Does petrol go off?

[aaronseasear]

I have about 20ltrs of unleaded stored in plastic containers... is it safe to use in a speedboat engine or will it have gone off and cause me problems?

[woofgang]

its does change (DH ex oil man) how long has it been stored for? You can use it by adding a bit to a half full tank then topping it up with fresh which is what we did with the stuff we had stored when the fuel strike was on. Do make sure you add it to your tank through a filter to separate out and loose bits of crud.

[aaronseasear]

Many thanks for the reply...its been stored about 3 years in plastic containers, it will have to be mixed with oil for use in an outboard motor.. so I guess add oil and a 50% ratio of fresh fuel?

[woofgang]

we did 30% old fuel to 60% new..it was a bit of a guesstimate but better more new stuff than not enough. It was a car so no oil to add...if it was me I'd do the 30/60 calculation then add the oil....

[thetruthhurts]

It does go off. I had some that was 3 years old, drank it and was violently sick.

[chas2008]

its one of the many reasons people cant start there lawnmowers at the beginning of the season, stale fuel..

[razza]

Yes it does go off,especially if you put a naked flame near it.

[gingejbee]

You really shouldn't have any petrol stored anywhere in plastic containers. And yes, it will have lost most of it's volatile components.

[Dodger666]

gingejbee

Why do they sell tens of thousands of little green plastic petrol containers then? I store my mower petrol in one.

[jomifl]

If petrol lost most of its volatile components there wouldn't be much of it left.and it wouldn't burn.

[gingejbee]

Fair point regarding plastic containers - although 2 x 5 litres is the maximum you should store this way.
Of course I should have said "it's most volatile components" and not "most of it's volatile components".