Finally, no matter what you store your water in, make sure you can … By Manasa Reddigari and Bob Vila. The easiest way to assess the condition of gas is to pour a small amount of your stored gas and freshly pumped gas of the same type into two clear glass vessels and do a side-by-side comparison. A: You’re wise to wonder about the shelf life of stored gasoline, because once gas loses its engine-igniting ability it could damage fuel system components. Ethanol-blended gas usually has a shelf life of up to three months because of the high speed at which ethanol oxidizes. Befriend the caretaker of the center. But “old” gas is not necessarily “bad,” in other words, contaminated. When you’ve identified a suitable site, ensure that the storage container is sealed, then stash it in a cooler or large bin to prevent gasoline leaks during transport. I get 4L glass wine bottles from the recycling center, clean and store my drinking water in them. Read on to learn how long you can expect gasoline to last, along with tips on spotting and disposing of gas gone bad. Empty the contents of your gas container into the waste receptacle at the disposal site so you can reuse the container in the future. Old gas is still reusable if combined with fresh gasoline, although the fuel mixture will have lower combustibility, so you might experience engine sputtering or non-starting. Depending on the product, the stabilizer can increase gasoline shelf life to between one and three years. Now , water stored without chlorine will become bad, maybe brackish, depends what is in the water when stored. You can also use glass bottles so long as they haven’t stored non-food items. If the gasoline is only slightly darker than the fresh gas or smells sour, it’s merely old and has probably lost efficacy, but isn’t contaminated. It can become contaminated (chemically or biologically), but it doesn’t “go bad.” Water can have a stale taste, but that taste can be eliminated by rotating your water and purifying it. Contaminated gas should never be used to power equipment or vehicles; it can promote corrosion or leave sludge or varnish deposits (a thin, transparent brown or orange film) on fuel system components that can irreparably damage them. 50 Products for Quick Fixes Around the House, The 10 Most Useful Power Drill Attachments, The 10 Best Accessories You Can Buy for Your Car, 15 Safety Essentials That Most Homes Are Missing, 12 Dreaded Home Maintenance Tasks You Never Thought to Hire Out. The purity of the gas and the use of fuel stabilizers can shorten or lengthen its life, however. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, most gasoline sold in the U.S. is “E10” gas made of 90 percent petroleum-based gas and 10 percent ethanol (ethyl alcohol). How long does gasoline last in storage before it goes ... and disposing of gas gone bad. If the water starts to turn green, use it to water your plants; then clean the container, and refill it with fresh tap water. Water is the most abundant compound on Earth and it is essential to every form of life. Stainless steel is another option, but you won’t be able to treat your stored water with chlorine, as it corrodes steel. Stabilizers work best when you mix them with new gasoline; they’re ineffective at slowing the degradation of old gas, and they can’t return contaminated gas to working order. Indeed, before using any stored gas in a mower, tractor, or other piece of equipment or vehicle, first check the fuel storage time limits laid out in the manufacturer’s guidelines—filling engines with gas in storage for longer than these limits could void the product warranty.