Mixed Fuel Degradation
 

I have about 15 gallons of mixed fuel for my stand up ski that has been sitting in its canisters in the garage since september of last year. Does this degrade or break down? Should I just get rid of it all or would it still be good?

Fuel does break down in as little as 3-6 months depending on the blend. You'll notice older fuel doesn't evaporate and "mist" so well as fresh fuel. I wouldn't sweat anything under a year old though. Mix if 50/50 with fresh just to rule out any chance of hard starting.

I ran my Galaxie for a brief time on 3 year old gas after getting it going after it sat in the garage for a few years. The fuel didn't atomize well but witha little squirt of fresh gas in the carb it fired up and ran fine on the old fuel. Another time I had 20 gallons of gas from 1991 to get rid of. I just mixed a few gallons in each fillup in my truck and noticed no difference, though playing with it on the ground it would take a few seconds of holding a lighter to it before it would flash. I had no way to get rid of that quantity without paying for disposal, so no problem dilluting and burning in the truck.

Anyhow, for less than a year old, just mix it up with freshh and don't sweat it. I doubt if you'd have any trouble running it straight but mix to be sure.

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

That's a great question. Was there any stabilizer in the fuel and was it a 10% ethanol?

No stabilizer, it may have had ethanol, not 100% sure. It fired right up last night after charging the battery. Sounded good so I'm going to go with it.

I had 6mo old 87 in my boat and it ran a little rough, mixed it with new and we were good to go. No sta-bil added to original fuel.