Another newbie question. Does 10% nitro fuel "go bad" or have a shelf life? I have an opaque container of fuel that is a year or two old. Although it has been opened it has always been tightly capped. It has not been stored in direct sunlight but neither has it been shielded from indirect light.

As long as it has a tight seal it should be fine. The 2 things that kill nitro fuel is the methane evaporating and water getting into it.

Thanks for the response, coolbean. But, I hope your quote about people without brains talking to much was not personal.

Oh not at all. You had a valid question. That quote is directed at people who have no idea what they are talking about, but continue to talk anyway.

My engines don't like fuel that's been sitting for a year. Is that fuel old then?
Old fuel makes an excelent fire starter. Use it for that purpose spairenly.

I've used fuel well over a year old before with no problems. As long as it's stored as stated above, tightly sealed container, you won't have any problems. If you don't keep the container sealed tightly you'll wind up with moisture in the fuel which will cause problems.

Ken

An article on this subject was done in one of the mainstream mags, within the past few years. They added water to the fuel to see how performance degraded. I don't remember the actual % of water that it took before the engine[s] protested, but it was quite a lot. The fuel can always be put in a feezer, then skim off the ice that forms, if you want to dry out your fuel.

I'm flying 3 year old fuel at the moment.

why worry about it lol the real ? is how long did it stay in a wearhouse b4 it got to the hobby shop.

My question concerned the shelf life after it had been opened and how improper storage may cause a detiriation.