Is it Bad to Mix Gas from Different Stations (Explained!)

Do you know how bad is it to mix vehicle gasoline from different companies? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.

Many people are concerned about the idea of mixing gas from different gas stations. So much so, that you will often find people only ever use the same gas station.

So, is it a bad thing to use different gas stations for your gas? Should you try and switch up the gas stations that you use? We are going to answer every single one of your questions, plus a few more, right here on this page.

Table of Contents

Is It Bad To Mix Gas From Different Stations?

Absolutely not. At least, not in the United States. In this country, the gas industry is tightly regulated. This means gas is simply gas.

Now, the formulations for gas will differ slightly, depending on the station that you purchase from. Some will contain additives that other brands do not add to their gas.

However, at the end of the day, you are still putting exactly the same type of gas into your vehicle.

This means that there is absolutely no downside to mixing gas from different stations in your vehicle.

In fact, it would probably be a bit inconvenient if you had to empty your gas tank each and every time you wanted to use a different brand of gas, right?

Of course, we must stress that this is information that is only going to apply to the United States and other similar countries. We are sure that there are some countries out there that do not have quite so rigorous controls when it comes to gas and petrol.

Although, since you are reading this, we are going to assume that you are in the US or in one of those similar countries.

Read also >> Sam’s Club Gas Hours (Full Guide)

When You May Run Into Issues Mixing Gas

There is one thing that we do want to point out, though. However, this may not be a problem for the vast majority of you.

You may have issues mixing gas from different stations if one station is a busy station, and the other one doesn’t get a whole lot of custom. So, you won’t really run into this particular issue if you live in a metropolitan area.

The thing is that gas cannot sit in gas tanks for a long period of time. This is due to the additives that are in the gas (they help the gas burn cleaner). The longer the gas sits at the station, the more it starts to oxidize. This means that when it is finally added to your vehicle, you may get less mileage from it.

Therefore, where possible, you should always try to ensure that you pick up your gas from some of the busier gas stations around.

Older gas is just going to be too costly, as you will need more of it to get that vehicle running.

You may also want to avoid gas stations that are clearly not on top of maintenance. Their gas tends to be of lower quality too, due to issues with their tanks.

Is It Beneficial To Mix Gas From Different Stations?

Surprisingly, yes. In fact, many people actually recommend that you do it. It is not going to have a huge amount of benefit to your vehicle, but there is a small amount of evidence that it will have some benefit.

What you have to remember is that the gas that ends up at the gas pumps is going to be formulated slightly differently, depending on the gas station that you pick it up from. There won’t be any difference between stations under the same brand name, but there will be between gas that has different brand names.

While these additives have a wealth of different benefits, one of the main benefits is the fact that they can help to keep your engine ticking over nicely. It helps to ensure that the engine and fuel lines do not become blocked.

Because of this, having gas from a variety of different brands can actually allow several different additives to flow through your vehicle, each having a slightly different impact on the engine.

That being said, the benefits here are going to be minor. We can’t really see there being any need for you to go out there and constantly fill up with different types of gas.

However, every so often, you may want to use a different gas station from the one that you normally use. There is going to be a slight amount of benefit, and your engine will love you for it!

Of course, being able to mix gas from different stations also has the benefit of you being able to go out there and ensure that you are always able to score the best possible price on your gas.

This is something that is going to be incredibly important over the coming years. Gas prices aren’t going to stop rising any time soon!

Can You Mix Regular and Premium Gas?

We are going to assume that you wouldn’t be so foolish as to put diesel into a gas vehicle. However, gas comes in both regular and premium. Can you mix those?

Well, in most cases, you shouldn’t have too many issues mixing the two. However, you should always consult your vehicle’s owner manual to be 100% sure.

If the owner’s manual says that you should be using premium gas in your vehicle, then you should try to avoid using regular gas at all.

While it is not going to cause any serious harm to your vehicle if you are using it once every so often, it isn’t going to be ideal either.

If your owner’s manual says that you should be using regular gas for your vehicle, then use regular gas. Premium gas is not going to have any negative impact on your vehicle.

However, it also isn’t going to have a positive impact. It is essentially going to be a waste of money for a vehicle built to run on regular gas.

If you do decide to mix the two, then bear in mind that the octane level will go down a little bit. Obviously, it will go down less if the bulk of the mixture is premium gas.

Can You Mix Gas From Different Stations in Lawnmowers and Other Power Tools?

Just like with vehicles, there should be no issues mixing gas from different stations in any tools that take gas (including generators).

That being said, we would tend to avoid it. This is because gas does degrade rather quickly, and gas-powered tools tend to be more susceptible to this degradation than a vehicle would be.

So, try to ensure that all the gas that you put in your power tools comes from the same source. It likely won’t have a huge negative impact not to do that, but better safe than sorry.

Conclusion

There is nothing wrong with mixing gas from different gas stations. In fact, due to the way in which additives work in fuel, it may actually be beneficial to switch your gas up every so often.

The only time that you are ever really going to run into any issues will be if you opt to mix regular and premium if your vehicle has been designed for a high octane gas.

However, even then, the issues should be minor assuming that you are not doing it all the time.

References

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article251384363.html