Does #2 Fuel Oil Go Bad If Sits for Long Time?

dh4coal · Post by **dh4coal** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 10:52 am

Good Morning All,

Does anyone know how long fuel oil can sit in tanks and still be usable?

Thanks

JiminBucks · Post by **JiminBucks** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 11:11 am

It's not like gasoline if that's what your thinking! I believe it can sit in you tank a very long time without going bad. If you what to get rid of some, I'm totally empty!

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 12:03 pm

As long as it isn't contaminated, it should be good. It doesn't evaporate many volitiles like lighter fuels. If it is stored properly, it should be good for a decade or two at least I would think.

Yanche · Post by **Yanche** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 1:46 pm

I buy 4-500 gallons of home heating oil every 3-4 years in the summer when the price is the lowest. I add a measured amount of diesel fuel stabilizer before each tank gets filled. I've not had a problem using the fuel in my diesel tractor, generator or lawn mower. I'm told over the long term the fuel grows mold. Highly dependent on how clean your tank is, biologically and what's in the water vapor that condenses when your tank gets cold. I do have sediment, rust and water from my storage tanks. I make every effort to get out before it goes into my diesel equipment fuel tanks.

CoalBin · Post by **CoalBin** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 1:54 pm

I found 1200 gal in a tank which I did not know I had. Must have been there for 15 - 20 yrs. It was pretty dark looking. I put biocide in it along with some power service 911. I would not put it in an engine, but it heated my house fine ! To test it, I put some on a paper towel, when it burned I knew I'd be warm one way or another. I also invested in a goldenrod filter w/ drain.

New York Bear · Post by **New York Bear** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 6:06 pm

At work, we have had problems with plugging filters if we let the fuel sit to long, and if you use biodiesel, that stuff is an absolute no no for long term storage. Messes up injectors big time!

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 6:18 pm

I would change the filter. And while its apart, open the valve and allow a little to run out, say a cup full. Now take a sample in a clear glass. If you can see through it from one side of the glass to the other, its fine (it will be dark, like olive oil). There should be nothing that settles or floats in it. Have the wife/GF smell it. If she says it stinks, your good to go.

dh4coal · Post by **dh4coal** » Tue. Dec. 18, 2007 10:12 am

Thanks for all the help everyone. My Mom told me she has some oil sitting in her tanks-she converted to gas more than 20 years ago-and she was wondering if it was still good. I don't know how much there is-I have to go over and check it out. She has a 4-family house and she has a couple of BIG oil tanks in what used to be the enormous coal bin. I'm going to take a measuring tape and see how much coal it would hold too.
When my folks first bought the house in 1978 it had a 4' swing-out boom with a 12" sheaf block which could swing out over a large trapdoor on the 1st floor back porch. The 85 year old lady we bought the house (her father actually built the house) told us that it was to haul the ash cans out of the basement. They must have been some serious cans to need a 12" block!
The giant old coal boiler was still down there. It had been moved off to the side and replaced with a big Weil-McClane oil boiler a few years before we bought the place. In 1980, a friend of my grandfather came over and cut the beast into chunks with a cutting torch and hauled it to the scrapyard.