Tuesday 19 April 2016

Why doesn't Marty use the other DeLorean?

As noted by Doc's letter to Marty, Doc has been in 1885 for 8 months. This is crucial to figure out why the gas, how ever much is left, would not be useful. Gas tends to have a shelf life of 3 months. 8 months is more than twice that. And that's only in ideal conditions. Since Doc likely knew enough to prep the damaged DeLorean for long term storage, which involves in draining all fluids, and that 1955 Doc specifically told Marty at the drive in that he filled it with gas, we can assume it had no 70 year old gas inside. Doc, had he kept it, would have needed a container, and 1885 would not have any quality, gas grade containers (air tight, opaque, low permability).



Gas will go stale within months. And that's modern day Gas, who knows what 1955 gas shelf life is like. The more space in a tank, the more space it has to evaporate. Condensation will add water to the fuel ruining it. Temperature swings will as well. As we know, 1885 had no temperature control to speak of. The older the gas, the less likely it will ignite. Diesel would last longer as it does not need a spark to ignite, just compression.



In short, even if Doc had saved the gas, eight months and imperfect storage would have made it useless by the time Marty showed up.

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