old gas

[TDKPE]

What kind of pull start car do you have???? ;-)

A 1959 Trabant, with the Briggs & Stratton upgrade engine.

[Gary G™]

I dump mine on the burn pile; then, I pour a trail to the burn pile with diesel and light the diesel.

[fredhargis]

I've done the burn-it-in-the vehicle thing with old straight gas, but the 2 cycle stuff is a real problem. I have about 1/2 gallon I need to get rid of right now....and I would like to do in an environmentally friendly way, or at least the least environmentally harmful way. I'm wondering about just letting it evaporate (please, I know that's a bad way to do it).

[Phil Thien]

Lots of automotive engineers out there indicating that the small amount of oil is no problem for cats provided it is diluted to a full tank of gas. They compare to normal engine oil consumption.

[R Clark]

Lots of automotive engineers out there indicating that the small amount of oil is no problem for cats provided it is diluted to a full tank of gas. They compare to normal engine oil consumption.

You fuel cats with gasoline?  Wow, seems kind of harsh. 
  

I usually have 1-2 quarts of 2-cycle fuel left at the end of the summer season.  I run it through my zero-turn mower mixed with a full tank of clean fuel.  No issues.

I'm consistent about the fuel I have on hand for my small engines (ATV, ZT mower, snow blower, large and small tillers, trimmer).  I only run non-ethanol gas in my small engines (two or four cycle) and I always use Stabil when filling those cans.  I haven't had a fuel-related problem in small engines for well over five years now.

[fredhargis]

You fuel cats with gasoline?  Wow, seems kind of harsh. 
  

Not to me....

I usually have 1-2 quarts of 2-cycle fuel left at the end of the summer season.  I run it through my zero-turn mower mixed with a full tank of clean fuel.  No issues.

I'm consistent about the fuel I have on hand for my small engines (ATV, ZT mower, snow blower, large and small tillers, trimmer).  I only run non-ethanol gas in my small engines (two or four cycle) and I always use Stabil when filling those cans.  I haven't had a fuel-related problem in small engines for well over five years now.

Yeah, one thing I do is make sure I get the good gas (non-alcohol) for the small engines. It really helped, especially with the 2-cycle ones. But it wasn't easy to find the good stuff. A new store chain built a place near us recently (mid west gas/general store type thing called Caseys) and they have non-alcohol nozzles at each pump. It's expensive (about 65-70¢/gal higher than regular) but well worth it.

[R Clark]

Yup...Casey's is where I filled up the cans yesterday afternoon.  The cost increase for non-ethanol fuel here is about 30 cents/gallon.  It's not always easy to find non-ethanol fuel here in the Corn Belt.

[EricU]

no ethanol free gas anywhere near here.  There's a place that's at least a 60 mile RT where I can get it.  It's tempting right now, because I have a couple of gallons of bad gas sitting around and I've had to clean the carbs on my lawnmowers 3x so far this spring.  Yes, I'm too lazy to go get more gas.  Asked my neighbor, his dad brings him ethanol free up from Harrisburg, 90 miles away.

It does seem to take most of a year before the gas is so stale it causes problems.

Huh, found a station that has it only 15 miles from here. Not sure it's worth it, but nice to know.

[R Clark]

no ethanol free gas anywhere near here.  There's a place that's at least a 60 mile RT where I can get it.  It's tempting right now, because I have a couple of gallons of bad gas sitting around and I've had to clean the carbs on my lawnmowers 3x so far this spring.  Yes, I'm too lazy to go get more gas.  Asked my neighbor, his dad brings him ethanol free up from Harrisburg, 90 miles away.

It does seem to take most of a year before the gas is so stale it causes problems.

Huh, found a station that has it only 15 miles from here.  Not sure it's worth it, but nice to know.

Well, if I had cleaned the carbs 3 times already this season, the decision would have already been made.

I keep enough gas in cans that I only have to refill them every 6 weeks during the cutting season, even cutting 3 acres.  Use Stabil in the gas and you'll be good to go.

The stabilized fuel I just finished using was bought last October.  I used Stabil at a little stronger mix than the label says, and I mixed up some of it into two cycle fuel.  I do that every year with non-ethanol fuel and I don't have any problems.

[Phil Thien]

Well, if I had cleaned the carbs 3 times already this season, the decision would have already been made.

I keep enough gas in cans that I only have to refill them every 6 weeks during the cutting season, even cutting 3 acres.  Use Stabil in the gas and you'll be good to go.

The stabilized fuel I just finished using was bought last October.  I used Stabil at a little stronger mix than the label says, and I mixed up some of it into two cycle fuel.  I do that every year with non-ethanol fuel and I don't have any problems.

The 2-cycle oils I've purchased include stabilizers.

A 2-gallon 2-cycle mix lasts me about six months, and seems to work about as well at the end of the six months as the beginning.

In fact, I just used my mower for the first time this season, and it still had (two-cycle, stabilized) gas in it from last season, and started on the third (I think) pull.

It is a 6.5-HP Lawnboy w/ "Duraforce" engine. I've used other people's 6.5-HP mowers w/ 4-stroke engines and they do not compare to the power of that Lawnboy. I can cut tall/thick/wet grass with hardly a problem.