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Fuel rejuvenator?

4.9K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Bonecrusher 0.338  
#1 Ā·
Folks, my fuel has been sitting for too long. Does anybody know what the best additive is to bring it back to proper performance?
 
#3 Ā· (Edited)
It can vary based on conditions of storage but all gasoline starts to break down the minute is leaves the refinery. If a fuel additive like Stabil was put in the gas can be OK for up to a year. If not I would give it 6 months.
If it has been setting for more than a year (without additive) I would get rid of it. You might try adding it a little at a time (a gallon in a nearly full tank) to your car/truck so it mixes with good fuel or take it to a proper disposal site and start with fresh gas.
I put a fuel stabilizer in any gas I expect to store more than 30 days. That includes my truck gas tank in the winter when I don't drive it enough to go through a tank of gas every 30 days or so.
As Fishing Dude stated you can not fix old bad gasoline with additives.
 
#4 Ā·
My two stroke doesn't last near six months before going south enough to not run in my older Merc. I have the luxury of driving a very low compression straight six 3/4 ton truck that will burn anything but water. When I get old fuel, it goes right into one of the tanks and gets me to work and the lake. The closest thing I've see to a fuel rejuvy is Seafoam, but just like Stabil, it won't resurrect the dead.
 
#5 Ā·
Running old gas is a dicey proposition. I believe most folks think it might make the motor run bad, maybe run rough, maybe die, but have not experienced the more expensive effects of running old gas. Of course it can gum up your carburetor or plug your injectors, but the big expense is when it reaches an age that it causes your intake valves to stick. This can, and does, cause pushrods to bend, valves to bend, and can seize the valves in the guides so hard that they have to be drilled out. I have personally seen this on multiple engines - gotten to the point that when I see stuck valves, I immediately ask about the gas. It is worth the effort to drain the old gas: replace with good gas and you'll avoid a whole host of potentially very expensive headaches.
 
#6 Ā·
It would probably be best to pump or siphon it into buckets and get rid of it,
And replace it with non-ethanol fuel. Also I have had good luck by adding seafoam as a stabilizer in my fuel and keeping moisture out. Depending how old the fuel is it might be best to replace the fuel filter before you go out next time
 
#8 Ā·
The fuel didn't look bad when I changed out the fuel filter, what alarmed me was when I topped off the tank, it was sitting in the sun and where the vent is on the back of the transom, it spewed some fuel on the back of the boat and it had a yellowish tint to it. The fuel is probably a year old and had a little fuel stabilizer in it, the motor runs o.k. I can't believe there is nothing you can add to fuel to make it better, and perform better.
 
#9 Ā·
There really isn't. You could mix some fresh fuel in, but one year old gas will probably perform just fine.

I brought our old ski boat out of a 4 year hibernation last year, it ran like it did the day we bought it. Gasoline lasts a lot longer than some people think.