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Old 06-16-2021, 01:35 PM   #1
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What to do with bad gas

No, I don’t need a Tums. What I do need is some good advice. I have old fuel in my gas tank. It’s capacity is 129 gallons and it’s maybe 1/2 to 3/4 full. Not sure. Fuel sender isn’t working. This tank is wedged in the back of my engine compartment behind 2 GM 454 engines. It ain’t comin’ out as long as I own it. I am rigging up a system to pump the fuel out of the inspection port through two in line filters and a water separator then back in through the filler pipe. Probably will recirculate 3-4 times. Will this allow me to make the gas useable?
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Old 06-16-2021, 01:44 PM   #2
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It depends how old the gas is and filtering wont bring the octane back. The other issue is phase separation which is when the alcohol and gasoline separate and clog things up. We take old gas and mix it with the new gas in our vehicles. They have a computer that will compensate as needed. We own a outdoor power equipment dealership and see it all the time.
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Old 06-16-2021, 01:46 PM   #3
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Pull a sample out of the tank and see what the stuff looks and smells like. If it's only a couple / few years old (especially if stabilized) and it still looks and smells like gas, I'd add some fresh high octane to wake it up a bit, filter it and run it. If it looks and smells more like varnish, it's too far gone and will need to be pumped out and disposed of.
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Old 06-16-2021, 01:48 PM   #4
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It depends how old the gas is and filtering wont bring the octane back. The other issue is phase separation which is when the alcohol and gasoline separate and clog things up. We take old gas and mix it with the new gas in our vehicles. They have a computer that will compensate as needed. We own a outdoor power equipment dealership and see it all the time.
The gas is at least 3 years old maybe more. So my best option is to mix in new gas with the old?
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Old 06-16-2021, 01:49 PM   #5
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The gas is at least 3 years old maybe more. So my best option is to mix in new gas with the old?
Find out what the old gas looks and smells like first. That'll give you an idea of how bad it really is and whether you might be able to save it or not.
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Old 06-16-2021, 01:53 PM   #6
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Pull a sample out of the tank and see what the stuff looks and smells like. If it's only a couple / few years old (especially if stabilized) and it still looks and smells like gas, I'd add some fresh high octane to wake it up a bit, filter it and run it. If it looks and smells more like varnish, it's too far gone and will need to be pumped out and disposed of.
I’ve considered having it pumped out but I can’t seem to find a place that will do that. It’s in the water at the marina. Seems like a tricky operation. What do I look for when I search for companies that do that?
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Old 06-16-2021, 03:39 PM   #7
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It depends on what type of gas you have. If it has ethanol in it it is probably beyond saving. If it is ethanol free, called rec gas here, it should be fine. We have used 4 year old rec gas without any issues. We just put some stabilizer in each year and it ran fine. But the ethanol gas will phase separate and then it isn’t to be trusted. It can ruin an engine according to some of the mechanics.
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Old 06-16-2021, 06:13 PM   #8
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You could pump it out yourself with one of those pumps that attaches to an electric drill and a hose down your fill pipe but it might take a while, and I'm not sure what you do with it once its out.
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Old 06-16-2021, 07:24 PM   #9
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The thought of using an ELECTRIC drill pump to pump gas terrifies me! If you use a drill pump, better to use an air driven drill with a compressor 30 feet away! Just my take. Once you get the fuel out, I would put in my car 5 gallons/fill up, pouring from the top of the tank if using 5 gallon cans, and if using a 55 gallon drum, leave the last 6 inches or so in drum, pour into a home depot or lowes bucket, if anything is separated, don't use the bottom stuff. Otherwise, in it goes! 5 gallons of old fuel in a 20 gallon or so gas tank is not going to harm anything IMHO.
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Old 06-16-2021, 07:40 PM   #10
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We had a center console that had ethanol gas in it and we were moving and then the winter came so I couldn’t run it out. I had the local repair shop pump it out. Charged me about $4 per gallon to pump it out and dispose of it. Don’t know what they did with it but from then on I never put ethanol gas in the boat, just rec gas.
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Old 06-16-2021, 07:42 PM   #11
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I’ve considered having it pumped out but I can’t seem to find a place that will do that. It’s in the water at the marina. Seems like a tricky operation. What do I look for when I search for companies that do that?
You might look at a gas pump for a truck so that it is rated for gas. Pump it into 5 gallon cans. Then just have to figure out how to dispose of it. Be very careful about fumes.
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Old 06-16-2021, 09:06 PM   #12
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A good fuel conditioner will add combustion efficiency and help a filter system like Racor remove the water. If the gas is a single consistency, it can probably be burned with a good conditioner and octane booster. The carburetors may need cleaning first.

It's a lot easier to go on a cruise than pump out 70 gallons of gas without blowing up.
I've burned a lot of old gas and always made it work in the engine without damage. One option of disposal is to add it to a vehicle that is mostly full.
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Old 06-16-2021, 09:30 PM   #13
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Chevy 454’s burn just about anything. Certainly I would look at a sample to be sure it’s not turned into something strange. If it looks and spells like gas, use it.
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Old 06-16-2021, 10:32 PM   #14
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Use a few cans, at $10 each, will make crappy gas useable. Each can is good for a gas tankful on a car, figure 20gal/can.
Then never buy gas that has ethanol in it again.
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Old 06-17-2021, 01:25 AM   #15
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...The thought of using an ELECTRIC drill pump to pump gas terrifies me! ...
If you are using a hose there will be no ignition problems. As long as the drill is not right over the boat's fill tube or too close to the receiving vessel there wouldn't be any risk.

Just ask Mel !!
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Old 06-17-2021, 01:30 AM   #16
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I used to pour old outboard gasoline into my car's fuel tank until last year. The fuel was bad - really bad - and caused a significant repair bill on the vehicle engine. Never again.
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Old 06-17-2021, 05:40 AM   #17
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Many repair shops in the NE burn waste oil to heat their shops. The mechanic/ owner that does my auto / RV work pumped out a trailerable boat and said he planned to mix it in with his waste oil as long as the volume was small. He is rather conservative and not a shade tree mechanic and the shop is still there so it worked OK.
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Old 06-17-2021, 05:59 AM   #18
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If you can obtain a 5 gal glass jug , put 5G in and let it sit for a couple of days..

The water & crud will drop to the bottom, pull off the clear gas & dump the rest.
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Old 06-17-2021, 06:57 AM   #19
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I have a 1978 Chev truck. It will burn just about anything in moderation.

I think dilution is your solution.

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Old 06-17-2021, 07:04 AM   #20
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While my experience is diesel vs gas, I had about 100 gal of 12+ year old diesel that was dark and smelled like linseed oil. In San Francisco Bay at the time, I was unable to find someone to remove and dispose without a hi-level HazMat protocol. Quote started at $4k. I triple dosed with Standyne and diluted the fuel. My 35 year old Perkins NA 75 HP 4.236 didn't skip a beat. I doubt a newer common rail engine would be as accepting.

Tough call. Sort of depends on how bad the gas is. My home is Florida but I also spend time in mountains of Colorado. The hot/moist climate of Florida really accelerates degradation and decomposition. Absent a reasonable alternative, if your 454s are older with carburetors, I'd be tempted to try running the fuel through them with high quality gas additive plus dilute with hi-octane gasoline (if available) to offset. I wouldn't run WOT though, more of a fast cruise.

Good luck.

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