I have not started my Evo since Buschurs Shootout in Aug. Spring is finally here and the roads are clean from the recent rains. So I decided to fire up the Evo. The fuel in it is from the beginning of August 2013 and the tank was three quarters full. I decided to drain it and install some fresh E85 from Mollies in Manheim Pa.

Below is two pictures of the old and new E85. The new has a black rubber cap in it.
I use 1.5 oz's of Lucas Safeguard Ethanol Fuel Conditioner with Stabilizers per gallon.
As can be seen here, the nine month fuel has a different color then the fresh fuel.

There was no visible rust, water etc. in the old fuel. It smelled the same, but I am glad I drained it and replaced it with fresh E85.

The vehicle is kept in a climate controlled building with low humidity. The old fuel may have worked just fine

 

wow what a change

 

Did both fuels come from the same station?

 

Yes, but nine months apart. The fuel was clear when it was fresh. The color change may not effect the volatility of the fuel

I will not let E85 in my tank more then six months after seeing this color change.

 

Thats why I atleast drive the car once a week and never let it sit too long.

 

A friend of mine blew a head gasket and ended up letting the car sit for over a year with almost a full tank of e85. Once fixed it ran and drove seemingly fine. I was surprised.

 

the color change is only because oxygen is releasing.. natural and un-harmful.

Unlike gasoline the chemical structure of e-85 is much more resilient

 

Wow this is crazy hmm makes me want to store mine with an empty tank this coming winter

 

no reason for ethanol to decompose or oxidize at room temperature. i bet the yellowing is due to the gasoline or perhaps one of the fuel additives. most important thing is too keep it sealed from the environment to prevent water absorption. this can cause the ethanol to separate from the gasoline. was there any sign of fuel separation or stratification?

 

ive heard that about e85 not being good after max 6 months

 

This is the classic selfperpetuating myth. I heard from Joe who heard from Jeff that E85 turns to poop after seven days. People need to do some reading, but to give you a break, its hard to find accurate information. A quick search on Google brings up several forum discussions where people continually perpetuate the myth of E85 has having at best, a 90 day shelf life.

Ethanol is in fact more stable than gasoline when stored properly. At typical storage temperatures, it neither oxidizes nor decomposes while gasoline will readily oxidize. The reason the OP's fuel changed color was because of the gasoline and not the ethanol. The only unique issue to ethanol is that it will absorb water from the air. This can cause two issues. First is that during low temperature combustion (i.e., when a motor is cold), the water and ethanol produce an acid that can potentially do some damage. The other issue is that when enough water is absorbe into E85, the ethanol will stratify at the bottom of the container. However, for E85, the amount of water that needs to be absorbed for these things to happen is quite substantial - about 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of water per gallon of E85. They key to storing E85 (and gasoline) is to put it in a fully sealed, dark colored container. Its better for the gasoline if the drum is completely filled so there is less oxygen to react with the gasoline. Under these conditions, E85 will have a shelf life that is better than gasoline. Should be no problem to keep it for 1 year, and there are several reports of people having successfully used E85 after storing it properly for 1 year.

If you all want to do some reading, here is a useful article:

http://ethanolrfa.3cdn.net/dd9e74ce1..._rbm6bdgh3.pdf

 

thanks for the knowledge!

 

Always was curious about this, thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for that info mrfred!

 

Great info thanks for sharing!