I have been offered an unopened barrel of VP race fuel. It was sold retail last summer. My question: Is it possible that the quality of this fuel, in the original unopened metal barrel, has deteriorated over time? And if so, how?

Thanks for any good responses.

Ragnar in Iceland

VP says 2 years sealed no sunlight

It was sold last summer. But when was it made? It will degrade over time. Being that it is still sealed is a plus.

Its fine

I buy Sunoco 110 by the 55 gal drum. I typically have some left over from race season to the next. Last year I bought a drum at the beginning of the year and still have half left that'll I'll use this year. I usually put the pump in and pump out what I need and than take the pump out and screw the cap back on. I have been doing this for almost 10 years and haven't noticed any issues doing this. I store the drum in the corner of my heated garage. I'm a bracket racer though and not chasing every last thousandths some guys. My car stays consistent during the course of the day for the weather.

I always buy my fuel by the 55 gallon drum. It is kept closed except for filling the jugs. Sometimes it’ll be 1 to 1 1/2 years before the next drum. Been running 10 years like that. Never had an issue. Used both Renegade pro 114 and VP C14 fuel. 15-1 compression. Never any signs of detonation. No variance in ET.
Doug

If it was stored properly it should still be good. If the drum was in direct contact with a cold concrete or dirt floor then it might not good. We had a drum go bad because it was stored on a damp concrete floor. The dealer told us we needed to keep it in a dry warehouse or at least put it up on wood blocks.

Years ago when VP first started selling their fuels at NHRA races they told me that I must use all the fuel in three days after opening one of their containers, 5 gallons and or 55 gallons
I use to buy drums of Daeco brand race gas from a refinery in Wilmington, CA, I stored in a shed under a big shade tree in Hesperia, CA and would use it until it was all gone, I would seal them up between use but I know racers that kept their mechanical hand pumps in the barrels and never supposedly had issue with fuel quality.
I still have a specific gravity tester and I have seen the Specific gravity decay on race gas left in the tank on my old NHRA stocker after sitting for more than three weeks between races in the summer time in SO CA

Thanks guys for your contributions. Based on your remarks I´ll go for it.

Ragnar in Iceland