Re: Life of Petrol?

Can't see why petrol should have a shelf life when it is distilled from
crude which is millions of years old and simply a mix of diffferent
fractions one of which is oil ?



"Mother" <"@ {m} @"@101fc.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here's an interesting one. I'd always thought petrol to have a shelf
> life of 3 maybe 4 years max. I have an old jerry can with some
> unleaded from 1996 (chalk mark) which I usually use for cleaning stuph
> with.
>
> Well (erm) I accidentally filled my Honda EU10i Genny with the
> contents...
>
> Runs a treat! Certainly no noticable difference from the 'new' lot
> filled a month or so ago.
>
> So, what determines the shelf life of petrol, anyone?
>
> As an additional interesting aside, the jerry can it was in was the
> most rancid one I have, previously filled with all sorts, including
> Red Deisel for mi boat at one point. The only thing about that can
> that was 'new' was the rubber seal around the cap.
>

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:51:46 GMT, "Hirsty's" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Can't see why petrol should have a shelf life when it is distilled from
>crude which is millions of years old and simply a mix of diffferent
>fractions one of which is oil ?
>
It's still an organic chemical which can react with others to produce
new substances, which may be less flammable than the original.

A litre of petrol, as part of an oil well and fully mixed with a load
of other oil fractions, is pretty well isolated from any external
reactants. A litre on its own in a mucky tin with a lid that may or
may not be airtight is a rather different beast.
--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

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Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 17:14:00 +0000, Tim Hobbs
<[email protected]> wrote:

>It's still an organic chemical which can react with others to produce
>new substances, which may be less flammable than the original.

Yeah, and that...

Anyone remember the site with the quality data on LPG which
demonstrated the UK has the foulest on the planet?

I totally agree, however I was refering simply to the idea of a shelf life
for petrol, not that it would be kept in awkward conditions. In a good
container with no contaminents I'll bet the substance would last
indefinately ( apart from evaporation or diffusion ).



A litre on its own in a mucky tin with a lid that may or
> may not be airtight is a rather different beast.