Modern petrol

[2GB Racing]

Just a word of warning to those who store petrol powered items for a while, Just wasted days stripping carburettors on my strimmer and hedgecutter and spent a few bob replacing a coil which was not faulty = supermarket petrol 5lts purchased in April and neither of the two would even fire once, New Esso 97 octane and both items fired up within five pulls I always store these run dry but will now add a fuel stabiliser as well.

 

[CazPaul]

I store petrol on our mower all year sat in the shed it always fires up first time, Honda mower.

 

[2GB Racing]

My gear including two chainsaws ( one in each hand lol ) are Stihl so not exactly rubbish items end of season fuel will be poured into wife’s Honda road car even if it is two stroke fuel

 

[The Wino]

My gear including two chainsaws ( one in each hand lol ) are Stihl so not exactly rubbish items end of season fuel will be poured into wife’s Honda road car even if it is two stroke fuel

I thought any oil would trash the cat converter?

 

[2GB Racing]

Not the way the wife drives the S2K lives in V-Tec land lol

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[63720]

IMO I wouldn't store 2 stroke machinery with fuel/oil mix in the system. Over time the light ends of the fuel can evaporate off leaving an oily residue which blocks everything up. 4 stroke shouldn't do this and is usually ok once the fuel pump has primed the injection system. All road fuels meets the same standard and I run 3 vehicles on supermarket fuel.

 

[Nasher]

Have a mower, strimmer, generator & 4 motorbikes all of which are left standing, sometimes for months, with petrol in them - never had a problem starting any of them

 

[andyman]

My Stihl saw hadn't been used for nearly a year until a month ago. Started 4th pull, aways use sainsbury for fuel. Webb mower sits from autumn till spring usually starts first pull.

 

[Lenny HB]

Alway best to put a fuel stabiliser in the fuel and run the motor so that it keeps the cab free from gumming up.
I used to sell an excellent American product Stabil unfortunately no longer imported to the UK. Mower would always start first pull after the winter.
Most of the classic car and bike people use a fuel stabiliser, plenty of other makes avalible.

 

[tacr2man]

Petrol will almost turn to varnish , over time , and even smells the same . Particularly noticeable when pulling old vehicles out of barns etc .
There have also been reports that E10 is a less stable fuel and that this can make it more difficult to start a vehicle that has not been driven for an extended period.

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[robnchris]

Old petrol never was any good despite what people think, now we have the Bioethanol fuel it is even worse.
E 5 will damage aluminium and magnesium alloys, E 10 will be more of a problem with some engines.
Bioethanol fuel will split over time and leave behind deposits that only ultrasonic cleaning will get rid of.
Best defence currently is to add an additive, Ethomix from Frost is excellent and I use it in all my motorcycles, when storing over winter I fill tank to maximum with recommended amounts of Ethomix, run the carbs dry and then disconnect the fuel lines to the carbs.
Lawnmowers, chainsaws etc are fully drained and blown through for winter storage.

 

[TerryL]

Just an anecdote. I brought my old MGB out of storage and tried to fire it up. When it eventually did fire, it was coughing and banging and would only run for a short period until it expired. I spent hours trying to sort it, replacing the usual suspects etc. Nada.

Eventually got it into a drivreable (though rough) state and went for a test drive. Bloody thing ran out of fuel!!! So I syphoned a gallon out of the wife's car and poured it in. Started straight away and ran like a contented kitten..............

Similar thing happened to a neighbour until I told him to put some more fuel in it, which of course solved his problem too.

Moral - petrol left standing over 12m is rubbish.

 

[robnchris]

Petrol stored in a vented tank in summer months will deteriorate in less than 4 weeks, in a sealed tank it will last for up to 6 months.

 

[Raul]

I use stabiliser for the garden tools and no problems since.

 

[emjaiuk]

Use Aspen, either 4 stroke or ready mixed two stroke. Expensive but cheaper than rectifying gummed up carb. I now use Stihl's own brand equivalent in my saws. Ask why so many professionals pay £20 for 5 litres.

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[Raul]

Briggs Stratton is cheaper than aspen. I used both, now I just get 2x 500ml of Briggs and lasts me over two years.

 

[Garfields]

The increased percentage of Bio ethanol in petrol has the potential to cause issues with brass parts of carburettors and also fuel lines
Not had an issue myself yet and do not know if additives well help

 

[Jev88]

Superunleaded stops the gumming problems in my old mowers and 75 year old rolling machine.

 

[Jake Royd]

Used to have a boat, we had a dinghy with a Honda 2.5hp 4 stroke outboard.
It took me some time to discover you had to run the float chamber dry when putting it away, after turning the fuel off with it running. If you don't it just will not start.
The jets in the carb are tiny and easily gummed up.

 

[TheBig1]

Thinking back, it must of been the 70s, a local business owner horded several 5 gallon containers of petrol due to the shortage and strikes. He wanted it for his car and generators for the business. It was months before he got round to trying to use some and of course it was spoiled. He was furious but all those that knew him had a laugh at his expense

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[Vipar]

Same with my ex chainsaw, changed it for electric one that sharpens itself with new style chain tensioner.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Do you mean this one Lenny

 

[MyrtleGuru]

This year I had to drain the old fuel from the mower that had been left in there over the winter, as it was hunting badly. With new fuel in, it was fine. This is a modern Honda 4-stroke engine with auto-choke. However, the very ancient back-up Briggs & Stratton 4-stroke mower doesn't seem to care about the state of the fuel whatever!

 

[MikeD]

My 1980 ish Honda started after a few kicks when stored with a tank full of fuel about 10+ years earlier. Did not run too well but kicked over and started.

My pre 1950 bike's would never start on fuel that was over three months old. The new/modern fuel is not the same as the old stuff.

It used to rot the jets as well - regular April job was strip the carb on my Norton.

 

[IRHP]

I thought any oil would trash the cat converter?

Used to pour my old left over 2 stroke outboard fuel into my car fuel tank at the end of the year. The fuel was already a 50:1 mix so pouring a litre into 50 litres of petrol gives a 2500:1 mix. It didn’t do any harm.

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