i have stored cars for years. if you use "top tier" 93 octane and fill the tank up you should not have an issue for 6 months. 87 is another story. i only speak from MY experience.

 

Unfortunately, gasoline does degrade after a while. Freshing it up now is a good choice.

 

I store mine in a semi-heated garage (typically above 50 degrees) six months every year with no ill effects.

 

Hmm. I wonder what difference the octane would make?

 

FACT:- Aged gas deposit varnish over time. Performance degradation also developed slowly overtime.

You will see changes, when you put gas in something you can see through in a short few days!
You will see varnish built up on carburetor internal , fuel injection system internal and back of intake valve stem overtime, using 92 Octane. That is, if YOU, taking them apart.

Starting car and the car runs doesn't mean the gas is OK. Damages is already done!
Its akin to eating all the wrong stuff. I am still breathing, I must be OK!

Believe what you want!

 

1. Gas with alcohol does not store as long as gas without. Try to use alcohol fee gas whenever possible and only use it in any 2 cycle engine. Going to 15% ethanol will only make things worse.

2. The larger the container of gas the longer it will last. Carb float bowls need to be drained before storage if at all possible.

3. Storage temp is a big factor, the colder the better.

4. Fuel stabilizers help but nothing is better than removing the fuel before storage if possible.

5. Modern gas should be used within 3 months to avoid deposits on fuel system parts.

6. If I had all the $ spent on repairs due to damage caused by old gas I would make Bill Gates look like a pauper.

 

Thanks again to all who responded. Weather here in NJ looks good dry and cold. I just gonna drive it out. Do you think it's better to drive down to a half and refill, or should I drive it all out and refil. There won't be any WOT just a nice easy ride.

Just one more question, is this going to be one of these things that if any damage is done I'll know it. Any warning signs?

 

Don't bother with additives now. The only thing you might try is to pour in a bottle of injector cleaner just to discourage any gumming effect of storage. Also, if stored at relatively cooler temperatures the degrading of the fuel will have slowed.

Fire it up ad go . . .

 

Premium fuel (91 octane and above) has a better additive package than regular fuel. Premuim fuel will store in your tank for 1 year.

This is why the new Chevrolet Volt requires Premuim gasoline even though it has a small 4 cylinger engine. Some Volt drivers will be on electric 100%, so the engine will never start. However, after 1 year in service, the gasoline engine will start to use the 1 year old fuel, forcing the customer to re-fuel. Engineering did not think regular gasoline would hold up for 1 year, thus the requirement for premuim fuel. So you should be OK for one year.

I would not use any fuel additives.

 

What? Where did you get this idea, reading comic books. If anything ethanol will probably keep the gas better(free of mositure). Seafoam is a gimic.

Gas will be fine for at least a year even without stabil.

 

That's not true at all. It will be fine. Like someone said here already, just top it off with fresh gas when you can and drive it. It will be fine. My car sits for 3 months every winter with a full tank of 93 octane (10% ethanol) gas every winter with no sta bil or other additives and is just fine in the spring.

 

No, every been to the oil guy site? Read up retard, and stop posting stuff you are clueless about.

"Ethanol replacing MTBE also has dramatically changed the shelf life of fuel - Fuel that did not contain ethanol had a shelf life of several years; Unlike ethanol-blend fuels which remain stable for a maximum of only 90-100 days.
Test results on ethanol blend fuel shelf life were performed under ideal conditions (70 % humidity, properly sealed fuel system, lack of presence of rain/snow, etc.) - Therefore it is safe to assume that the shelf life and stability of fuels containing ethanol is much shorter than 90-100 days. "

 

Thanks again for all the responses. Sounds like you guys know your sh*t. I was just wondering if it's possible to siphon gas out. I know the tank is two separate bladders. I have 1/2" plastic tubing. Can you get it(tubing) down the slot and into the tank without damaging anything and be able to siphon gas out and if so how much. The car has a full tank.
If I could get half of it out, I would just drive to the nearest gas station and fill it up.

All of this over a broken ankle. Screws, hardware and more surgury in a year. Right now I have a window of opportunity to drive again. My plan right now is to drive as much as I can out of it tomorrow and the next day (or siphon) it out. I really appreciate the help. I did a google search and no doubt the gas does go bad. After this I'm going to add Stabil after every fill up. You never know when something like this could happen. My wife used the car last month but only put 10 miles on it. To her the car seems fine. I wasn't going to make it the grocery getter but now I should have. The last fill up was June 2010

 

Sounds like you have an open mind. A lot of good information here and there is always rooms to learn more by Google.

If you are desperate to get the gas out. You might want to energize the fuel pump in tank and connect a tubing to pressure testing port on top and let the pump do the work.

Lots of post here on CF reminds me of a quote by Glass Slipper:-

"Lack of knowledge does not prevent some people from talking/posting...it's like a disease and it manifests itself by BS spewing from the mouth/keyboard"

by Glass Slipper

I hope that helps you and put your mind at ease!

 

Mine is in storage for 4 months, no issues. I just fill the tank and put it in storage. If it were going to be in storage for 6 months or more, I would add stabil.

 

Mine as well.

 

Note also that you may now be running summer gas in the cold weather. I believe summer gas is less volitile. That in itself could cause your car to run rough at start-up. Don't confuse this with bad gas.

 

Finally got it up and running. It was on the Battery Tender for the last six months. On start up, no smoke, hestitation, or rough idle.
First stop was the gas station. Needed air. All 4 tires down to 24lbs. Temps here today in the 20's.
Took it easy at first, then got it on the highway. Ran like a top (50 miles). Over the next few days I'm going to run it down and fill with fresh gas and Stabil. (just in case we have a bad winter) In the spring, Chevron. Looks like I dodged the bullet.

I just wanted to thank all who responded. I learned alot in these past few days. Happy Holidays to all.

To VictorF Thank you for the kind words. I had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii in the 70's. I told my wife that Hawaii is on our Bucket List.
Aloha Brother and Happy Holidays