Shelf life of gasoline

There are products for just your situation, if you're not goign to completely "mothball" the car, get some Sta-Bil and follow the directions on the container.

Gasoline *will* go bad, BTW. How long it takes depends on the formulation.

nate

Shelf life is roughly 4 weeks, although gasoline generally degrades immediately. You can slow down the process with a fuel stabilizer such as Sta-Bil. The claim is that they can extend the effective shelf life to 1 year. These contains antioxidants and other stuff that reduces the rate of breakdown, and the alcohol in them should help with a small amount of water that might form in there. It would also be a good idea to keep the tank full for long term storage.

I've got a car that's getting little usage right now. I drive it maybe once every two three weeks. I make sure to drive it at least 10 miles before parking it again. It would also be a good idea to drive it every few weeks just to prevent the tire from getting "flat spots".

Old gasoline smells "sour" - it's really noticeable in a gas can that's been sitting around for a while. There is no practical (i.e. legal) way to dispose of a large quantity of gas. The best thing you can do is use it up, put in a good injector/valve cleaner and refill with fresh gas.