Petrol Fuel age concerns - Not driving my SS as much...

[Paulie81]

Hi All

I recently changed jobs which means I no longer drive to work. I only use my SS on weekends now for short trips or the occasional day out with the family so my estimated yearly KMs will be around 5000km. My concern is about fuel (98 RON) that is sitting in the tank for extended amounts of time. If I have a full tank it may take 3-6 weeks to consume it all depending on how much driving I had each weekend. Is there any need for concern or is 3-6 weeks fine? Id prefer not use additives but if anyone recommends it I would consider. Could an alternative be to only fill the the tank halfway when it gets close to empty? Is that a sound strategy or does that cause other problems such as water buildup etc? Thanks

 

[Mattricho]

I only use the mistress (my15 SSV) every 2-3 weekends and I just leave 1/4 tank of fuel in the car then when I’m going out put roughly as much fuel as I need.

Normally I put in $20 and that’s enough to get me in the city and back about a 50km trip

 

[Holden17]

Yeah I sort of go the other way...I can take 4-6 weeks to get down to somewhere between a quarter & a half a tank and then I fill up...usually timed so that I’m paying $1.30 rather than $1.70. I like to think the new fuel gushing in is mixing well with what’s already there but I really wouldn’t have a clue as to overall effects.

Most of my limited running is 75% up & down the highway so generally sitting on 100/110 km/h which is why consumption rarely reads higher than 11.5.

Still haven’t quite clicked over 15k in 20 months and that includes one return trip Bris/Bathurst and one Bris/Sydney.

So I do wonder what could be happening all round with such limited running but not overduly concerned...still has the new car carcinogenic smell and absolutely love the smell, sound and feel every time I do get in it.

 

[Paulie81]

Just found this. According to Scotty it's better to have more fuel in the tank to reduce the amount of Air contained in the tank.

 

[vc commodore]

I've heard Stabil fuel additive is surposed to be good to prevent fuel going off quickly....I haven't tried it myself though, so I can't guarantee it is any good

 

[gossie]

Our 2009 VE at 40,000 kms now on the clock, does not get driven a lot as you can see.
I just keep the tank topped up with 91, 95 or 98 about every couple of months as I see fit, unless of course we go away on a long trip.
Have read that you lose about one octane a month, so with my mix of fuel I should be well over the 91 minimum required for mine.

 

[BlackVXGTS]

....If I have a full tank it may take 3-6 weeks to consume it all depending on how much driving I had each weekend. Is there any need for concern or is 3-6 weeks fine?...........

You shouldn't have a problem with that level of mileage/time, especially if you keep the tank at half-full or more, to reduce the amount of condensation that might occur. I'd be more concerned with the tyres possibly getting flat spots and/or the battery going flat.

On the other hand, BP says:
"Generally petrol will last in equipment fuel tanks for about 3 weeks at a temperature of around 20 deg C, after that it will perform better when fresh petrol is added. Petrol will last in sealed containers for more than 6 months, while some breathing will take place this is not enough to significantly affect product quality."

 

[kleanphil]

A little OT but i'd like to share this fuel story with you . A friend of mine tried to do a U turn on the boat ramp at Hinze Dam to clean his wheels after doing some 4 wheel driving in his Range Rover to clean the dirt off his car , but being a little light due to the body being alloy it started to float and slowly drifted out , he quickly evacuated out of the window and the Rover slowly floated out and sunk . After trying to find it with the help of some scuba divers he gave up and laid it to rest in the murky depth's .
Any way , a year later there was a knock at the door that turned out to be the cops asking who owned the Rover that had been dragged a shore by some fishermen , after determining that there was no insurance on the car and no foul play they left . It turns out that it had been found by some fishermen that were trying to catch a big cod that had made it his home and with the dam now being at low tide its roof was only a few feet from the surface and easily found .
After having it towed home we were at a loss to what would be the best way to salvage the situation . The first thing he remembered was that he had fully filled the tank before leaving on his trek so we drained the lot out , probably about 60 litres . Some I put in my car but the rest eventually all got used in the mower with no ill effect . So I don't know if I'd stress too much about your worries as once you've used any oldish fuel you'll soon replace it with some nice fresh stuff .
So for a lot of Gold Coasters they were drinking Range Rover contaminated water for a year

 

[Holden17]

Yeah keep it topped up & take plenty of fast corners to make sure it mixes well.

 

[abuch47]

A little OT but i'd like to share this fuel story with you . A friend of mine tried to do a U turn on the boat ramp at Hinze Dam to clean his wheels after doing some 4 wheel driving in his Range Rover to clean the dirt off his car , but being a little light due to the body being alloy it started to float and slowly drifted out , he quickly evacuated out of the window and the Rover slowly floated out and sunk . After trying to find it with the help of some scuba divers he gave up and laid it to rest in the murky depth's .
Any way , a year later there was a knock at the door that turned out to be the cops asking who owned the Rover that had been dragged a shore by some fishermen , after determining that there was no insurance on the car and no foul play they left . It turns out that it had been found by some fishermen that were trying to catch a big cod that had made it his home and with the dam now being at low tide its roof was only a few feet from the surface and easily found .
After having it towed home we were at a loss to what would be the best way to salvage the situation . The first thing he remembered was that he had fully filled the tank before leaving on his trek so we drained the lot out , probably about 60 litres . Some I put in my car but the rest eventually all got used in the mower with no ill effect . So I don't know if I'd stress too much about your worries as once you've used any oldish fuel you'll soon replace it with some nice fresh stuff .
So for a lot of Gold Coasters they were drinking Range Rover contaminated water for a year

Now thats a WTF story. I cant beleive you salvaged the >$100 of fuel