The time for backyard barbeques with all the trimmings: burgers and brats, corn on the cob, baked beans…
But I digress, it is also time to mow the lawn for the first time this season and I have bad gas! (Get those beans out of your mind, we’ve moved on here.) My lawnmower and gas can are full of gas from last summer and what seems to be a lot of water. When I prime the lawnmower carburetor, what comes out is not gasoline, but looks more like salad dressing; a mixture of gasoline and H[sub]2[/sub]O. I can run the lawn mower in a sputtering sort of way, though not well enough to actually cut the grass.
What can I do about this? Do I actually need to drain the gas out of the lawnmower tank? (And if the answer is yes, what do I do, turn it upside down?) Is the 2 gallons of gas in the gas can wasted? If so, how do I get rid of it?
Finally, out of curiosity, where did the water come from? The lawnmower was about empty when I got it out. I mowed the back yard just fine (it’s pretty small) and then filled the mower with the bad gas from the gas can. The gas can was filled with gas last August or so and has been sealed ever since. I’m sure the cap on my plastic gas can is not completely air tight, but it’s pretty damn close! Where did the water come from? Did it sneak in molecule by molecule from the air? I live in a semi-arid environment (CO) that has been experiencing a drought for the past year; I wouldn’t think there was enough water in the atmosphere to have this kind of effect. Do dopers in the Midwest or Florida have a big problem with this?
Gas actually does go bad over time. Usually we never notice this because we use it too fast. Generally gas shouldn’t be stored for more than six months. After that contamination from dust and water as well as chemical changes can ruin the gas (yes, gas will chemicaly change enough to degrade it performance).
As a result it is questionable if water in your gas is a problem. If your lawnmower is a two-stroke engine then I would suspect you have to add oil to your gas before putting it in the lawnmower. This might also be part of your problem as the two may have separated or chemically changed enough to degrade performance.
Water can be removed from gas fairly easily. Gasoline is lighter than water. Let the can sit awhile (several hours) and the water should settle to the bottom. At this point you can siphon off the gas from the top. You won’t get all the gas but you’ll get a lot of it. The siphoned gas should then be mixed with ‘new’ gasoline. I was told a 1:4 ratio but it is a dim memory (1 part siphoned gas to 4 parts new gas).
Frankly, for two gallons, I’d say just toss the stuff, drain the gas tank and put new gasoline in. If the gas has chemically changed or there is water present you can damage your engine so the few bucks lost on the old gas becomes insignificant. I am not sure of proper disposal of gasoline. Oil you can take to an oil change shop but I’m not sure about gasoline. Call a local car repair shop…they probably know what you can do with it. Remember that gasoline is dangerous! It is one of the most dangerous things most of us come into regular contact with. Pouring it down the drain or in an out the way space of your yard is NOT a good idea.
BTW…water can enter the gas can through condensation on the inside of the can (just like a glass of ice water sweats).
I completely agree, I don’t want my plants to die, nor my cats, nor do I want to smell it for the next two weeks. My neighbor suggested I pull up some lawn chairs and crack a beer and burn it little by little on the asphault in the alley. Personally, I think he’s an idiot.
One idea to get rid of it would be to dump it into my car tank. The gas is (or was) high octane unleaded. It is only about two gallons and I would think it would be dilute enough to not affect the performance of my car too much or do any permanent damage. Any comments on this from someone who knows better?
This was the first thing I thought of also. It can get pretty cold here in the winter and the gas can was stored in a (unheated) detached garage. The problem with this is that it was a full gas can with very little air space at the top (maybe 20 in[sup]3[/sup] max). I wouldn’t think this volume of air would have enough water in it to cause what I am seeing (especially with the dry climate here).
Get the gas out of the mower in whaever way needed. Rather than upend the mower and have the oil come out as well, you can probably just disconnect the line from the tank to carburetor.
Speaking of which… there’s usually a bolt at the bottom end of the carb - take it out, and the gas in the carb should come out. Hold onto the carb “bowl” so it doesn’t come off and possibly dislodge the float and/or needle. That’ll wreck your afternoon. :eek:
Cleanup… Most of a bottle of “Gumout” sloshed around the mower’s tank will knock loose the goo in the tank. Drain it into wherever you drained the old gas. Re-connect the tank to the carb and pour the rest of the Gumout into the tank and open the carb drain again so you’ll have Gumout flowing into the carb and out of the drain.
Put it all back together and fill the tank with fresh gas. Say your favorite prayer to the lawnmower gods and start it up. The combined efects of gooey gas that was hiding from you and the Gumout will probably make the engine hard to start at first.
Once you get it going, make amends to the mower by getting a new air filter and spark plug. Oh…and when’s the last time the oil was changed?
Just saw your comment on putting the watery gas in the car. If, and only if you can get the water out. Otherwise, you’ll just have water at the bottom of your car’s gas tank at a minimum, and worse, possibly clog the fuel filter to the point your car only runs for about 30 seconds at a time.
Gee…wonder how I know this one. Silly brother of mine! :smack:
I agree. This is why I suspect your gasoline has gone bad rather than be contaminated by water (at least by a lot of water). As a result I think it is best you dispose of the gas. Remember gasoline can actually go bad…it becomes almost varnish like. NOT good for your engine and nothing you’ll be able to do to fix it.
You could probably put it in your car tank but why even risk damage to your considerably more expensive and likely more sensitive car engine at all? We’re talking maybe $4 of gas at most? How much would it cost to clean out a gummed-up fuel injector because you used bad gas in your engine? (I don’t know but I suspect it would be more than $4.)
I did a search (albeit a quick one) on gasoline disposal and the two places I looked gave no answer other than that burning it was the best method. So, your neighbor is somewhat correct although I agree that burning it in the alley is not such a good idea. Use it to start a camp fire maybe or something like that if you can. Some cities have ordinances against burning gas like this so you’d have to check locally to be sure. Also, be careful when burning two gallons of gas. That represents enough energy to move a 3,000 pound car 40 miles (give or take).
It might just be easiest to call a local repair shop or oil change place and have them tell you where you can get rid of it.
I agree only use fresh gas & only buy what you can use in a reasonable period of time. I would just get another gas can, they are cheap, perhaps you can get a better one? Mine are plastic. They are cheap too.
I turned my lawn mower over & dig a hole in the ground & let the gas go into the dirt (don’t let it get into the street) & then cover it with dirt. It should sort of evaporate. Not that I suggest you do so. How about just suctioning out the old gas with a tube into the old gas can?
As for the old gas, you can ask your local gas place, too. One time I brought some to mine.
