I had my car in what i called storage after continuous use since new in 2004, only for a period of no more than i believe 5-6 weeks, during this time i started it at least once a week, ran engine for 20 mins including the A/C and went thru gears but it did not leave the garage, rest of time under car cover.
I than took my other car off road and then put my car back on the road, after going up the street a bit i started to go thru gears when it started to misfire and sputter ? Cut a long story short it was the fuel going off starting to discolour. How could that be because i have only ever used 98, So i drained almost ½ tank and refilled with fresh fuel, end of problem.....WTF ?
I was under the opinion that 98 fuel would last at least min 6 mths in my fuel tank, no probs, boy was i wrong, in 44 years of driving never had this happen! , so i decided to do some research on our wonderful expensive fuel, this is only a snippet of what i found which surprised the hell out of me, thought i would share!
Question? “How long do you think your fuel last?”
Answer “Not long according to the experts”
This is an important question when you’ve got a car that’s rarely driven or you have fuel stored in drums. The last thing you want is a tankful of ‘off’ fuel that can damage your fuel system or possibly even kill your engine.
SUMMARY:
· Fuel in your cars tank will start to go off in 2-4 weeks in car fuel tank.
· It will keep deteriorate after 4 weeks on a sliding scale
· Composition of fuel will vary from state to state and time of year, for example here in QLD in summer, additives are added to reduce volatility and evaporative emissions because of our summer heat.
· After 10 weeks its pretty well unusable and after 28 weeks major engine damage can possibly result
· Damage is more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems
· Fuel in a sealed air tight container (unopened during this time) stored in a cool place away from sunlight will last about 6 mths before starting to deteriorate.
· Experts recommend buying fuel from a major brand name servo which is always busy in the drive thru ensuring a continuous fresh supply of fuel.
So what do the experts say about Fuel in your cars tank?
General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle Operations, Steve Coates,
Believes fuel tends to go off in a car’s fuel tank quite quickly once it’s a couple of weeks old.
“After a couple of weeks not driving a car, I find that it will be closer to detonation than it was at the time of tuning on the chassis dyno,” and the brand of fuel seems to make a difference as well
· Mobil and BP products are probably the best after being stored for a short period of time
· He also stated that Shell Optimax is a really good fuel when it’s new."
Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia,
Mr Whitfield claims fuel in a car’s tank can last for up to four weeks before it becomes considerably denser. When this happens, the engine is effectively over-fuelled (without any change in injector pulse-width) and there’s an increased chance of carbon deposition onto spark plugs and inside the combustion chamber. This can cause driveability problems such as stutters and misses.
“Regular unleaded fuel will lose a small amount of octane over time but in our low-sulphur and high detergent Ultimate fuel it might increase very slightly, so it might decrease 1 RON over a four week period.
“Keep in mind that typical variation in BP Ultimate is 98 – 100 RON while normal unleaded ranges between 91 – 93 RON.”
Mr Whitfield says this typically makes the engine slightly harder to start but there is no change in octane.
Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company ChipTorque, frequently dyno tests cars which have not previously been driven for several weeks.
“On the fuel mix we have in Queensland, I think fuel in a car’s tank is starting to go off in around three weeks,” Mr Riddel says. “We can tune a car, put it away for three of four weeks, come back to it and it will be either closer to detonation or less likely to make the same power.
“I think local fuel is brewed to reduce evaporative emissions in warm weather and, maybe because of that, fuel really goes crappy in eight to ten weeks. By that stage, the fuel is extremely prone to detonation.”
Interestingly, Mr Riddel hasn’t noticed the engine becoming harder to start but the effect on octane is pronounced.
Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
In warm conditions, fuel is especially prone to oxidisation which causes lacquer and gums to form. As a result, the fuel turns dark in colour, loses its clarity and smells like paint stripper.
Mr Warren says that in most cases, it’s only when fuel is left in the tank for several months there’s a major risk of engine damage. This is much more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems.
“By this time the fuel will have gone dark and gummy and can clag the fuel pump, filter and injectors,” Mr Warren says. It can also leave a lacquer deposit on the inside of the fuel tank, piston rings etc, which is difficult to remove.
So what do the experts say about Fuel stored in containers?
· Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
You can generally store fuel in a sealed container for around six months before it starts to deteriorate. This assumes it’s kept relatively cool and away from direct sunlight.
“But if the container is not properly sealed or it’s repeatedly opened, [fuel] will start to evaporate and you lose some of the light components in the fuel,” Mr Warren says.
Those light components include highly important butane. As these components are lost, the fuel loses its volatility.
• Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia
Fuel stored in the right conditions, sealed air tight can last up to max 12 months. But once the container is opened a number of times, the fuel will start to degrade, and this 12 months can be shortened rapidly
“Once the seal is broken, a vapour space is formed in the container and the fuel will start to deteriorate more rapidly,”.
Sources taken from articles by:
· Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
· Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia
· Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company ChipTorque
· General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle Operations, Steve Coates
I than took my other car off road and then put my car back on the road, after going up the street a bit i started to go thru gears when it started to misfire and sputter ? Cut a long story short it was the fuel going off starting to discolour. How could that be because i have only ever used 98, So i drained almost ½ tank and refilled with fresh fuel, end of problem.....WTF ?
I was under the opinion that 98 fuel would last at least min 6 mths in my fuel tank, no probs, boy was i wrong, in 44 years of driving never had this happen! , so i decided to do some research on our wonderful expensive fuel, this is only a snippet of what i found which surprised the hell out of me, thought i would share!
Question? “How long do you think your fuel last?”
Answer “Not long according to the experts”
This is an important question when you’ve got a car that’s rarely driven or you have fuel stored in drums. The last thing you want is a tankful of ‘off’ fuel that can damage your fuel system or possibly even kill your engine.
SUMMARY:
· Fuel in your cars tank will start to go off in 2-4 weeks in car fuel tank.
· It will keep deteriorate after 4 weeks on a sliding scale
· Composition of fuel will vary from state to state and time of year, for example here in QLD in summer, additives are added to reduce volatility and evaporative emissions because of our summer heat.
· After 10 weeks its pretty well unusable and after 28 weeks major engine damage can possibly result
· Damage is more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems
· Fuel in a sealed air tight container (unopened during this time) stored in a cool place away from sunlight will last about 6 mths before starting to deteriorate.
· Experts recommend buying fuel from a major brand name servo which is always busy in the drive thru ensuring a continuous fresh supply of fuel.
So what do the experts say about Fuel in your cars tank?
General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle Operations, Steve Coates,
Believes fuel tends to go off in a car’s fuel tank quite quickly once it’s a couple of weeks old.
“After a couple of weeks not driving a car, I find that it will be closer to detonation than it was at the time of tuning on the chassis dyno,” and the brand of fuel seems to make a difference as well
· Mobil and BP products are probably the best after being stored for a short period of time
· He also stated that Shell Optimax is a really good fuel when it’s new."
Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia,
Mr Whitfield claims fuel in a car’s tank can last for up to four weeks before it becomes considerably denser. When this happens, the engine is effectively over-fuelled (without any change in injector pulse-width) and there’s an increased chance of carbon deposition onto spark plugs and inside the combustion chamber. This can cause driveability problems such as stutters and misses.
“Regular unleaded fuel will lose a small amount of octane over time but in our low-sulphur and high detergent Ultimate fuel it might increase very slightly, so it might decrease 1 RON over a four week period.
“Keep in mind that typical variation in BP Ultimate is 98 – 100 RON while normal unleaded ranges between 91 – 93 RON.”
Mr Whitfield says this typically makes the engine slightly harder to start but there is no change in octane.
Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company ChipTorque, frequently dyno tests cars which have not previously been driven for several weeks.
“On the fuel mix we have in Queensland, I think fuel in a car’s tank is starting to go off in around three weeks,” Mr Riddel says. “We can tune a car, put it away for three of four weeks, come back to it and it will be either closer to detonation or less likely to make the same power.
“I think local fuel is brewed to reduce evaporative emissions in warm weather and, maybe because of that, fuel really goes crappy in eight to ten weeks. By that stage, the fuel is extremely prone to detonation.”
Interestingly, Mr Riddel hasn’t noticed the engine becoming harder to start but the effect on octane is pronounced.
Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
In warm conditions, fuel is especially prone to oxidisation which causes lacquer and gums to form. As a result, the fuel turns dark in colour, loses its clarity and smells like paint stripper.
Mr Warren says that in most cases, it’s only when fuel is left in the tank for several months there’s a major risk of engine damage. This is much more likely to occur in cars running dual LPG/petrol systems.
“By this time the fuel will have gone dark and gummy and can clag the fuel pump, filter and injectors,” Mr Warren says. It can also leave a lacquer deposit on the inside of the fuel tank, piston rings etc, which is difficult to remove.
So what do the experts say about Fuel stored in containers?
· Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
You can generally store fuel in a sealed container for around six months before it starts to deteriorate. This assumes it’s kept relatively cool and away from direct sunlight.
“But if the container is not properly sealed or it’s repeatedly opened, [fuel] will start to evaporate and you lose some of the light components in the fuel,” Mr Warren says.
Those light components include highly important butane. As these components are lost, the fuel loses its volatility.
• Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia
Fuel stored in the right conditions, sealed air tight can last up to max 12 months. But once the container is opened a number of times, the fuel will start to degrade, and this 12 months can be shortened rapidly
“Once the seal is broken, a vapour space is formed in the container and the fuel will start to deteriorate more rapidly,”.
Sources taken from articles by:
· Shell Australia’s Technical Advice Centre Manager, Warren Scott
· Gary Whitfield, Senior Fuel Chemist at BP Australia
· Lachlan Riddel, proprietor of Gold Coast based tuning company ChipTorque
· General Manager of Melbourne’s Advanced Vehicle Operations, Steve Coates
The reason people recommend to fill up before empty, is so that pickup pump doesnt run "dry" and burn itself out.
