
How disappointing, I was hoping that you would do some actual testing such as how does the lawnmower run using the fuel or a measure of its specific gravity or something other than "it doesn't look any different"...
*cough* czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html *cough* as it turns out, stale gas burns a-ok, but leaves behind deposits that clog carbs, and also gains octane rating, due to the more volatile components evaporating, which can make it more difficult to get an engine started on stale gas, especially if the motor is aged and not as healthy on compression as it once was.
You are incorrect on the dosage for Star Tron. This is right off Star Tron's websight.
INITIAL DOSAGE: Add 1 fl. oz. (30 ml) for every 3 gallons (11 L) of gas.
REFILL: Add 1 fl. oz. (30 ml) for every 6 gallons (22 L) of gas.
there's a couple of different strength versions of star tron. like one is more concentrated.
I just watched a video the guy says gas dont get old started his bike on it after strainging.on CZcams to
Add about 3% by weight of butane to your old gasoline...
105 octane booster additive .
How about mixing it with some really high octane gas like avgas. By 30-50% mixture and itll raise the octane back up. So the 110 by turn into 91 with let's say a 30% mixture. Like that you dont throw away let's say 30gallons @$3 gallon and o lt have to buy let's say 10 gallons of av gas at $7 gallon and now you have 40 gallons that are good
I'm planning on revisiting this video before the end of the year. I've collected about 3 gallons of nasty stale ethanol fuel and about 4 gallons of the same ethanol free marine gas that's about 3 years old. I've got a smattering of additives and a small engine to test them in, I will definitely be trying diluting with some fresh gas in amongst the additives. Thanks for the comments!
@@trythistv try to dilute it with high octane, like racing fuel. If you have 4 gallons. Just buy 1 gallon. And I'll bet that bitch will be so good itll burn like hell. It just has to cause 100-110 cant just disappear it will just dilute to 89-90 or even more. Try it as soon as possible
@@trythistv 1 gallon will cost the same as 1 can of seafoam.
I'll see where I can get some race fuel, I know there is a few places around that sell it
Additives are to be added before the point of extended storage, not after fluids have deteriorated. Returning fuel to the original molecular composition after it's oxidized, picked up water, etc. isn't going to happen without a lab and a chemical degree.
What might have you expected to see? Gold turned to red?
star tron says it is for old gas. it uses enzymes.
@@theCosmicQueen This might help shed some practical light on the stuff. czcams.com/video/chsGBhB5g7o/video.html
I don't care what it looks like.... How does it run in a test engine?
See this video: czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html the stale gas loses some volatility, that is about it. That can easily be remedied by adding some fresh gas or some kind of additive that is usually 90% naphtha or another highly volatile paint thinner type chemical. A healthy engine will run fine on stale gas, unless it has left behind any kind of gum or varnish in the fuel system from the gas evaporating in the carburetor which would be a completely separate problem to the gas "going stale"
you didn't check combustion ability. and you had to do both additives on the same gas.
Just add it gallonat time to near full tank of car or truck. won't hurt.
Try phaszer 3000
Should try k100, I hear it's good shit
👃smell it!, 👉touch it!, 👅taste the rainbow!🌈
"Nuzzle it". C. FARLEY
Try pri-g fuel treatment
Sitting on the darkened wood doesn’t help much, try a white background.
Agreed. I can't believe I uploaded this video now. I didn't really make anything clear. I tried to revisit the whole stale gas thing but had interesting mixed results that showed me some interesting things about how gas "goes bad"
just add nitroglycerin to it ;)
Wile E. Coyote approves this comment!
Google.com Sarge LS1 and read his testing on using Marine outboard TCW3 oil in your gas every time you get gasoline. The formula is 1 oz oil per 5 gallons of gas. You won't know your car is running at idle. Give it a try.
try to add more
This is a incomplete test bro You should have stuck one or two or all three of them into a motor of some sort and see if you could get it running because just because it didn't change colors doesn't mean the octane rating hasn't gone up or if it was separated has now been combined again there's a lot of things that could have done without changing the color of the gas
czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
Oops, that posted before I typed anything. I thought the same exact thing, so I found a lawnmower engine to use, and tried running ancient gas in it and it ran fine.
Exactly How Old is That Gas? Because I have About a quarter of a quarter of a tank of GAS I'm My Blazer that's been Sitting for a little more than a year Now, like maybe a gallon and I have Treat the Gas or Drop the the TANK but my other car is going to be in the Shop for awhile so I have to do Something, I was thinking about using Seafoam, heet, and Rubbing Alcohol, and then feeling my Tank with 13 & a half gallons of 93 HIGH Tes, Because I really Don't have the time to Drop the TANK plus its 1000° outside and humid as as bath house and it's not worth paying someone else who is probably just put seafoam in it and SAY That they Dropped and Drained my Tank Anyway, I had a mechanic tell me that it would cost him more to have the little bit of gas that's in my blazer right now disposed of then he would charge me for his Time, and that he wouldn't do it because it wasn't worth it and to just put some kind of treatment in it and mentioned seafoam but I really have to do Something as of YESTERDAY. I just need something to cause a reaction and get the gas two mix and downgrade the 93 to what I'm hoping we be like 87, my is my S10 Chevy Xtreme is my toy, it doesn't even have 90.000 Mile's on it, I'd hate to ruin my engine over a less than a quarter of a tank of GAS but I have to do something NOW...
mile long Comment the gas I had in the video was over 3 years old. In my mind a year isn't a terrible amount of time, ethanol gas does tend to start going downhill very quickly, but since your tank isn't full I would do as you said, mix in high test, a can of seafoam, then run it out, and use high test for a tank or two. All this stale gas I had I mixed a couple gallons per tankful in my only gas powered truck, a 01 f150, in small doses it shouldn't hurt a thing. I'm very cautious about heet and alcohol based drygas type things. I got a bad batch of gas once in a motorcycle, the day I was taking my road test for motorcycle license. Bike stalled out on me going down the highway and was a fit to restart, so I limped it to Walmart and got some drygas and poured a couple cans in. Well drygas and heet are basically pure ethanol and that's why they will absorb water, but without starting a chemistry lesson in the comments, it turns out the gas station had mixed their ethanol a little too rich, instead of 10% it was closer to 50% and that bike wouldn't burn it. And I made that worse with the additive. I dropped the bike when it stalled in a corner, and ended up failing my test. Had to drain the tank and flush it before the bike would run good again.
Put in bout half gallon of Diesel, careful as there will be more power, but that's only for really bad long sat old vehicles, used in 2004 3.5 v6 after sat for 2-³ years and whoaaaaaaa, added some Octane booster to some 87 gas to bout half tank, went down to 1/⁴ tank then filled er up'! Filter clean, tank clean, ate the old gas and removed all gunk n water, smooth as silk on reg 87 now, of course felt different driving and computer was a bit confused but hey, 2-³ tanks about 400mi. later and computer regulated back to normal and saved $800.00 yeah buddy. That's just my experience though... Vehicles may not like different mixes, but usually not a prob if rest of vehicle in good shape and not done unless gotta save that money. Only did fall not too hot not to warm out. No garage.
Just use gas in the general or lawnmower fuel its cost to much money not cheap
Brian Mcgregor was
So you never tried to use it? This guy says there is no such thing as old gas. He does way more than you did because he actually ran his bike on 14 year old gas. No enzymes, no seafoam, just filtered it, decanted the gas off of the water that all the ethanol had drawn out of the air and into the gas. Thats it. separate the water and filter any particles, then the gas should work just fine.
czcams.com/video/2IrIEwiiJsM/video.html
I sure did: czcams.com/video/2c5XRFuFaLY/video.html
The big issue is the buildup left behind when gas evaporates tends to clog up carburetors, but the "stale" fuel actually seems to burn fairly decent.
Junkyard Digs claims that stale fuel will cause valves to stick because its gunky and doesn't burn properly, I'm unsure if I believe that or not, but from some of their videos it seems true. Any time I get a large volume of stale fuel, I blend it at least 50:50 with fresh fuel and it runs fine with no ill effects as of yet.
Star Tron is just Odorless Kerosene & Seafoam is Naphtha Both are a TOTAL Rip OFF ! You can buy a Gallon of Kerosene or Naphtha for about $10 !!