Proper way to dispose of old gas?

[dave 911]

I did a search and found countless threads on draining gas, effects of bad gas, etc...but didn't find one that talked about what you do w/ the old gas once you drain it. I have 4ish gallons that I need to get rid of, it's probably 4 years old or so.

How do I get rid of it in a responsible manner? Can I meter in small amounts in our daily drivers each week? LAPS says they won't take it....

[DaveE]

Could you mix it in with used motor oil?

[Dantilla]

Lawn mower?

One or two gallons of old gas when filling up will cause no problems.

[Dantilla]

Molotov cocktails?

[Canada Kev]

I had that same issue when I got a tank of bad gas a few months ago, except it was over 20 gallons. I took it to a shop to drain because I didn't want to deal with all that gas. Afterwards, someone suggested mixing it with good gas for the lawn mower. Sounds like a good idea to me. Adding some in with your used oil is also probably ok.

[Dave Colangelo]

If I am not mistaken, any shop or gas station actually has to take it off your hands/allow you to dump it since there is really no way to do it other wise. I know my county has a toxic waist dumping thing every few months, if you have one of those you may be able to dump it at that. You could always use it to clean parts.

Regards
Dave

[Dublinoh]

I don't think mixing old gas with used oil is a good idea. Talk to whomever takes the used oil before you do.

[Joeaksa]

Easy way to take care of this. Find someone you know with a diesel car or truck and give it to them. They can buy a gallon or two of fresh diesel and then mix the old gasoline in with it (shake it good) then just put it in the tank with their fuel.

A diesel engine will burn old gas just the same way it burns diesel fuel, which is really oil. Just keep the percentage very low. A friend of mine gave me 15 gallons of old gas recently and I have been doing this for a long time, adding a gallon or so of old gas to my diesel when I fill up. The tank takes 38 gallons of diesel so a gallon of old gas is a very low percentage.

[RoninLB]

use as

weed killer
paint thinner
BBQ and camp fire starter
outdoor house window cleaner
great for starting a pile of x-mas trees on beach after Jan 1 in high winds
throw some on top of oil to raise temp so you can start an oil fire
mix with black powder to simulate a big explosion from a small one


Do not throw down the drain. It screws up the digesters at the sewer plant.

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Easy way to take care of this. Find someone you know with a diesel car or truck and give it to them. They can buy a gallon or two of fresh diesel and then mix the old gasoline in with it (shake it good) then just put it in the tank with their fuel.

A diesel engine will burn old gas just the same way it burns diesel fuel, which is really oil. Just keep the percentage very low. A friend of mine gave me 15 gallons of old gas recently and I have been doing this for a long time, adding a gallon or so of old gas to my diesel when I fill up. The tank takes 38 gallons of diesel so a gallon of old gas is a very low percentage.

A VERY bad and expensive idea for modern diesel vehicles. Today's Common Rail (CR) diesel high pressure fuel pumps will not tolerate any gas in the diesel, destroys the pump and sends shrapnel thru the fuel system.

[Canada Kev]

With respect to using gas in a modern diesel, the emissions systems are tuned to the ultra low sulphur diesel. Even using the old style diesel isn't good for them.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Arne2

A VARY bad and expensive idea for modern diesel vehicles. Today's Common Rail (CR) diesel high pressure fuel pumps will not tolerate any gas oin the diesel, destroys the pump and sends shrapnel thru the fuel system.

Who said that I had a common rail diesel?

Good friend of mine with a F250 Ford power stroke has been doing this for over 15 years with NO issues.

Destroys the pump huh? My FASS pump/filter unit has filters that go down to 5 micron and every one I have opened up so far has been clean as can be...

Never mind guys, you just keep pouring it down the drain...

[tmsautoart]

I'm reminded of the billboard in "Fight Club":

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Canada Kev

With respect to using gas in a modern diesel, the emissions systems are tuned to the ultra low sulphur diesel. Even using the old style diesel isn't good for them.

Emission systems on a diesel truck? Mine was made before "low sulphur" fuel requirement and I use additives to the fuel to lubricate the injector pump to over-come the current batch of fuel.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Could you mix it in with used motor oil?

No. Don't do that. The oil can't be recycled if you do that.

[Peter Zimmermann]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

No. Don't do that. The oil can't be recycled if you do that.

Our hazardous waste site here in Bakersfield accepts containers of old gasoline. It's acceptable to use drain oil containers, but I have to put my phone number on the container. They keep the container over night, because their rules prohibit emptying a container with gasoline while the facility is open to the public. Call your local place that you take your drain oil to, they might be able to handle old gas as well.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Dublinoh

I don't think mixing old gas with used oil is a good idea. Talk to whomever takes the used oil before you do.

right - it is a bad idea and if they trace a fire or explosion back to you...


as per above, mix it into the good gas for your daily driver or mower and just use it up


Absolutely do NOT use it as a weed killer - this pollutes the ground water. Use Roundup, which is one of the safest herbicides made.

If you have an enemy whom you would to see become a sever burn victim, then give it to them for use as a BBQ and camp fire starter.

[brads911sc]

You aren't very bright.. are you...

1. Weed Killer. Pollutes ground water.
2. BBQ and Camp fire starter.. Only if you want all the hair singed off your face, arms and risk catching yourself on fire. I have seen just a very small amt of gasoline take all the hair off someones face and arms and that was in a controlled charcoal bbq.

Originally Posted by RoninLB

use as

weed killer
paint thinner
BBQ and camp fire starter
outdoor house window cleaner
great for starting a pile of x-mas trees on beach after Jan 1 in high winds
throw some on top of oil to raise temp so you can start an oil fire
mix with black powder to simulate a big explosion from a small one


Do not throw down the drain. It screws up the digesters at the sewer plant.

[Canada Kev]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Emission systems on a diesel truck? Mine was made before "low sulphur" fuel requirement and I use additives to the fuel to lubricate the injector pump to over-come the current batch of fuel.

Yes. Emission systems in the recent trucks.

Old diesels will run on just about anything you can pour into the tank that's even remotely flammable. The new trucks are at a state of tune such that even the diesel fuel of just five years ago can cause damage to some systems.

Additives are probably a good idea with ULSD fuel in older trucks. They say it won't cause any extra wear, but it seems like cheap insurance in a pricy engine. I used it even with just the regular low sulphur diesel we had a few years ago.

[Matt Monson]

Twice a year my city has a hazardous household chemicals event where you can drop off anything. Lead based paint. Old gasoline. Solvents. Herbicides leftover from the Vietnam War. They'll take any of it. Check with your city.