A poll to stablize or not

[MH Hawker]

This is one of those topics I have often wondered about and thought it may be a good idea to see what others think.

 

[R Socey]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Fuel is only stable for a year - some say alot less, but if your motors are going to sit awhile, it is a good idea to
use some stabilizer - it is also suppose to remove water from tanks.

 

[oops!]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

i use it on winterizing and on occasion....usually mid season i dump some in the tank......

but it depends on how much i get out each season

 

[greenbush future]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Having so many gas powered toys around I find it easier to use this and not worry about rebuilding carbs and having failures on the trails, water or where ever. I use Sea Foam too, for all of my 2 strokes and they are many. The new crappy gas can separate in 3 months, never to be useful again. Just start adding it, every time you fill up a can or the RV being used, that way no matter when you stop using it, the gas in the bowl of the carb has been treated. I used to run every thing dry, and that works too, but it's just easier for me to add it to all fuels used.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Well, if we can not believe the gasoline companies. Do whatever rumors tell you to do.
I have a 350 gallon reserve gasoline tank. The fuel was 8 years old. Looked, smelled, tasted & ran like new stuff.

BUUUTT

I sealed the tank between uses. I plugged both threaded holes with pipe plugs wrapped with Teflon tape. That is why it stayed so fresh all those years. Same reason car gas tanks keep fuel fresh so long.
ALL boats are required to have FULLY VENTED USCG approved gasoline tanks. If vented they may start harder next spring & gradually collect moisture from the air going in & out of the gas tank.
I now drain all fuel tanks each fall or after running the emergency generators. Runn the carburators dry also. So I use no stabilizer.
The car get a can of Seafoam every 6 months. If I can remember.

Do not get old guys. It can really suck at times.

My $.06

Rich

 

[Randy Lahey]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Well, if we can not believe the gasoline companies. Do whatever rumors tell you to do.
I have a 350 gallon reserve gasoline tank. The fuel was 8 years old. Looked, smelled, tasted & ran like new stuff.

BUUUTT

I sealed the tank between uses. I plugged both threaded holes with pipe plugs wrapped with Teflon tape. That is why it stayed so fresh all those years. Same reason car gas tanks keep fuel fresh so long.
ALL boats are required to have FULLY VENTED USCG approved gasoline tanks. If vented they may start harder next spring & gradually collect moisture from the air going in & out of the gas tank.
I now drain all fuel tanks each fall or after running the emergency generators. Runn the carburators dry also. So I use no stabilizer.
The car get a can of Seafoam every 6 months. If I can remember.

Do not get old guys. It can really suck at times.

My $.06

Rich

isnt it a lot easier just to put some stabilizer in? takes about 12 seconds,,, been running my dirt bikes,, boats, seadoos snow blowers, lawnmowers for years trouble free....

 

[dan t.]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Never used it, when the season is over the item (snowblower lawnmower powersaw,whatever) is shut off with whatever is in the tank and stays that way until it is in season. Never had a problem. I do run the carb dry on the outboards. I mix up powersaw gas 5 gallons at a time,use it in 2 saws and weed whacker,sometimes it takes 4 years to use it up. Everything starts and runs good,no carb rebuilds.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Sea Foam baby! Enough said.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Do not get old guys. It can really suck at times.

Yeah but it's better than the alternative

 

[cyclops2]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Not too sure this year. The constant rains & dampness in New Jersey are really hurting me & my wife in the bones & some muscles.

We have active mold on the north side of Aluminum siding !! Never have seen that before in our lifetimes. Maybe all those Polar Ice Caps that have melted ?

Rich

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Oh, Pu-leeze! Stabilizer additives have been discussed ad infinitum---ad nauseum in these forums. Instead of starting a new poll, just search the threads. You will quickly get your answer.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Do not get old guys. It can really suck at times.

to late it snuck up on me when I wasn't looking

I have used it in the past just for winterizing and ever spring ever thing cranked up fine. but I wasn't able to boat for a few years due to cataracts and when I got back into to last year I got a new boat that had a Nissian motor that I knew nothing about and when looking around for info I found iboats and that has been the best thing I have ever ran across not only was I helped I found a group of people that shared my passion.

At the time I hadn't heard a lot about the fuel separation problem so it was a completely new thing and I have been reading the posts about this. And what I am learning is its not so much the age of the fuel but more as to how its stored that causes the separation and that makes perfect since, I live close to Catlettsburg KY where Ashland oil has a refinery and when you look at those monster storage tanks you realize thier is no way they can empty those on in 30 to 60 days and a lot of the fuels will be sitting there a long time and thier must be some thing thier doing to preserve it till its needed.

What I am learning is that it is not the age of the fuel but the vented tanks that causes the problem and again it makes since in my case I have very small tanks the 6 gallon plastic ones so thier exposure is fast and over a winter it was going bad, and I started using the red stable and it stopped the problem.

Now that I back into boating again I have been using the sea foam product in my reserve tank but not on my main and haven't had any issues but now I understand the issue, when I winterized this last year I ran the motor dry of fuel and I run it dry at the end of each days use and I know it is not necessary that's a old habit that dates back to the days of cork carb floats. And once again , I tip my hat to you all. Thank you.

Oh, Pu-leeze! Stabilizer additives have been discussed ad infinitum---ad nauseum in these forums. Instead of starting a new poll, just search the threads.

Yes it has ben discused many times, but it has ben the symptoms and not the cause.
And while it may be hard to teach a old dog new tricks you cant teach a dumb dog any thing.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Reading what some of the older folks have done in the past, really means nothing to me in todays world of gas. The way gas is made has changed, and isn't as "stabil " as it used to be. That is why we now must do extra things to get the same result, it would be nice if some of these old ways still worked, but they don't, at least with my experience they don't. I have rebuilt my share of carbs because the gas seperates, with the new additives they use.

 

[Doral270MC]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Sea Foam baby! Enough said.

+1.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

As one who grew up in a car dealership, bought, repaired, and sold virtually every engine powered product known to man, and also who is old enough (really old that is) I've experienced the fuel related issues commonly discussed here. Fact is, most fuel related issues are not due to the fuel itself but rather neglect of the fuell system. That iincludes failure to change fuel filters, buying contaminated fuel, and not paying attention to what the engine is trying to tell you. If you look around the additive section in any department or auto store you will see an abundance of fuel system additives. Most of those serve a particular purpose and most of them probably do the job to some degree that the advertising claims. Some are genuinely good products and some genuinely good products are used for the wrong reason and therefore are labeled "snake oil". A seriously buggered fuel system is generally beyond repair using an additive. So the concept of prevention is the same as that proposed by your doctor. Take care of yourself and you don't hae to worry as much about fixing something down the road. Same with your boat. Keep the fuel system clean and your engine will not gag and wretch. When you buy a new boat, using any of the fuel system treatments will go a long way to "keeping" the fuel system clean, especially if you don't burn through a full tank of fuel at every use. Contrary to popular belief, ethanol blended fuel is not the devil fuel it is made to appear. Even Mercury has softened their view on this topic. Those of you old enough to remember the emissions mandate for older cars in California back in the early '70's -- the fix was to plug the vacuum advance hose and not drive older cars faster than 60 MPH. The kit included a decal to stick on the windshield warning of the consequences. Well folks -- times change, and in this case, fuel changed. Fixes are available for older motors that did'nt have ethanol tolerant rubber and plastic parts. Change them, clean the fuel tank and filters and go boating. Problem solved.

 

[Philster]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

This is helpful, professional and credible:

http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2011/december/ethanol.asp

 

[bruceb58]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

Sea Foam baby! Enough said.

Snake oil...enough said. Or should I say 40-60% snake oil and the rest isopropyl alcohol and Naphtha.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/msds-downloads.html

The alcohol will possibly dry out the fuel a bit. Not sure what really is a stabilizer in it though!

 

[N3UP]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

My boat is the first one I've had with fixed gas tanks.
The original plan was to store for the winter close to home, and I would use any leftover gas in my truck during the off season.
Since that didn't work out and the boat is stored 2 hours away, I ran the tanks as low as I could before winterizing and had them treated with stabilzer when I had the service and shrinkwrap done.

I use stabil in my gas can at home since it usually takes me the better part of a year to go through 5 gallons.
I have 1 gallon cans for the chain saw and weed whacker. The saw gas has to be 3 years old, so I try to use some of it in the mower when I remember that it's getting very old. The weed whacker usually takes a year and a half to get through the gallon.

Once I get what I have premixed for the saw & whacker used up, I have some "one mix" oil my mower service guy sold me. It's a synthetic oil that claims to be good for all ratios in one mix. We'll see how that goes....

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

I ran the tanks as low as I could before winterizing and had them treated with stabilzer when I had the service and shrinkwrap done.

That would be the exact OPPOSITE of what should be done IMO. Having the tanks full it does not allow moisture to build up in the tank with all the free air space and venting of the tank. Keeping the tank full and using the fuel stabilizer would be the correct way to do it.

 

[N3UP]

Re: A poll to stablize or not

That would be the exact OPPOSITE of what should be done IMO. Having the tanks full it does not allow moisture to build up in the tank with all the free air space and venting of the tank. Keeping the tank full and using the fuel stabilizer would be the correct way to do it.

I won't dispute the physics of your statement, but I could not justify the tying up of $250-300 worth of gas at the end of the season.
As it turns out, I wish the shrink wrap hadn't covered my fuel fills when gas prices took a dive in December.

Had I been able to get to the fuel fills, I would have filled both tanks when the price dropped.

When I got the boat, it had about 20 gallons of 2 year old gas in the one tank, that I was able to use up with no issues.
I feel more confident about 5-10 gallons of 6 month old gas being useable after being treated....


I won't discount anyone's reports of bad fuel issues, but if I took everything I read on these forums as gospel, my boat should have disintegrated into a puddle of sludge because I put it in saltwater, my outboard should be a lump of corrosion floating in the puddle of sludge because I only flush with plain water, my brakes should be rusted solid because they're not stainless steel, and all my trailer tires should have exploded because I had the stones to actually tow the trailer on the interstate.

Read the opinions, make your choices and live with your decisions.
Just my opinion......