So, yesterday. @Seanette and I took our Jeep out on the Volcanoville Trail. Along the way, we came upon a five-gallon (actually, labeled as 20 liters) gasoline can, which turns out to be full of a liquid that certainly appears to any casual examination to be gasoline.
As expen$ive as gasoline is, especially here in California, this seemed like a rather extraordinary treasure to find, just sitting out there in the middle of nowhere, for the taking.
It has since occurred to me that we do not know the quality of this gasoline, or even for certain that that is what it is. We do not know that it isn’t contaminated with something that might harm any vehicle in which we tried to use it. I’m wondering of there is a reliable way to verify that this is gasoline, that it is of a rating suitable for use in either of our vehicles, that it isn’t harmfully contaminated, and that it is safe and suitable for us to use. At California prices, this is about $20 to $30 worth of gasoline, and I very much hate to waste it, but there is certainly a possibility that it could be contaminated with something that might cause a lot more than $20 to $30 worth of harm to one of our vehicles.
I’m thinking about the cliché about putting sugar in someone’s gasoline tank; and thinking that I wouldn’t put it past some of the bad elements that infest this general area to put out a can of deliberately-adulterated gasoline in some random place, for someone to find, just to damage someone’s vehicle, though leaving it where we found it would have involved more effort than I would expect such scum to go to for such a purpose.
I suppose, even if it isn’t deemed safe to use as vehicle fuel, this could be used as fuel in the sort of gasoline-fueled camping lanterns and heaters of which I am aware, though @Seanette and I do not have any such devices. And the can itself, though a bit battered, appears to be of very good quality, worth keeping even if we end up discarding the contents.
Depends a bit on how ratty your vehicle is already. IIRC the OP is talking about a brand new vehicle.
You can certainly shake the can well and listen for sounds of gravel or sand or crap in there. Not necessarily from sabotage, but just from the prior owner being careless or the can being old enough to be shedding rust flakes inside. metal cans do the which is why nobody much uses metal cans anymore.
After shaking well to mix any contaminants, you can pour out a sample of a quart or so into a clear booze bottle or at worst a large pyrex measuring cup. The larger and taller the container the better.
Leave it sit for about 3 days. Look for any sign of fractionation, where there’s a thin (or thick) layer of different liquid at top or bottom. Also look for any sign of debris or crunchies. If any is present, throw away the gas.
If it passes all those tests now you’re ready to address stale or adulterated fuel.
Even if it passes all the tests I’d still throw it away. Or better yet, leave it right where you found it.
Not brand new, but not terribly old, either. Between @Seanette and myself, we now have two vehicles, a 2016 Dodge Dart, and a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. One thought that’s occurred to me is that a much older vehicle, such as the 1969 Falcon that was my first car, would probably be much more forgiving of bad fuel than anything as modern as what we now have.
I’m increasingly tending toward that thought, that it’s just not worth risking any harm to either of our current vehicles, to try using this fuel. As expensive as gasoline is, especially here in California, I really hate to waste it, but the potential for harm to either of our vehicles is probably much greater than the value of this fuel.
Leaving it where we found it isn’t really an option. We went there once, for the sake of going there, but it’s not an easy trip, even in a Jeep, and not really worth going back just to rid ourselves of this dubious fuel. Beside, even if the fuel itself is to be discarded, the can itself seems worth keeping.
Now this brings up the issue of how to dispose of this fuel, then. I assume that if we don’t find some way to have it put to good use, that it must be disposed of as hazardous waste. I don’t really know where to begin, if that is what ends up happening.
How old/primitive is your Jeep? As I think I said in a previous post, it seems to me that old, primitive vehicles, with carburetors and no catalytic converters or any emission controls that modern, might be much more tolerant of questionable fuel than something much more modern, such as the 2016 and 2020 vehicles that @Seanette and I have. I think, if I still had my 1969 Falcon, I might dare try some of this fuel in it.
On the other hand, because I am diabetic, it is a good thing that modern vehicles use fuel injection; I need to avoid excessive carbs.
I wonder if the landscaping crews that work our apartment complex might want it; if they’d dare try to use it in their equipment. They’re usually here on Thursdays, right?
So, as modern as the older of our two vehicles. Likely a similar tolerance for dubious fuel. As a bonus, our 2016 Dart is a “flex-fuel vehicle” that is happy to run on up to 85% ethanol. That’s what I mostly fed it when I was using it as my work vehicle. It gets about 80% of the miles per gallon on E85 that it gets on gasoline, but E85 is nearly always less than 80% of the cost per gallon of gasoline, so economically, E85 comes out ahead.
So, we’re at a similar level, at least, of having a vehicle in which to trust dubious fuel. On the other hand, the fuel that we have is likely more dubious that what you’ve been putting in your Jeep. I assume that you at least have some idea where the fuel came from, and what has happened to it. We’ve got no clue at all about the origin or quality or history of this fuel.
I think so, not sure (seems to be variable lately). BTW, the ones I’ve interacted with seem to only speak Spanish. Might ask one of the maintenance guys (no point in freaking out the office staff about hazmat on the property).
Plus, I’m a cheapskate. If I was your neighbor and you told me the provenance of the gas can, I’d happily use it. I’d pour a gammon in when I had 12 gallons already in my tank and I wouldn’t be worried.
Lesson learned, then. Unless the find is of immediate value to you, and easy to take home, it’s probably best to just leave it. Yeah, the Jerry can is possibly useful, but what to do with the contents?
I frequently find stuff on bicycle trips in the bike lane or on the shoulder. Usually tools like hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, the occasional carpenter’s square, once a three-foot level. Rather than leave them there as a hazard to other bikes and cars, I just pick them up and drop them off at the next mailbox or intersection where it will be easily (and safely) found - some random person just got a freebee. I’ve probably gotten rid of $1,000 worth of tools that way - it’s not worth hauling it home.
