How often to startup vehicle now that working from home?

[Rapid Red]

Hope this note finds everyone safe.

I have been working from home for 3 weeks now, so have really only taken my ST out about 3 or 4 times, and only for short trips for groceries. Really taking the stay home advice seriously.

With that though, I have not had to gas up for 3 weeks either, and still have about 3/4 tank. Should I be going for some longer trips to make sure I cycle through my gas? At what point will the gas start going bad? Or might fuel additives be a solution? And next time put in premium fuel?

Just curious what others think about this, and are doing.

Thanks and please stay safe everyone.

 

[Dale5403]

Just read an article about this a couple of days ago. They recommended using your gas in about 3 months. I doubt that premium would change that.
I use Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer for my small engines and have had great luck with it. Never used it in my vehicles but I would think that it would work well there also if needed.
Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Premium often lasts less long, due to it aging in the tanks before you buy it. As some Stabil, and start it enough to keep the battery charged. A healthy battery should EASILY last 2 weeks

 

[jrgoffin]

Hope this note finds everyone safe.

I have been working from home for 3 weeks now, so have really only taken my ST out about 3 or 4 times, and only for short trips for groceries. Really taking the stay home advice seriously.

With that though, I have not had to gas up for 3 weeks either, and still have about 3/4 tank. Should I be going for some longer trips to make sure I cycle through my gas? At what point will the gas start going bad? Or might fuel additives be a solution? And next time put in premium fuel?

Just curious what others think about this, and are doing.

Thanks and please stay safe everyone.

With that short of a timespan, you aren't going to have any worries. Many of us with collector cars keep them stored in the winter and may not start them up for several months. I put some Sta-Bil in my Cobra around November then it won't get driven until maybe April or May. I may start it up once or twice (and it's always connected to a battery tender), and have gone easily two months in between with zero problems. A few weeks will be nothing.

 

[Rapid Red]

Just read an article about this a couple of days ago. They recommended using your gas in about 3 months. I doubt that premium would change that.
I use Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer for my small engines and have had great luck with it. Never used it in my vehicles but I would think that it would work well there also if needed.
Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Thanks, I will check the link and seafoam out. I think I can go through a tank in 3 months without making too many special trips.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I wouldn’t let my gas sit more than three months without an additive to keep it longer.

You could also get ethanol free gas and it’d last longer, or limit it to half a tank.

 

[Rapid Red]

Premium often lasts less long, due to it aging in the tanks before you buy it. As some Stabil, and start it enough to keep the battery charged. A healthy battery should EASILY last 2 weeks

That’s a good point, thanks. Will stick with regular. No tune yet anyways.

 

[Rapid Red]

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

One thing i can share from my own experience with gas in my snowblower, backpack blower, and lawnmower, is a product called Aspen Gas. You can leave it for months on end and won’t go bad. Costs 35 cdn for 5 litres, so estimate maybe 20 US per gallon, so would not want to use in car obviously. But if you are like me and have had gummed up carbs on lawnmower in the past, it’s totally worth the cost. Stihl gives extra year warranty if you buy a jug of their similar gas when buy backpack blower. Plus it is virtually odourless so don’t stink after doing the neighbourhood sidewalks with backpack blower.

 

[peterk9]

Hope this note finds everyone safe.

I have been working from home for 3 weeks now, so have really only taken my ST out about 3 or 4 times, and only for short trips for groceries. Really taking the stay home advice seriously.

With that though, I have not had to gas up for 3 weeks either, and still have about 3/4 tank. Should I be going for some longer trips to make sure I cycle through my gas? At what point will the gas start going bad? Or might fuel additives be a solution? And next time put in premium fuel?

Just curious what others think about this, and are doing.

Thanks and please stay safe everyone.

I'm much like you. I just go out for groceries now. I filled up on March 12th and will likely not have to fill again until June. In Winter I'm busy with coaching hockey but once that is done my fillups are generally every 2 or 3 months. Never had any issues nor did I add anything else to the tank. What I do occasionally is to take the long route to the store so it takes about 15 minutes instead of less than 5.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

One thing i can share from my own experience with gas in my snowblower, backpack blower, and lawnmower, is a product called Aspen Gas. You can leave it for months on end and won’t go bad. Costs 35 cdn for 5 litres, so estimate maybe 20 US per gallon, so would not want to use in car obviously. But if you are like me and have had gummed up carbs on lawnmower in the past, it’s totally worth the cost. Stihl gives extra year warranty if you buy a jug of their similar gas when buy backpack blower. Plus it is virtually odourless so don’t stink after doing the neighbourhood sidewalks with backpack blower.

I transfer the gas from the snowblower into the lawnmower or vice versa depending on the season. I then start the donor machine and let it run dry. Have been doing this for years.

Peter

 

[Rapid Red]

I'm much like you. I just go out for groceries now. I filled up on March 12th and will likely not have to fill again until June. In Winter I'm busy with coaching hockey but once that is done my fillups are generally every 2 or 3 months. Never had any issues nor did I add anything else to the tank. What I do occasionally is to take the long route to the store so it takes about 15 minutes instead of less than 5.

Peter

That’s a good plan. Will do same.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Premium often lasts less long, due to it aging in the tanks before you buy it. As some Stabil, and start it enough to keep the battery charged. A healthy battery should EASILY last 2 weeks

I get a delivery of premium at least once a week. Unless you are talking about those run down mom and pops, any major chain gets fresh fuel every day to every few days.

 

[drakon543]

i would like to add a thought outside of the concern about the gas going bad. for those that are starting thier vehicle just for the sake of starting it. make sure you run the vehicle long enough for it to warm up all the way. if possible do a quick run around the block for longer extended periods of not being use. im sure most of us will still have to make trips to a grocery store and such for necessity items so its not a big concern. more of a thought for those with multiple vehicles and those that dont need to go out much at all.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I get a delivery of premium at least once a week. Unless you are talking about those run down mom and pops, any major chain gets fresh fuel every day to every few days.

A lot of rural places have nice equipment, but don’t sell a lot of premium as there are many more tractors and old farm trucks than sports cars. We learned when racing our bikes to get our gas on the highway to the track, than at the local station. That’s when we weren’t running VP110, anyways.

 

[TsherryUSA]

Sort of related, but today I'm switching my insurance to a pay by mile insurance provider. Should save ~$20/mo now that I'm not really driving.

 

[DelcoGary]

The owner's manual has a section for storing your vehicle if you are concerned. It mentions to run it for a minimum of 15 minutes every 15 days and preferably to move it 25 feet every 15 days. There's also a recommendation to "set the climate controls to defrost" along with a few other recommendations.

I would also suggest that you make sure the headlight switch is in the off position, not automatic if it is going to be sitting a while.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The owner's manual has a section for storing your vehicle if you are concerned. It mentions to run it for a minimum of 15 minutes every 15 days and preferably to move it 25 feet every 15 days. There's also a recommendation to "set the climate controls to defrost" along with a few other recommendations.

I would also suggest that you make sure the headlight switch is in the off position, not automatic if it is going to be sitting a while.

Why does the headlight switch matter?

 

[evilgeek]

the Ford Pass app prompted me today to go out and start the engine to keep the battery healthy. not sure if it's actually detecting something or they just sent that to everyone. i have been going out for supplies at least twice a week, though not going more than a couple of miles.

 

[peterk9]

the Ford Pass app prompted me today to go out and start the engine to keep the battery healthy. not sure if it's actually detecting something or they just sent that to everyone. i have been going out for supplies at least twice a week, though not going more than a couple of miles.

See my post #9. Particularly the last sentence.

 

[Rick]

the Ford Pass app prompted me today to go out and start the engine to keep the battery healthy. not sure if it's actually detecting something or they just sent that to every.

There is a constant light drain on the battery while the vehicle is parked. The app probably noticed the voltage dropped below a preset level.