Petrol question re lawnmower

1jim

Hi
We have just bought a petrol Lawnmower from eBay to use on the allotment, we have a 5L petrol can (the plastic green one) in the garage that is almost full with petrol from last summer, do you think it will be ok to use this in the mower? If not what should we do with the petrol ?
Cheers

ariba10

I would use it.

(Does it run on petrol alone or is it a
Two stroke)

marleyboy

The general consensus is that petrol does go off after a year or so.

peter_the_piper

Don't use it in any small appliance, stick it in the car and get fresh for the mower.

Word of explaination:- in mower/strimmer etc carburettors all the orifices and jets are very much smaller than in a car one so if the petrol is old and gets thicker it will not pass through into the engine. This gets even worse with two stroke engines. Very difficult to clean out, even ultrasonic baths do not work in some, like my Honda strimmer before I knew better, one new carb. later and it was ok again. An expensive lesson.

marleyboy

http://sciencefocus.com/qa/do-petroleum-products-petrol-and-diesel-have-shelf-life

Petrol goes ‘stale’ more quickly than diesel – impurities and condensation in the tank can cause the fuel to go slimy if you leave it for more than a couple of months. But because diesel is less refined and more oily, it can last quite happily for a couple of years.

1jim

Mower is unleaded, not 2stroke

So shouldn't use it then,

Will it be ok in the car then, don't want any issues with the car if it can be helped :-)

A._Badger

My (ancient) mower has a Briggs and Stratton engine worth about, oh, I dunno 10p? My car as an engine worth thousands.

I always use last year's left over petrol in the mower.

justjohn

ye but good chance that Briggs and Stratton engine will outlast you, if looked after lol

Now the car, thats a different matter lol

1jim

See, now I'm just confused
I think I will buy a new container and get some fresh petrol.

How can I get rid of the old petrol?

roddydogs

Never had any problem using "Old Petrol" in a mower...its a 150cc side valve.
Wouldnt muck about putting it in my car.

skivenov

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Don't use it in any small appliance, stick it in the car and get fresh for the mower.

Yeah, the main worries that the petrol will have taken in moisture from the air trapped in the can. In a car-sized tank, this will be next to nothing when it's been diluted down with the fresh petrol that's in there already.

If you want to throw it away - bring it round and I'll let you pour it in my tank My old transit's quite happy to have a couple of gallons of petrol out of a scrap car lobbed in it's diesel tank (don't do this on a modern vehicle though!).