Please recommend company to drain old petrol from fuel tank
Discussion
HI,
I have an old Jaguar XJ40 which I have been using shamefully little in the last few years. The tank is about 3/4 full with (IIRC) Shell V-Power. The majority of the fuel is about 3.5 years old. I added some fresh petrol about a year ago and drove to the the MOT station and had the car MOT'd without a problem last year, but didn't drive it after that.
I am now worried that the petrol is just too old and worry that I could do some damage to the car if I use it even if topped up with fresh V-Power. I have no facility to drain the fuel myself, are there any recommended companies out there who drain fuel and what is the expected cost?
I have an old Jaguar XJ40 which I have been using shamefully little in the last few years. The tank is about 3/4 full with (IIRC) Shell V-Power. The majority of the fuel is about 3.5 years old. I added some fresh petrol about a year ago and drove to the the MOT station and had the car MOT'd without a problem last year, but didn't drive it after that.
I am now worried that the petrol is just too old and worry that I could do some damage to the car if I use it even if topped up with fresh V-Power. I have no facility to drain the fuel myself, are there any recommended companies out there who drain fuel and what is the expected cost?
CKY said:
Are you looking for a specialist company to come out to your house/where the car is currently to do this? Because i'd have thought any garage/mechanic would have been able to do the job, and be ready with the necessary equipment to dispose of the old fuel safely.
I'd agree - most garages will be able to do it, and maybe re-use the old fuel for parts cleaning etc. If the car isn't going to be used for another period of time, I've also read people commenting that it's better to fill the tank to reduce the chance of condensation causing corrosion in the tank. I don't know if that's true, or whether your car even has a metal fuel tank.
There are companis who deal with people who've put petrol into diesels etc.
Ironically, if I had some dubious petrol to get rid of, I'd probably be looking for an old engine with no electronics....
A mate with a big two stroke outboard can get rid of quite a lot.
I don't believe petrol always keeps as well as it used to so I try to avoid storing it.
Ironically, if I had some dubious petrol to get rid of, I'd probably be looking for an old engine with no electronics....
A mate with a big two stroke outboard can get rid of quite a lot.
I don't believe petrol always keeps as well as it used to so I try to avoid storing it.
droopsnoot said:
CKY said:
Are you looking for a specialist company to come out to your house/where the car is currently to do this? Because i'd have thought any garage/mechanic would have been able to do the job, and be ready with the necessary equipment to dispose of the old fuel safely.
I'd agree - most garages will be able to do it, and maybe re-use the old fuel for parts cleaning etc. If the car isn't going to be used for another period of time, I've also read people commenting that it's better to fill the tank to reduce the chance of condensation causing corrosion in the tank. I don't know if that's true, or whether your car even has a metal fuel tank.
dbdb said:
I do, but the tank is about 3/4 full. The tank is 90 litres so 70 litres is a lot of mowing!
Couple of cheap jerry cans and a syphon though or you've lost 100 quids worth of fuel plus a call out charge...another 100 quid? It's what I do with old high octane stuff that's been sat for ages. My lawn mover has had old 105 octane through it that's so old it's probably not far off water
In a relatively modern car like an XJ40 with a semi-sealed fuel tank and charcoal breather, the fuel will be perfectly alright even at 3.5 years old. The fuel injection system will happily cope with any minor degradation in the fuel and adjust accordingly. When fuel is old enough to cause an issue you know about it and it has a particularly pungent smell.
All you need to do is use and enjoy the car until you've used the tank full and then re-fill. No need to waste perfectly decent fuel on age concern alone. I've successfully recommissioned cars on MUCH older fuel than that.
All you need to do is use and enjoy the car until you've used the tank full and then re-fill. No need to waste perfectly decent fuel on age concern alone. I've successfully recommissioned cars on MUCH older fuel than that.
larrylamb11 said:
In a relatively modern car like an XJ40 with a semi-sealed fuel tank and charcoal breather, the fuel will be perfectly alright even at 3.5 years old. The fuel injection system will happily cope with any minor degradation in the fuel and adjust accordingly. When fuel is old enough to cause an issue you know about it and it has a particularly pungent smell.
All you need to do is use and enjoy the car until you've used the tank full and then re-fill. No need to waste perfectly decent fuel on age concern alone. I've successfully recommissioned cars on MUCH older fuel than that.
What he said, if it starts and runs without overheating or misfiring just use it up by going for a drive.All you need to do is use and enjoy the car until you've used the tank full and then re-fill. No need to waste perfectly decent fuel on age concern alone. I've successfully recommissioned cars on MUCH older fuel than that.
I'd stick one of these in - it has octane booster and detergents - and drive to the nearest petrol station and top up with Vmax etc and drive it.
https://www.millersoils-shop.co.uk/petrol-power-ec...
https://www.millersoils-shop.co.uk/petrol-power-ec...
This might reassure you, but in forty years with the same Jaguar I have never suffered from a problem with stale fuel. I never fill my tank each autumn and I have never had any problem with damp either. The only problem was the sound insulation under the tank that due to water infiltration rotted the tank through from underneath. Just to finish, if you think there might be a problem top the tank up with a can of fresh juice and take the car for a good run.
Considering the car starts and runs well I don't think you've got too much to worry about. When fuel does deteriorate the car won't run well (or at all).
Presumably there's a reason you seldom use the car but want to keep it ?
With an XJ40 I'd be more concerned with electrical gremlins creeping in due to lack of use, they're notorious for it.
Presumably there's a reason you seldom use the car but want to keep it ?
With an XJ40 I'd be more concerned with electrical gremlins creeping in due to lack of use, they're notorious for it.
Despite the dire predictions with regard to stale fuel, I recently started one of my bikes, for the first time in four years.
It had 3/4 of a tank of four year old unleaded, it started first time and ran normally. Once I got down to reserve I filled it up, forgot about it and got on with my life.
You're worrying over nothing!
It had 3/4 of a tank of four year old unleaded, it started first time and ran normally. Once I got down to reserve I filled it up, forgot about it and got on with my life.
You're worrying over nothing!
Add me to the: "If it starts and runs on the old fuel, just run it - You're not going to hurt it" group.
I'd add some petrol treatment/octane booster to the tank, and top up with a bit of fresh E5 super unleaded, and then just take it for a few drives, run tank down, and top up with fresh fuel.
There's no point spending money for someone to remove the fuel if you can simply use it.
(Naturally if the car won't run on the fuel, or starts having issues on the old fuel, then get the tank drained, but if you don't need to - Don't bother)
I'd add some petrol treatment/octane booster to the tank, and top up with a bit of fresh E5 super unleaded, and then just take it for a few drives, run tank down, and top up with fresh fuel.
There's no point spending money for someone to remove the fuel if you can simply use it.
(Naturally if the car won't run on the fuel, or starts having issues on the old fuel, then get the tank drained, but if you don't need to - Don't bother)
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