Fuel...

[Al M]

Apologies if this has been asked before, I did do a thread search but didn't find anything.

What I am wondering is does fuel 'go off'?

I found a metal and unused gallon can of 16% fuel. I cannot swear as to whether or not it has been opened - I think it probably has, but it is still full. It is heli fuel... is the right colour... smells fine etc.. It has been in my shed for easily 12 months. Should I give it a go?

[CookieMan]

Well I think you should be fine to use it really Al... If the lid was on secure and the fuel itself is not (otherwise) contaminated ...

[J-S-Q]

I've certainly seen some fuels with a 'use by' date (I think Optifuel has this for example) and I've been told that it generally won't last indefinitely. I don't know whether it would actually damage your engine or just give poor performance but I'd be cautious about using it if I were you.

[J-S-Q]

Just looked at a bottle of Optifuel that I bought a month or two ago and it has an 'expiry date' of May 2011 so assuming it was recently made when I bought it that gives a shelf life of approximately a year (but of course it could have been manufactured a long while ago, who knows?).

[Al M]

Thanks for that guys, I have tuned it in and ran a tankful through it.. And it ran sweet as a nut. (Are nuts sweet?!?) As I am only at the low hovering stage I will run a couple of more tanks through it and see how it goes.

[Mojo]

Well I think you should be fine to use it really Al... If the lid was on secure and the fuel itself is not (otherwise) contaminated ...

Agree..

As long as it was sealed and kept in a dark and cool place it should be fine..

Nitromethane has a very long shelf life in storage, however, methanol is hygroscopic and it would be very wet very quickly if not kept sealed. The varied temperature would aid condensation, hence making the fuel wetter..