The storage life of petrol is one year when stored under shelter in a sealed container. Once a seal is broken the fuel has a storage life of six months at 20°C or three months at 30°C. The storage life of petrol in equipment fuel tanks is one month.
Once you've put fuel in a container you only have a few months before the quality starts to fall away – even less if the fuel is contaminated in any way. Generally speaking, petrol has a shelf-life of six months if stored in a sealed container at 20 degrees – or just three months if kept at 30 degrees.
How long can fuel sit in a tank before it goes bad?
The length of time fuel will remain useable in your gas tank is dependent on the fuel type. Regular gasoline has a shelf life of three to six months, while diesel can last up to a year before it begins to degrade.
If you filled up your car or van with petrol or diesel and haven't driven it for six months or more, then starting it up might cause damage to the engine. Fuel starts to degrade if it's stored for more than half a year, meaning it won't ignite effectively when you turn the key.
Petrol typically performs at its best for up to a month in the tank. Though, you can extend its life a little by restoring evaporated components—just add 1/3 of fresh fuel.
How To Store Gasoline Long-Term / Emergency Fuel Storage
Can I mix old petrol with new?
In almost every case, old gas is not an issue. Gas that sits does slowly go bad. However, gas that sits, even for a few months can be redeemed by topping off the tank with fresh gas. When the fresh gas mixes with the older gas, the motor will operate properly.
Depends on the temperature. In warm conditions, particularly if it's windy, the gas will evaporate in less than an hour. If it is cold and still, it could take days to evaporate.
If you suspect you are using petrol that is older than six months, consider draining it and properly disposing of it. Severe damage can be done, like old petrol gunking up your fuel supply system.
Put some Sta-bil into the old gas. Pour the gas into a different container through a coffee filter or cheesecloth. Then you can add about a gallon or two into a near full tank in your car.
Old gas does not become contaminated necessarily, but rather loses its combustible properties and volatile compounds. When you use gasoline that's too old, it can damage internal engine components. It may also start to form a gum residue that could cause blockages.
Fuel stabilizers can't restore old gas to its original quality. Old gas has degraded and lost some of the chemicals that gave it the ability to combust. Unfortunately, these chemicals can't be added back with a fuel stabilizer. Pouring a stabilizer into old gas can limit further decomposition, though.
Old gas can burn improperly, which can trigger your check engine light. In addition to the check engine light, you may also experience your vehicle malfunctioning in other ways, such as failing to start, idling differently than it usually does, and losing power while driving.
The easiest way is to take a thorough look at it. Oxidised fuel will become darker over time and will have a sour smell. You can even go as far as to compare it with fresh fuel by pouring it side-by-side into a glass. If the older fuel looks much darker, it's a good sign that it's contaminated.
Legally, you can store up to 30 litres of petrol at home or a non-workplace premises without informing your local Petroleum Enforcement Authority (PEA).
Water and petrol do not mix with each other. When petrol is added into water, it forms a separate layer. So, in the mixture of petrol and water, two different layers get formed i.e., one of petrol and other of water.
But the answer – on open roads at least – is yes... to a point. Driving on a highway? Going slower theoretically saves fuel, because at high speed your engine needs to work harder to overcome drag from wind resistance, your tyres and transmission – and that drag increases exponentially the faster you go.
A full tank can give you a bit better fuel pressure. If your pump, filter, and pressure regulator are good it will have no positive effect. A full tank will increase the weight, change the weight distribution, and prevent weight shift during cornering and acceleration, all of which can affect acceleration and handling.
“While both gasoline and diesel fuel degrade with time, propane never goes bad,” he said. “It won't degrade through any natural process like it can with other fuels. That's why propane is a great choice for applications like emergency generators that may only see use every handful of years.”
To help customers avoid fuel system issues from contaminated or stale gasoline, including premature fuel pump failure and other engine problems, there are a couple key things you can advise them on. First, help them be mindful of the octane rating and ethanol content in their fuel, and what their engine needs.
Premium gas does not last longer than regular gasoline in a fuel tank. A car owner might only consider the longevity of a car's gas if the vehicle has been sitting unused for an extended period.
Provided that it's well-looked after, the average lifespan of a petrol car is around 11-14 years or 200,000 miles. The average diesel car lives even longer, at around 30 years or 1,000,000 miles. Electric cars, meanwhile, live for an average of 10 years or 100,000 miles before hitting the bucket.
In two-hour tests at temperatures near 70°F, during which 4.5 to 5.3 wt% of initial fuel samples were evaporated, E10 fuels lost an average of about 5% less gasoline than their base fuels. A similar result was obtained for a one-hour test, during which about 2.4 to 2.5 wt% of the initial fuel samples were evaporated.
The petrol is evaporating, and it isn't really in a closed system. A long time ago, fuel tanks used to be vented, and it would partially evaporate. But in the 1970s, manufacturers started installing evaporative emissions recovery or evap systems for short.
