I have heard never use Nitro fuel after one season. Do you know why that is? While on the ground like on an engine stand, can old fuel be used to do things like break engines in or at least run them? How old is too old If using for engines on the ground? How else can you dispose of old fuel?

That must be the suppliers that sound such malarkey. I have used numerous fuels well over 10 years old. Before "Wildcat" Fuel was taken over by "Great Pains" I had my fuel delivered in 60 gallon packs on truck delivery. I still have a few gallons plus others not so old, yet when I open a gallon of Wildcat, it runs just as good as ever, Of course those gallon jugs are stored in a very good barn in boxes and not in sunlight, or any light, until the jug is opened for use.
Don't get too disturbed by any of the things you hear on the flying fields. O.K. to listen and sort out, but the rumor mill is always at full blast.

I have not had any trouble with old fuel either. I was about to throw away some Byron fuel from the 80's and a friend said why don't you try it. I did and it ran great. I burned 2.5 gallons of it with no problems. This was last year. This year I have used 10 gallons of other brands ranging from 2005, 2007, and 2011. The Bryon was kept in an unheated garage ranging from under freezing to over 100 degrees. The other was stored from 70 to 80 degrees. Since I can't get fuel locally, I store up when I can and use it when I get to fly.

I do keep it out of sunlight and keep the cap on except when connecting a fuel pump. All of the above was 10% nitro except for 2 gallons which were 5%. This has been working for me. Good luck on your decision.

This is complete and utter nonsense propagated by someone who has a history of inability to properly tune an engine or is in the habit of leaving the cap off of a half empty can of fuel in the rain .

John

I agree with above. Nothing wrong with old fuel. As said above, cap it to prevent evaporation and to keep fuel from absorbing moisture and keep it in a dark place to prevent nitro from breaking down.

A few things will make a difference here. First off if the fuel was stored in an airtight container then yes it's going to be just fine. If the fuel has been stored in a container that has allowed constant exposure to air, no matter how small it could have absorbed enough moisture to not be useable. Obviously the humidity levels of you particular region is going to have an influence. A guy in Nevada is going to have less of an issue then a guy in Florida. I think we will all agree that the deciding factor here is how much water is in the fuel as the components in fuel don't go bad per say. A good test is to take your capped plastic fuel jug and place it in the sun for an hour or so. If droplets of moisture form in the tapered portion of the jug guess what? That's not fuel, it's water droplets. The other thing to consider is that some engines will run just fine with a small amount of moisture in the fuel, some will not.

Glow fuel will absorb mositure from the atmosphere. So as stated above if glow fuel was not stored properly it can become great weed killer. If on the other hand it was stored correctly it's good years

Can't give you any science on this, but I've been told by smart people not to leave an opened bottle of fuel on a concrete floor. Shelves are supposedly better. Since there's no downside for me in putting it on a shelf, I figure it can't hurt. Never had a problem using year-old fuel.

I've gotten to the end of a bottle that's taken a while to use up and had running troubles. But, of course, that's opened fuel. It doesn't usually work very well to store a 1/2 used gallon of fuel all winter and then fly with it next spring, but unopened fuel will last for years.

All this info is good to know because I bought 4 gallons of Wildcat a few months ago and was worried it would spoil over the winter.

No problem for me in South Florida either. I bought 60+ gallons of fuel from three hobby stores that went out of business in the last 8 years. The most recent out-of-business acquisitions were 4 years ago. I have so much Cool Power fuel that I can't tell what is 4 years old from what is 8+ years old. Never had a single problem with any of them (10%, 15%, and 4-stroke). Keep them in my garage (which is not heated or cooled), and it sometimes gets humid in there, or hot from the heat of the car's engine. Many jugs are on the concrete floor, or on a wooden shelf, or in a box that's on the floor with others stacked on top. I don't open the jugs until I need them. But one jug has remained half full for almost a year and I don't see anything wrong with it.

But hey, if anyone wants to throw out their "1+ year old fuel" then please send it to me.

Run it next year it will be fine. I live near Chicago and we get all weather throughout the year and I have never had a problem. I will keep and reinstall the little red plug under the cap at the end of the season to help keep condensation out. Water in the fuel is the only real potential problem.

I always keep a cap on the jug except when fueling. Also, i avoid pumping fuel out of a plane back into my jug. Fly em until deadstick last flight of the day. I use about one gallon of glo fuel in three years as i only have a couple of glow planes anymore.

I used to believe the propaganda that you could not save fuel over the winter until my buddy showed up with some used trainers and a 3/4 full can of 10 plus year old fuel. I told him it would be no good, but he insisted, we tried it and ran the planes no problem, and I thought I knew better than him. I put my foot down when he brought out the 10 year old RX batteries though

Howdy neighbor,. I'm guessing you fly at the field on Dundee just west of Hicks rd?

Sealed tightly, I wouldn't see any problem with fuel even a couple of years old. Not sealed, alcohol has an amazing ability to absorb water, which might cause problems.

Rich.