Hardly use any gas, is it a concern if its sits in my tank for long?

[CCc girl]

I put the Benz away for the winter with a full tank and some Sea Foam in the tank. Every April she fires up on the first try and the gas is good, she doesn't run rough.

My mom had some issues with her car because she wasn't driving. The battery light would go on because it wasn't being driven and the battery would need charging through the alternator. After she started driving it longer distances it resolved itself.

The same thing happened with her van, which she had not driven in years. She had to start it and let it idle every Sunday for thirty minutes, otherwise the battery would get low and not turn the engine over.

Ethanol is a major problem for anything with an engine, since you're not storing the car for long periods I would recommend Sea Foam rather than Stabil. JMHO YMMV

[mortpes]

Yes a concern the gas today has water and other contaminants. Go to a professional lawn mower maintenance shop and pick up a gas stabilizer. Follow instructions that either they give you at the shop or on the container.

[don1945]

The theories about the right way to keep gas good in a car (or boat) that isn't used much are all over the place.......some say do this, some say just the opposite. It used to be that we were told to keep the tank as full as possible so that there was little room in there for air, which causes moisture to form. But since ethanol has come along most "authorities" on the subject now say to keep the tank low on fuel so you put fresh gas on top of it to bring the octane back up and to keep the gas as fresh as possible.

Here is our experience: My one Son has two cars he rarely drives, a Vette and a T bucket. They may sit for 6 months at a time, and he has done that for years without a problem related to fuel. He keeps the tanks low on fuel and uses StarBrite Startron ethanol fuel stabilizer that you can buy at places like West Marine. His cars never fail to start and the injectors and carbs stay perfectly clean inside.

My advice to the OP is to not fill up your tank but to only buy maybe 5-8 gallons at a time. I only drive 8 miles every day myself, and I buy $20 worth of premium at a time and that lasts me a week. That way I always have fuel in the tank that is no more than a week old at any given time.

Don

[d4g4m]

If a vehicle sits for a long time with a partially filled tank, condensation with form inside the tank on the exposed metal causing rust. Knowing that gas goes bad, I thought it best to have only about 2-3 gallons in a 'collector' car tank. One day on the monthly start up, the engine kept stalling. Turned out there was over an inch of rust in the bottom of the tank clogging the pick up. After resolving that problem, I started keeping about 3/4 tank but added Sta-bil, same stuff you put in lawn mower gas container.
Keep tank full but add Sta-bil or keep tank empty, check fuel filter for rust particles.

[texdav]

If your worried about it use a gas stabilizer at tank up. good for up to one year its said.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I have a Mustang i rarely drive. I simply start it up, idle it for a bit, drive it around the neighborhood and put it away.

The gas in the tank is about a year old. Still starts and runs fine.

Old Mustang? The kind with a carburetor? Probably not, since you aren't having problems. The problem is that gas in a carburetor turn to shellac. It can take a long time and will depend on the weather, but it does happen.