In episode 4 of The last of usIn HBO’s “Please Hold to My Hand,” we see Joel pumping gas into cars, as one might in a post-apocalyptic world. But he says gasoline breaks down over time and the fuel he gets is almost water. But is he right? Is the HBO series right? The last of We in Episode 4 on Gas Going Wrong and Gasoline Going Wrong?
Yes, gasoline runs out, but it can be a little worse than what Joel describes in Episode 4.
Joel is basically right. He probably doesn’t mean that gasoline is literally water, but rather that gasoline loses its effectiveness over time to the point of being so useless. As oil giant BP’s own fuel handling guidelines confirm, gasoline can ‘last’ for a year stored in a sealed container. In other words, you can come back to it a year later and it will still be as effective.
But when you put it in a car tank or other equipment, like a generator, it starts to break down and rust. You can find a more detailed scientific explanation here, but after three to six months outdoors it will have lost much of its combustibility. Diesel lasts longer than petroleum and can last up to 12 months in a car engine before it starts to deteriorate. However, there are bigger problems associated with old fuel.
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As gasoline or diesel breaks down, it becomes “gooey” which, in turn, can clog a car’s engine. So even though Bill had serviced his truck regularly, using old gasoline, Joel was damaging the vehicle. But it’s not like you have a lot of options either.
So is there anything that can be done to stop the gasoline from going down? After all, oil has been underground for millions of years, but its refined products are far less resilient. What can be done is to add a fuel stabilizer which, although opinions vary, could retain “good” fuel for up to three years.
Survivor Bill seems like the kind of man who would do that, but the gasoline that Joel diverts from regular cars usually doesn’t add it. There’s also no way to reverse the fuel split, and since virtually all oil refineries will have shut down, there won’t be any new gasoline on the way.
Twenty years to the day from the epidemic, Joël is right to expect very little from the essence he finds. So yes, episode 4 of the HBO series The last of You are generally correct that gasoline spoils when gas decomposes.