Today I put 6 year old gasoline into my Nissan

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palmerwmd
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Today I put 6 year old gasoline into my Nissan

Postby palmerwmd » Fri Jan 13, 2023 10:23 pm

What, is he crazy?

Bear with me:

I had it stored in a hermetically sealed high end jerry Can ( the real NATO spec Wavian )
So no light fractions could escape.
https://www.roverparts.com/off-road-acc ... ans/GJC20/

I filled it with ethanol free high octane fuel and topped it off with a double dose of stabilizer, then closed it and did not open it again.
This was anywhere from 5 to 7 years ago.
Call it 6 years.
So today I put that fuel from that jerry Can into my Nissan, (to be able to refill it with fresher fuel and also) I was curious how it had held up as I have 6 more cans just like this one ( albeit with much fresher fuel).
I drove it hard up the interstate ramp and kept it at 75-80mph for about 12 miles until the next exit.
On the return leg absolutely floored it on the on ramp.

The outcome:

- No sour smell when pouring, smelled like normal gasoline
- No check engine lights of any kind, no hestitation.
- Car drove/revved/accelerated normally.

The test limitation:

- This was not on an empty fuel tank. I estimate the 5 gallons mixed with another 5 gallons still in the car, so it was diluted making the test less valid.
On the other hand when using old fuel from a can in an emergency, more often than not, it will also mix with at least some prexisting fuel in the tank..
- This engine, the VQ40DE is rated for 87 Octane, the non-ethanol fuel I had stored was at least midrange. Stored fuel often loses Octane over time and one of the most common problems with old fuels is pinging and/or knock sensor SES lights.
So since the fuel was above the spec to begin with prior to storage ,it is not a full test on how small the decay the Octane has seen.


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VStar650CL
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Re: Today I put 6 year old gasoline into my Nissan

Postby VStar650CL » Fri Jan 13, 2023 10:31 pm

Only you would have NATO spec jerry cans laying around. I love it. :lol:

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palmerwmd
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Re: Today I put 6 year old gasoline into my Nissan

Postby palmerwmd » Fri Jan 13, 2023 10:45 pm

VStar650CL wrote:
Fri Jan 13, 2023 10:31 pm
Only you would have NATO spec jerry cans laying around. I love it. :lol:
Well, this long term storage only works in truly hermetically sealed cans.
Military spec cans have that seal so you cna throw them in the back of avehicle and not worry how they land and not spill fuel.

When I ordered these first many years ago I tested them by filling them full and then ju,ping on them (even then, I weighed well over 200 lbs)
No seam split so they are GTG.

(I know you know this, but for the readerrship as a whole: )
The red plastic cans u buy at Walmart or auto parts stores are vented so the light fraction will escape overt time on storage.
So you cannot store gasoline in them for very long and expect it to stay automotive quality.


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