Stabilized Gasoline

Just about everyone knows you have to use a stabilizer in gasoline before storing it. You might have heard claims that gasoline can last up to three years that way. It can . . . sorta.

Gasoline starts to degrade pretty much right off. Stabilizer slows it down but doesn’t stop it. Gasoline with ethnol breaks down faster than non-ethanol. The more volatile compounds disappear first. 

So what’s that like in the real world? Recently I decided to use a small amount of stabilized gasoline that’s been sitting for a year. My scooter had about a quarter tank of fuel. The addition of the old gas brought it to about half a tank. That’s about a 50/50 mix of old and new. The scooter is a 2014 Honda PCX 150 with electronic fuel injection. There was a noticeable drop in performance. The engine seems to hesitate somewhat and a couple miles per hour dropped off the top end. The next time I go riding I’m going to top off the tank with fresh gas and that should take care of the issues. 

The lack of those volatiles in old gas are really noticeable in small engines. Small engines like those in chainsaws are really hard starting. Frankly, those small engines can be hard enough to start under ideal conditions with fresh gas. 

There’s another issue most people don’t even think about. Stabilizer itself has a shelf life. An unopened container is good for about 5 years. 

The problems with keeping gasoline usable for long periods of time is one of the reasons I don’t store a lot of it. Rotation is the key. Normally gasoline doesn’t sit very long before it’s used. It was unusual for me to have even a little bit of one year old gasoline. 

Another thing to consider is that storing gasoline is dangerous. That’s a whole other blog post though. In short, I don’t store anything in the house, basement or outbuildings. It’s basically in a small storage container separate from the house that can be locked.

-Sixbears