[Shiny]

Forgive the trivia but I am going to replace my gas tank and emptied about 3 gallons of old nasty gas from it.

Our county has no hazardous waste option to get rid of it "nicely" unless I want to wait for 2 years for the one day they bring a truck in. I suspect many would just dump it and even more toxic stuff on the nearest BLM road.

Do you have any options where you live?

I can neither confirm nor deny letting it evaporate.

[gtospieg]

In the past when I needed to dispose of old gas or gas I used to clean parts I pour it on the burn pile and light it up. Problem solved.

[Lemans64]

Mix it with used oil, a little at a time. Our disposal company that picks up out used oil says we are allowed a small amount
in our used oil. But ya the burn pile works idea works well also.

[sdbob]

I saved it used to clean parts.

[Dragncar]

How old is the gas ? If its 3 years old or less I have ran it through a filter funnel and ran it in lawn mowers. I did not let it sit in the mowers, ran it out. Even used it in my Civic, ran fine.

[77 TRASHCAN]

If it still smells like gas and not varnish, it's likely good.
I've had some from time to time.a couple of times I sprinkled it on some big weeds, trying not to let any of it hit the g r ound. The weeds gave up, no harm.

[Shiny]

Thanks for the suggestions. I can use a couple of them.

I'm still curious if other places have hazardous waste facilities that accept gasoline.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

If it still smells like gas and not varnish, it's likely good.
I've had some from time to time.a couple of times I sprinkled it on some big weeds, trying not to let any of it hit the g r ound. The weeds gave up, no harm.

Yup, still smells like gas you can use it in something low risk. I had gas in the tank from 2019 and just ran it in the old Honda. Used old varnish gas to kill weeds in the sidewalk. Had some enviros honk at me while doing it.
Well, if they will not let us use burn barrels here anymore I will find a use for it. Its safer than Roundup IMO, I will not let that stuff near my home.

[Skip Fix]

Got to watch using it on a burn pile the fumes can move through it and flash-and burn the hair off your arm-ask me how I know! Now the old 2 cycle mix with oil in it does not seem to do it that bad.

I have mixed a little of not too old gas in my old better 97 truck a little at a time.

[Skip Fix]

What I have done is once the Burn pile is going tossing the old gas in it in a plastic milk jug. Not too much flair up then and does not ignite until the plastic melts.

[Tom Vaught]

Only time I was every stranded on a trip was when a "friend" gave me 5 gallons of "race gas" That I put in my "Trip Vehicle". Gas melted the fuel sock and no fuel flow. Sock was destroyed in about 6 hours on the road.

Was able to remove the sock on the vehicle without dropping the tank and threw it as far as I could then reassembled the the fuel tank and drove it another 2600 miles on the trip without issues. Carb was built with Holley Race Gaskets and steel N&S in the 1979 time frame.

Will never put race gas in any street driven vehicle again.

Tom V.

[RocktimusPryme]

In small amounts we would sometimes just toss avgas on the concrete. It evaporates very fast. Vehicle gasoline wouldn’t be quite as fast but on a hard surface in the sun it wouldn’t last long.

Keeping it for parts cleaning is a good idea too. Just as long as you keep it in a safe space where it wouldn’t ever encounter sparks.

[Dragncar]

I won't use it for cleaning parts myself. Almost had a horrible accident as a kid. My dad was a CAT mechanic and he would rebuild peoples vehicles for extra money when I was young.
Well he had one of those old steel drain pans with a couple inches of gas for cleaning parts in the garage still there from the night before. A neighbor friend (we were 10) was goofing around and took some white paper and rolled a "cigarette" out of old dry lawn clippings. He took a puff(choked) and it started to burn his fingers so he tossed it.
I watched that burning thing hit the edge of the pan..... and drop to the outside on the concrete. I was standing 2 feet away from that pan.
It could have all went bad.
That ended my dad using it and I have never used it. I keep fire extinguishers close and a charged hose near whenever I weld at home too. Will not store gas in the garage either.

[Tom Vaught]

I have 3 of the 2.5 gallon military "jerry cans" which I keep in my Garden Shed.

I will not store any chemicals that make vapors in my garage.

Tom V.

[Shiny]

If it was 8 oz., I wouldn't have thought twice.

But 3 gallons is a lot for me and it stunk too bad to feel good about putting it in anything. I also won't use it for cleaning. I've been exposed to enough toxic and potentially carcinogenic material in my life. It also evaporates too fast, to say nothing of the flammability.

I am not an eco warrior but if there was a "safe" way to discard it, I would have followed it. I worked for a company that left a legacy of superfund sites and I did a lot of chemical process development so I respect the dangers.

It just surprised me that after 50 years of evaporative emissions controls, ecological disasters, and regulating VOCs that a hazardous material as pervasive as gasoline would not have an easily-accessible waste disposal process and infrastructure.

[Schurkey]

Burn it. Do not let it "evaporate". "Evaporation" is 100% pure hydrocarbon emission.

If it burns in an engine doing something useful, so much the better.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by Schurkey

Burn it. Do not let it "evaporate". "Evaporation" is 100% pure hydrocarbon emission.

If it burns in an engine doing something useful, so much the better.

Yes, CO2 is probably better than gas vapor.

I do have a big burn pile building so that might make the most sense if I can figure out how to burn it safely.

[AG]

Originally Posted by Shiny

Yes, CO2 is probably better than gas vapor.

I do have a big burn pile building so that might make the most sense if I can figure out how to burn it safely.

Gasoline vapor is not a greenhouse gas, but CO2 is.

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by AG

Gasoline vapor is not a greenhouse gas, but CO2 is.

I care enormously more about photochemical smog than I do about "greenhouse gas" as related to CO2. Hydrocarbons are a primary ingredient in photochemical smog.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics...ochemical-smog

2.3.1 Photochemical Smog

Photochemical smog is a brownish-gray haze caused by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on atmosphere polluted with hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen.

Water vapor is a MUCH more-potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Tell the politicians to ban sea breezes.

Methane is a MUCH more-potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Tell the frackers to capture it rather than flare--or vent--the stuff. In fact, how much methane was released when "someone" blew holes in the Russian/German natural gas pipeline a week or so ago?

I don't give a shiit about CO2.

[b-man]

Burn it one of your dailys.

Maybe pour in a quart through a filtered funnel right after you fill up the tank.

Easy and legal.