Has My Gas Gone Bad?

Hey guys, I've had some premium gas sitting my tank for almost two years now. It does have stabilizer in it, and it still smells right. But here are a few photos of some i drained out:

 

Not sure if you can tell by looking at it, but i bet it degraded. I once bought a car (a 59 Ranger as a matter of fact) with gas that was a few years old (don't know how old). It started but ran rough and stalled each time I tried to drive it. Drained the tank and poured a few gallons of fresh gas in and it ran fine. Pour a little of your gas in a lawn mower and try to run it. I'd still go with fresh gas.

 

Just dump it and replace it.

 

I wouldn't drink it but if you have stabilizer in it,,it's probably still good.

Pour the contents from the mason jar in your lawnmower and see how it runs. HRP

 

Bad gas turns a dark brown color and smells like turpentine.
I just pulled the gas tank on my Jeep plow truck and drained/flushed it.The gas went bad in about 3 years with Stabil in it.It's just used for clearing my driveway in the winter and never really gets driven much.
The gas in your mason jar looks OK-I'd run it.

 

If it was bad, you're sure smell it. With stabil, it looks okay, but 2 years is pushing it.

Mix it with some fresh to be sure. You should be fine.

 

where???? if you can obviously get the gas out of the tank, drain some out put in some new and run it!!!!! blend the old gas back in

 

i would run it. as others said, old gas smells like varnish. if it doesnt smell it should be good

 

If its not to bad just mix 100 octane and keep it going... The new gas with all the additives goes bad fast.

 

I agree. Not worth playing with.

 

Depends on your definition of good and bad. When I was doing small engine stuff they told us 1 month and it's bad. Sta-bil and the like keep fuel from degrading to the point it will hurt something and varnish up, not keep it potent as new. I know gas is getting more and more expensive, but dump it into a clean contain and put it in a newer, fuel injected, vehicle- they have computers to monitor fuel potency via the o2 sensor and will automatically adjust for any loss in potency by dumping more fuel in. Run good gas in your good car and let the computers handle the iffy stuff!

 

2 YEARS?????
That gas is shot!
Today's fuels start to degrade after a few months.
What that means, is that the light ends evaporate pretty quickly. This would give the car a hard starting problem in the cold, as the more combustible parts of the fuel are going away. This is especially so in an old car that doesn't have a (mostly) sealed gas tank, like newer cars. The gas tank fumes are vented directly int the air, so light ends go away faster.
The next issue is that the fuel begins to varnish up soon after. It will coat the insides of the gas tank, lines and carb bowl. The varnish will then flake off, and clog up your carb passages, once you shake the car up, or start moving the fuel around.
The next phase has the gas starting to jell. That's bad. clogs up the larger passages in the carb, prevents the accelerator pump from working, probably stop the needle and seat from working, or if it does, may stick it open, and dump gas all over your intake!
Don't take any chances....dump it and run fresh fuel. If the car is going to be idle for 6 months to a year, use Stabil. After that, I'd dump it just for good measure.
(Worked for Exxon Research and Engineering for 15 years, in a former life)

 

nummie and chopoids are correct, if you get rid of old fuel by putting it in a modern newer vehicle, make sure you strain it through paint strainer, new car fuel pumps hate any form of grit/rust.

 

Strain it? Do you do that everytime you fill up your car at the pump? Have you seen the inside of an in ground storage tank?

Not saying dirt isn't bad for fuel systems or that straining is not a good idea, just that you are pumping in a lot of junk into the tank at every fill up.

 

yes strain it because it is coming out of an OLD fuel tank.
when you drain an old tank the bottom usually has a bunch of brown sediment. you don't have to strain it, i never did, till i learned my lesson. $300 fuel pump

 

This January I drained some unstabilized fuel that had been pumped in September. After just 4 months it had that varnish smell.

If you stabilized it, it may still be good. I believe in the smell test. The color may be from the stabilizer. Still, you're probably safest using it in some yard equipment and blending it with fresh gas.