Disposing of old fuel-gctid806758

[Apurpura]

I recently bought my boat and it was running rough, I couldn't figure it out so off it goes to the mechanic. Part of the problem I was told it had old gas (at least two years old he tells me) I put stabilizer in it when I got the boat home but I guess the previous owner did not do that. Make a long story short, I have to get about 40 gallons of fuel out of my tank and do something with it. I was thinking of just starting a fire to burn some brush I have laying around and add small amounts at a time I live out in the middle of no where. Would using it in my car or lawnmower a few gallons at a time be an issue? Of course I would separate the water from the fuel and not put the water in the tank just the old fuel.

Any thoughts?

[Chief_Alen]

I burnt 30 gallons of old fuel that was in my boat using it in lawnmower, snowblowers etc.

I left it in a plastic drum, and allow it to sit level, got to about 2 incs off the bottom and poured the rest into my neighbors pool .

Oooops !

[kevinv123]

I have pumped it out and ran it in small doses in my cars. I wouldn't use in a burn pile. Too volatile. Local here to MI several years ago a 21 yr old was building a bonfire for his sisters graduation party. Had a very large pile of pallets and scrap. Put several gallons on gas on it and lit it. Killed him and his sister. Instead of a grad party they had two funerals.

[Apurpura]

I was concerned about the same thing, the fumes travel fast when you start to build a fire with gas. I like the idea of putting it in your lawn mower and use it up slowly.

[Apurpura]

I hope your neighbor has a good sense of humor. ha ha ha

[Solandri]

"kevinv123" post=806775 wrote:
I have pumped it out and ran it in small doses in my cars. I wouldn't use in a burn pile. Too volatile. Local here to MI several years ago a 21 yr old was building a bonfire for his sisters graduation party. Had a very large pile of pallets and scrap. Put several gallons on gas on it and lit it. Killed him and his sister. Instead of a grad party they had two funerals.

Yeah, most people vastly underestimate how much energy is in gasoline. Imagine a sedan about the size of a Camry going 60 mph hitting a brick wall. Imagine all the damage and destruction that would cause - a thunderous crash, bent, twisted, and torn metal, shattered glass and plastic, gouges in the pavement and destruction of the wall. That's a lot of energy, right?

It's about as much energy as in one tablespoon of gasoline.

[SomeSailor]

"Solandri" post=806871 wrote:
It's about as much energy as in one tablespoon of gasoline.

I'm thinking you must mean a gallon of gasoline.

[Four_Pyrates]

There are companies that will come out and get the fuel and dispose of it. Check around.

[boatworkfl]

"SomeSailor" post=806877 wrote:

"Solandri" post=806871 wrote:
It's about as much energy as in one tablespoon of gasoline.

I'm thinking you must mean a gallon of gasoline.

One gallon of confined vaporized gasoline I was told, has the same equivalent explosive force of 64 lbs of TNT.

Check with a fuel polisher company! They will know how to dispose of the old gasoline.

You may even want them to clean the tank, and install a SS port for that use and further inspection.

When I bought my previously sunken 3870 that is exactly what I did, the inside of the tank was spotless, they were not happy about the amount of sat water they pumped out though.

[Morecoffee]

I think he does mean a tablespoon. A camry can achieve 60 mph in 6 - 7 seconds. It is not going to burn much gas in that time...

[Shawnh]

I got rid of year old gas (only a gallon for my outboard) by adding it to my car gas tank and then filling up the tank. No issue with the little bit added to a full tank.

Our local marina boatyard has a location to dispose of old gas/diesel and motor oil. Free also. They really want to keep them out of the landfill and water. If you are near a marina/boatyard, it might be worth a call to ask. 40 gallons is a lot to get rid of with one match

[Douggy]

"Four Pyrates" post=806880 wrote:
There are companies that will come out and get the fuel and dispose of it. Check around.

What search terms would you use to find such company?

[Guest]

That happened to me once years ago. Made a bug fire and through gallons in at a time. It was epic!

[Mr._Darcy]

Just for the answer of how much energy in gasoline compared to TNT and other things:

Energy per gram

object Calories (or Watt-hours) joules compared to TNT

bullet (at sound speed, 1000 ft per sec) 0.01 40 0.015

battery (auto) .03 125 0.05

battery (rechargeable computer) 0.1 400 0.15

battery (alkaline flashlight) 0.15 600 0.23

TNT (the explosive trinitrotoluene) 0.65 2,723 1

modern High Explosive (PETN) 1 4,200 1.6

chocolate chip cookies 5 21,000 8

coal 6 27,000 10

butter 7 29,000 11

alcohol (ethanol) 6 27,000 10

gasoline 10 42,000 15

natural gas (methane, CH4) 13 54,000 20

hydrogen gas or liquid (H2) 26 110,000 40

asteroid or meteor (30 km/sec) 100 450,000 165

uranium-235 20 million 82 billion 30 million

Greg

[Mr._Darcy]

One gram of TNT contains 0.65 watt hours of energy

One gram of gasoline contains 10 watt hours of energy

Greg