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So the winter is over and there is a full tank of gas in my snowblower. It was supposed to be used up when we got a foot of snow, but the forecast changed at the last minute and we ended up getting only a coating. Last year, I just kept the gas in the tank, and ran it once a month or so over the summer. But this year, should I add stabilizer? I don't want to get into a big debate about whether to drain the tank or add stabilizer, but I do want to know if there is a certain type of fuel stabilizer I should buy.

Drain the tank. Your suppose to add stabilizer the same day it comes out of the pump. Its not done snowing yet. There calling for more here on Sunday night to Tuesday. I heard 12 to 20 inches right now.

That primarily depends on if you have Ethanol in the fuel in your tank and if the machine is stored in a heated area. If you do have Ethanol, be sure the stabilizer you use is for Ethanol fuels. If it's stored in a heated area, run it dry of fuel and put in fresh fuel when you need to run it again.

You have opened up a can now.

I run gas with ethanol in it and let it sit for a few months and never had any problems.

Now when I let people borrow my things and they add fuel additives to the gas I have problems.

I think the crap people add to the gas is what causes problems not the ethanol.

Just keep the gas run it every few weeks until it gets up to temp... It's what I've done for years I will continue to do it works. Bad gas still burns just don't let it sit to long it'll gum up the carb

Carscw said:

You have opened up a can now.

I run gas with ethanol in it and let it sit for a few months and never had any problems.

Now when I let people borrow my things and they add fuel additives to the gas I have problems.

I think the crap people add to the gas is what causes problems not the ethanol.

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I'm with you on this one, I'd leave the stabilizer in the store on there shelf. I'm like you I think it causes more problems than what it's worth.

Carscw said:

You have opened up a can now.

I run gas with ethanol in it and let it sit for a few months and never had any problems.

Now when I let people borrow my things and they add fuel additives to the gas I have problems.

I think the crap people add to the gas is what causes problems not the ethanol.

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Ric said:

I'm with you on this one, I'd leave the stabilizer in the store on there shelf. I'm like you I think it causes more problems than what it's worth.

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It all depends what stabilizer you use on if it causes problems or not. You MUST run stabilizer if your using gas with ethanol unless you dump it within a 30 days after buying it from the pump. I had no problems with ethanol shield and getting ready to try the K100 here soon.

Carscw said:

You have opened up a can now.

I run gas with ethanol in it and let it sit for a few months and never had any problems.

Now when I let people borrow my things and they add fuel additives to the gas I have problems.

I think the crap people add to the gas is what causes problems not the ethanol.

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I have to agree 100% on this one. Adding junk into the gas causes a lot of problems. I just turn the key off and it starts at the beginning of the season.

davbell22602 said:

It all depends what stabilizer you use on if it causes problems or not. You MUST run stabilizer if your using gas with ethanol unless you dump it within a 30 days after buying it from the pump. I had no problems with ethanol shield and getting ready to try the K100 here soon.

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This 30 day thing about dumping gas is a myth, For one gas can be fine for up to 90 days depending on how it's stored. It also depends on the quality of the gas and the octane level you buy. Most people who buy gas buy the cheapest stuff they can find and that's what they get, cheap quality gas. The upper end gas or top tier gas like Sunoco, Shell or Mobil they have additives that prolong its life and your engines will run better on the top tier stuff than the cheap crap and you'll get better gas mileage.. If the gas sets for a prolong period say 60 to 90 days you don't dump it, you can just add fresh to it and it solves any problems itself. The thing you here people complain about is Ethanol and two and four cycle gas for yard equipment, that stuff can be stored for a long time and you should never add stabilizer to mixed gas, doing so just creates problems.

Ric said:

This 30 day thing about dumping gas is a myth, For one gas can be fine for up to 90 days depending on how it's stored. It also depends on the quality of the gas and the octane level you buy. Most people who buy gas buy the cheapest stuff they can find and that's what they get, cheap quality gas. The upper end gas or top tier gas like Sunoco, Shell or Mobil they have additives that prolong its life and your engines will run better on the top tier stuff than the cheap crap and you'll get better gas mileage.. If the gas sets for a prolong period say 60 to 90 days you don't dump it, you can just add fresh to it and it solves any problems itself. The thing you here people complain about is Ethanol and two and four cycle gas for yard equipment, that stuff can be stored for a long time and you should never add stabilizer to mixed gas, doing so just creates problems.

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Yes you do have to dump it. Just causes more problems and experienced this myself with Shell regular gas. I had better success using stabilizer with Shell regular than not using stabilizer. Now K100 is supposed to bring old gas back to life from what I read on it.

davbell22602 said:

Yes you do have to dump it. Just causes more problems and experienced this myself with Shell regular gas. I had better success using stabilizer with Shell regular than not using stabilizer. Now K100 is supposed to bring old gas back to life from what I read on it.

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It's probably a seafoam knock off... I don't know why people are obsessed wirh fuel stabilizer gas burns even really old stale been sitting for a year gas burns. What you don't want is the gas to break down in the carb and gum it up. It's another one of those topics lol

exotion said:

It's probably a seafoam knock off... I don't know why people are obsessed wirh fuel stabilizer gas burns even really old stale been sitting for a year gas burns. What you don't want is the gas to break down in the carb and gum it up. It's another one of those topics lol

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Dont even compare that junky Seafoam to K100. I dont even recommend Seafoam to no one its worthless and doesnt work. If you wanna blow up your lawn equipment by using year old gas with no stabilizer thats your business. Im not gonna ruin my lawn equipment or somebody elses equipment with old gas.

This is starting to sound like the OIL debate. Fuel stabilizer is a waste of money or any fuel additives, just a money grab. Like in the older days at the fair when the guy was selling a thing you could put in your car coil to make it run better. It gives you that nice warm fuzzy feeling to put additive in your fuel and it makes you think it runs better. And by the way I did try the coil thing, he got me.

I use to add sea foam to my gas.
My wife says to me one day everything runs good until you put that stuff in the gas. That was two years ago.
I have mowers that sit for months at a time and start right up and run fine.

The gas already has stuff in it so why dilute the gas even more by adding more crap to it.

I use fuel stabilizer all year.

reynoldston said:

This is starting to sound like the OIL debate. Fuel stabilizer is a waste of money or any fuel additives, just a money grab. Like in the older days at the fair when the guy was selling a thing you could put in your car coil to make it run better. It gives you that nice warm fuzzy feeling to put additive in your fuel and it makes you think it runs better. And by the way I did try the coil thing, he got me.

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Fuel stabilizer being a waste of money isnt true. Thats nonsense. Might also depend what part of country or world you live at also.

davbell22602 said:

Fuel stabilizer being a waste of money isnt true. Thats nonsense. Might also depend what part of country or world you live at also.

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Yep I put stabil in my mowers in October, and didnt start them until last week both of them started right up with no problems.

wjjones said:

Yep I put stabil in my mowers in October, and didnt start them until last week both of them started right up with no problems.

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I have no problems with stabilizer either. The product I had problems with was Seafoam and I quit using it 2 years ago.

Why don't we all just switch over to electric and not worry about gas at all?

I drain my gas every winter. I don't waste my money buying stabilizer when draining the gas will suffice. I fill the tanks up with fresh gas in the spring and they usually fire up with no problems. As far as my 2-cycle engines go, I keep those gas tanks full since 2-cycle oil already has stabilizer in it, supposedly.

X-man said:

Why don't we all just switch over to electric and not worry about gas at all? I drain my gas every winter. I don't waste my money buying stabilizer when draining the gas will suffice. I fill the tanks up with fresh gas in the spring and they usually fire up with no problems. As far as my 2-cycle engines go, I keep those gas tanks full since 2-cycle oil already has stabilizer in it, supposedly.

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Then we could argue about what battery's to use.

Carscw said:

Then we could argue about what battery's to use.

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Yep..:laughing:..:laughing:..:thumbsup:

Carscw said:

Then we could argue about what battery's to use.

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My jeeps Walmart bettery is on year 7 my trucks napa is on year 9

davbell22602 said:

Yes you do have to dump it. Just causes more problems and experienced this myself with Shell regular gas. I had better success using stabilizer with Shell regular than not using stabilizer. Now K100 is supposed to bring old gas back to life from what I read on it.

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Old gas is perfectly alright to burn in your engine and it wont blow anything up. The thing that makes gas burn or should I say the reason it burns is because of its volatility, a term used to describe how easily and under what conditions the gas vaporizes so it can be efficiently burned, the older the gas the less volatile it is but that does not mean it wont burn it just means it wont be as efficient in what your trying to run it in other word your engine probably will not run at peak performance but its still gonna start and run and the thing you have to remember is the fact and Carscw probably knows were not running a race car were running a lawn mower. If you have old gas in your mower tank and you add new it's only going to improve what there, it solves it own problem just by topping off the tank. You don't have to dump it out.

lawn mower fanatic said:

So the winter is over and there is a full tank of gas in my snowblower.

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Where are you in PA that winter is over? In central PA they are saying a few inches possible Monday. I'd keep the gas in there in case we get a storm and put it away in the middle of April.

Both of mine are in my non climate controlled shed... With about half a tank in both ill start them up end of April

Iv seen it on both sides.
Some fuels last a month and some last longer without additives.
It depends on what conditions its left in.
What you have to watch out for though is fuels are blended for different times of the month.
A summer blend is less volatile than winter a blend.
So summer fuel in winter wont have enough ooomph and winter fuel in summer would have too much.
All depends on temp.

davbell22602 said:

Yes you do have to dump it. Just causes more problems and experienced this myself with Shell regular gas. I had better success using stabilizer with Shell regular than not using stabilizer. Now K100 is supposed to bring old gas back to life from what I read on it.

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It wasn't the old gas that caused your problem. If your using regular/87 octane it's the wrong gas for most equipment. Most all manufacturers recommend at least mid -grade/89 in all types of lawn equipment. Everything I use, mowers included sees nothing less than premium gas/93 octane.

Ric said:

It wasn't the old gas that caused your problem. If your using regular/87 octane it's the wrong gas for most equipment. Most all manufacturers recommend at least mid -grade/89 in all types of lawn equipment. Everything I use, mowers included sees nothing less than premium gas/93 octane.

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Mid to premium gas shortens the life of small engines from what I was I told.

davbell22602 said:

Mid to premium gas shortens the life of small engines from what I was I told.

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Again... Any octane will run and power and make your engine wear. What causes short engine life is dirty filter, dirty o**, beating the machine to **** and exposing it to the elements .

I use mid grade in everything.

davbell22602 said:

Mid to premium gas shortens the life of small engines from what I was I told.

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The section below is out of one manufacturers manual and I sure you'll find it in others, and if for some reason the Mid-grade gas in your area has a lower than 89 octane rating then you need to switch to premium gas. I think it's pretty much known that most engines, lawn equipment, car or truck will most always run better on higher octane gas.


Use mid-grade unleaded gasoline with a
minimum octane rating of 89 (R+M/2)
and no more than 10% ethanol content.

Fuel with a lower octane rating may
increase engine temperatures. This, in
turn, increases the risk of piston seizure
and damage to the engine.

I've definately seen a difference in 87 vs 89 in all my equipment and my vehicles lol so I use 89 with 10% ethonol in everything

Ric said:

This is out of one manufacturers manual and I sure you'll find it in others, and if for some reason the Mid-grade gas in your area has a lower than 89 octane rating then you need to switch to premium gas. I think it's pretty much known that most engines, lawn equipment, car or truck will most always run better on higher octane gas.


Use mid-grade unleaded gasoline with a
minimum octane rating of 89 (R+M/2)
and no more than 10% ethanol content.

Fuel with a lower octane rating may
increase engine temperatures. This, in
turn, increases the risk of piston seizure
and damage to the engine.

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But do any of gas companies recommend using 89/mid grade instead of 87 regular in small engines? I heard some use the Shell Vpower before. Around its 87, 92, and Vpower. Im going to Shell tomorrow Im gonna have to check to see if regular is 87 or 89 now that its mentioned.

exotion said:

I've definately seen a difference in 87 vs 89 in all my equipment and my vehicles lol so I use 89 with 10% ethonol in everything

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I use premium in everything including the truck and I know the mowers run better and my truck actually gets better gas mileage with the premium. When the wife purchased her Mini Cooper they told her at that time to run the premium gas, that it was the best thing she could do for the engine.

davbell22602 said:

But do any of gas companies recommend using 89/mid grade instead of 87 regular in small engines? I heard some use the Shell Vpower before. Around its 87, 92, and Vpower. Im going to Shell tomorrow Im gonna have to check to see if regular is 87 or 89 now that its mentioned.

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The section out of the manual in the other post came out of a Stihl Manual it's all they say run 89 or higher octane in all there products. 2 Stroke and 4 Stroke.


FS 110, FS 110 R


This engine is certified to operate on
unleaded gasoline and the STIHL two-
stroke engine oil at a
mix ratio of 50:1.
Your engine requires a mixture of high-
quality gasoline and two-stroke air
cooled engine oil.
Use mid-grade unleaded gasoline with a
minimum octane rating of 89 (R+M/2)
and no more than 10% ethanol content.

Fuel with a lower octane rating may
increase engine temperatures. This, in
turn, increases the risk of piston seizure
and damage to the engine.

The chemical composition of the fuel is
also important. Some fuel additives not
only detrimentally affect elastomers
(carburetor diaphragms, oil seals, fuel
lines, etc.), but magnesium castings and
catalytic converters as well.

This could cause running problems or even
damage the engine. For this reason
STIHL recommends that you use only
high-quality unleaded gasoline!

Gasoline with an ethanol content of
more than 10% can cause running
problems and major damage in engines
with a manually adjustable carburetor
and should not be used in such engines.

Just how much gas do you guys buy at one time. Are y'all filling up 55 gallon drums or 5 gallon tanks? When you know it's the end of the season and you're working on your last day on your last property why would you fill the tank up all the way full. Enough to complete the property and let the rest burn through until out of gas. I mean are times that tight where you have to hold onto less than a gallon of fuel by adding stabilizer to it that cost the same amount as the fuel you're trying to save. Just dump it out if it's in the equipment or if it's in a gas can add it to you're truck. You can always go buy more gas.

LoCo86 said:

Just how much gas do you guys buy at one time. Are y'all filling up 55 gallon drums or 5 gallon tanks? When you know it's the end of the season and you're working on your last day on your last property why would you fill the tank up all the way full. Enough to complete the property and let the rest burn through until out of gas. I mean are times that tight where you have to hold onto less than a gallon of fuel by adding stabilizer to it that cost the same amount as the fuel you're trying to save. Just dump it out if it's in the equipment or if it's in a gas can add it to you're truck. You can always go buy more gas.

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That would make to much sense.
My problem is I never have enough gas. Worst thing I ever did was show the teenagers how to take gas out of a mower.
My mowers always need gas but their ATVs are always full.

If you'd asked me 2 years ago I'd have said no to stabilizers and such. Now I believe. I don't use any higher than 89 octane though. And I'd never use premium in a vehicle unless it was necessary. The higher your engine's compression is the higher the octane required to prevent pre-ignition and holy pistons. For lower compression engines premium is a total waste of money. It isn't even good for the engine. If your manual calls for premium then by all means use it. It isn't going to affect the engine performance much if you used 89 (mid grade) octane though. You'd need a dynamometer to see the difference. The knock sensor would cause the ECU to tweak the timing slightly to prevent detonation. Higher octane gas burns "cooler." That's great for a high compression or turbocharged/supercharged engine.
I'd imagine everyone here knows why you use premium gas in a high compression engine. The reason you don't use high octane gas in a vehicle that doesn't need it is that your engine doesn't burn all the fuel in the combustion chamber and it just gets blown out your exhaust. You're wasting money. Doesn't matter to me if you believe or not. Other myths I learned from years on car forums and playing with high performance cars. Seafoam is worthless for cleaning carbon deposits. When people seafoam their cars and see all that smoke they believe that's dirty stuff burning off of the internals. It isn't. It isn't even the right color smoke for that. It's just the smoke from the oil carrier in the seafoam burning... not carbon deposits. I have no idea if it has any effect on small 4 cycle engines when added to the gas. I'm sure it doesn't hurt small 2 cycle engines since it has so much oil in it but I don't know that it helps. Seafoam is just light oil and a solvent... naptha IIRC.... could be ether, that is supposed to be the active ingredient. You can buy a quart of naptha for less than 10 bux.
Cold air induction kits Guys in lime green Hondas love these despite the fact that their factory setup was better. Maybe it's the shiny pipe and kewl colored hose
Never trust a butt dyno

LoCo86 said:

Just how much gas do you guys buy at one time. Are y'all filling up 55 gallon drums or 5 gallon tanks? When you know it's the end of the season and you're working on your last day on your last property why would you fill the tank up all the way full. Enough to complete the property and let the rest burn through until out of gas. I mean are times that tight where you have to hold onto less than a gallon of fuel by adding stabilizer to it that cost the same amount as the fuel you're trying to save. Just dump it out if it's in the equipment or if it's in a gas can add it to you're truck. You can always go buy more gas.

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Between the 5 gal cans and my truck I can buy up to 50/55 gallons at one fill up. I can burn as mush as 25 gallons of gas including 10 gallons or more of mix in a week in just the equipment during peak season. My problem with the end of season thing is that never happens, I always need and have gas on hand and all my equipment stays full. As far as the truck goes it will burn anything, it doesn't matter what you use. I do know it like all my equipment runs better and uses less gas with the premium and as far as adding gas to the truck, that's a little easier said than done with the new vehicles because a gas can wont work and using stabil and all that crap is a waste of money.

Carscw said:

That would make to much sense.
My problem is I never have enough gas. Worst thing I ever did was show the teenagers how to take gas out of a mower.
My mowers always need gas but their ATVs are always full.

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that's funny.lol them little turkey buzzards...I always use stabil and stabil ethanol block and have had no problems,i had 2stroke gas treated with stabil sitting since October,filled up my saw the other day started first pull and ran like a mutha

tybilly said:

i had 2stroke gas treated with stabil sitting since October,filled up my saw the other day started first pull and ran like a mutha

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Seeing that most 2 stroke oil already has fuel additives in the oil, why would you double the effect by adding more? As long as you're using a good quality 89 octane gas which is cheaper than stabil you wont have any separation problems and everything will run fine.

Ric said:

Seeing that 2 stroke oil already has fuel additives in the oil, why would you double the effect by adding more?

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I did not realize this till I read the stihl website,but probably wont need to now from now on,but the bottle of stabil says over treating will not harm the engine.

tybilly said:

I did not realize this till I read the stihl website,but probably wont need to now from now on,but the bottle of stabil says over treating will not harm the engine.

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Yes it may say that and it may be so but what it's not saying is what the effect would be if you mix the stabil with the additive there already using in the oil, it could work like mixing alcohol with medication, I don't know that I'm just saying. I don't know what Stihl and Echo and some of the others are using in there oil for there fuel stabilizers.

Ric said:

Between the 5 gal cans and my truck I can buy up to 50/55 gallons at one fill up. I can burn as mush as 25 gallons of gas including 10 gallons or more of mix in a week in just the equipment during peak season. My problem with the end of season thing is that never happens, I always need and have gas on hand and all my equipment stays full. As far as the truck goes it will burn anything, it doesn't matter what you use. I do know it like all my equipment runs better and uses less gas with the premium and as far as adding gas to the truck, that's a little easier said than done with the new vehicles because a gas can wont work and using stabil and all that crap is a waste of money.

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I agree fuel additives are a waste of money. I thought you had a F-150? I have a 2013 which has the special funnel so you can add fuel from other sources than from a gas pump. I understand you always have to have gas, but you have been doing this long enough that you know about how much gas you are going to need in your equipment to complete a job. If all you're using is 25 gallons a week in gas at most you will be alright keeping most of your gas in the the 5 gallon can other than keeping your equipment full. I'm talking about the last couple of days before you hang it up for the winter not peak season.

LoCo86 said:

I agree fuel additives are a waste of money. I thought you had a F-150? I have a 2013 which has the special funnel so you can add fuel from other sources than from a gas pump. I understand you always have to have gas, but you have been doing this long enough that you know about how much gas you are going to need in your equipment to complete a job. If all you're using is 25 gallons a week in gas at most you will be alright keeping most of your gas in the the 5 gallon can other than keeping your equipment full. I'm talking about the last couple of days before you hang it up for the winter not peak season.

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I do have a 2013 F-150 and it has the special funnel you asked about but it's a PITA to use with a 5 gallon can. I know what you're talking about with the last couple of days before winter but I don't have that and never see it because I basically mow year around, yeah it slows down but it never stops. I mow lawns between Nov. and Feb I wish it did stop so I could work on my own place.

itguy08 said:

Where are you in PA that winter is over? In central PA they are saying a few inches possible Monday. I'd keep the gas in there in case we get a storm and put it away in the middle of April.

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Yep I stand corrected.....we will get some on Monday. I hope it's a decent amount so I can use the snowblower.

Thanks for all the many many opinions. I am leaning towards not adding anything to the gas. Would draining it be better? I heard that can cause moisture to get in the tank, though.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Thanks for all the many many opinions. I am leaning towards not adding anything to the gas. Would draining it be better? I heard that can cause moisture to get in the tank, though.

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I'd either drain the tank, start the machine and run the carb dry or I'd fill it to the max and make sure the gas cap seals the tank to prevent any condensation.

If fuel stabilizers were a joke then companies like the mighty Stihl would not be putting them in their high dollar oil they brand. If stabilizers were harmful to small gas engines then engine makers and branders would not mention them in their books under storage. Nor would they all sell one with their name on it.
Fanatic, just do what you did last year. It worked one time it will more than likely work again. Fuel quality and weather is to poor here to use fuel that way. Leaving fuel in lawnmowers for even a few months will have pudding in the float bowl in my garage. Six months in metal containers and they are green inside and out. My dealer will have string trimmers in a pile on his bench every day of the week from April through June. Another pile being picked up by the scrappers outside. Carb trouble from bad fuel. Every May weekend boaters will have boats popping and cracking all over town trying to get them to run but they give up and take them to a shop fifty miles away. The shop has a very nice fuel system that removes the fuel, removes the water, removes the gunk, and test it for use. If it passes it goes back into the boat. If not. Then it gets hauled away to where I do not know. The hauling away is as expensive as the cleaning. Then they start on cleaning the boats fuel system. If non ethanol fuel was not a better product in small engines and old engines then every town near every lake would not be selling it hand over fist for 30 to 50 cents per gallon over any other grade because folks are just as stingy here as anywhere.
Sea Foam. I have never used it. But I know many folks who do and have. It works. It is a good product. My dealer sells a case of it for about every bottle of Stabil or some other brand. Old timers like it. They have used it to put away outboards, ice augers, lawnmowers, string trimmers, chainsaws, motorbikes, and every other engine for longer than many of us have been alive. When I was a boy the oldtimers would tell you they used it for every power source but their horse and their steam engines. Those fellows still rolled their own smokes, made their own booze, raised their own food, and carried almost all their money in their wallet.

Ric said:

I'd either drain the tank, start the machine and run the carb dry....

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That's what I usually do.

I run 89 octane in all my equipment, and I will only buy gas at Sunoco.

Fuel sitting in carb bowl which is only about month old with no additive.

pugaltitude said:

Fuel sitting in carb bowl which is only about month old with no additive.

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That gas already turned raw yellowish color after a month.

Well.. light it on fire...bet it'll burn

davbell22602 said:

That gas already turned raw yellowish color after a month.

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I can't believe you, You do know that where he is they use a yellow dye in the gas Right. Different company's and countries use different solvent color dyes in gas Like yellow, red. green, blue. purple and even black. The color of gas has nothing to do with it being bad. Here are just a few countries and the colors they use, check the link for more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dyes

exotion said:

Well.. light it on fire...bet it'll burn

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:laughing::laughing::thumbsup:

Ric said:

I can't believe you, You do know that where he is they use a yellow dye in the gas Right. Different company's and countries use different solvent color dyes in gas Like yellow, red. green, blue. purple and even black. The color of gas has nothing to do with it being bad. Here are just a few check the link for more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dyes

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You are right, Ric. The gas in the bowl of that carb looks fine to me.

Yes that was about a monthish old.
complaint of engine not starting. Whole fuel tank was full of this.
I should know because its my fuel tank and carb.
I bought the fuel to move tractor from a shed that was going to flood to my workshop.

Ric said:

I can't believe you, You do know that where he is they use a yellow dye in the gas Right. Different company's and countries use different solvent color dyes in gas Like yellow, red. green, blue. purple and even black. The color of gas has nothing to do with it being bad. Here are just a few check the link for more.

Fuel dyes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia	Regular Unleaded Petrol	purple/bronze (Changing to red/orange in 2013) [SUP][6][/SUP]
Premium Unleaded Petrol	yellow
Austria	Heating oil	any red dye and Solvent Yellow 124
Canada	Off Road Fuel ( Agriculture, Construction, Mining etc..)	red/purple dye
Heating oil	any red dye
Finland	Heating oil	Furfural and Solvent Yellow 124
Diesel for construction and agriculture	Furfural and Solvent Yellow 124
France	Gas oil	Solvent Red 24 and Solvent Yellow 124
Marine diesel	Solvent Blue 35
Estonia	Heating oil	Automate Red NR or similar + Solvent Yellow 124
Agricultural diesel	Automate Blue 8 GHF or similar + Solvent Yellow 124
Germany	Heating oil	Solvent Yellow 124 + 4.1 gr/litre Solvent Red 19 or 5.3 gr tolyazotolyazo-ethylhexylbetanaphthylamine or 6.1 gr tolyazotolyazo-tridecylbetanaphthylamine & similar

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Yes a slight tinge of yellow not like your 1st pee in the morning after a heavy night out.

smells putrid.

Ric said:

I can't believe you, You do know that where he is they use a yellow dye in the gas Right. Different company's and countries use different solvent color dyes in gas Like yellow, red. green, blue. purple and even black. The color of gas has nothing to do with it being bad. Here are just a few check the link for more.

Fuel dyes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia	Regular Unleaded Petrol	purple/bronze (Changing to red/orange in 2013) [SUP][6][/SUP]
Premium Unleaded Petrol	yellow
Austria	Heating oil	any red dye and Solvent Yellow 124
Canada	Off Road Fuel ( Agriculture, Construction, Mining etc..)	red/purple dye
Heating oil	any red dye
Finland	Heating oil	Furfural and Solvent Yellow 124
Diesel for construction and agriculture	Furfural and Solvent Yellow 124
France	Gas oil	Solvent Red 24 and Solvent Yellow 124
Marine diesel	Solvent Blue 35
Estonia	Heating oil	Automate Red NR or similar + Solvent Yellow 124
Agricultural diesel	Automate Blue 8 GHF or similar + Solvent Yellow 124
Germany	Heating oil	Solvent Yellow 124 + 4.1 gr/litre Solvent Red 19 or 5.3 gr tolyazotolyazo-ethylhexylbetanaphthylamine or 6.1 gr tolyazotolyazo-tridecylbetanaphthylamine & similar

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My fresh gas stays clear all time because I use FUEL STABILIZER. When it turns yellow I dump it.

This is just getting dumb now.
All my gas looks yellow.

Just use what ever GAS and OIL you want to and put any over priced crap in it you want to.
Month old gas is not going to stop the engine from starting. I say trash in the gas can.

I wish I was so rich I could throw gas out

Like I said I see it both sides.
Some fuels last 3 months and longer and certain fuels lasting a month.
Too much ethanol will melt plastic and which iv done the tests on a briggs update.

Carscw said:

This is just getting dumb now.
All my gas looks yellow.

Just use what ever GAS and OIL you want to and put any over priced crap in it you want to.
Month old gas is not going to stop the engine from starting. I say trash in the gas can.

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My "gas is invisible" my petrol is slightly yellow here. I'm saying I've burned 6month old gas before ya it takes a couple extra pulls and smokes like a son of beech but it starts and runs. I've never used stabilizer except whatever echo throws in there oil. Stabilizing 2 cycle oil makes since because those carbs are much more sensitive to gunk.... What is in the gas to block the flow is fuel into the engine... That's the problem not old gas.

exotion said:

My "gas is invisible" my petrol is slightly yellow here. I'm saying I've burned 6month old gas before ya it takes a couple extra pulls and smokes like a son of beech but it starts and runs. I've never used stabilizer except whatever echo throws in there oil. Stabilizing 2 cycle oil makes since because those carbs are much more sensitive to gunk.... What is in the gas to block the flow is fuel into the engine... That's the problem not old gas.

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Wow, if these guys were actually in the lawn-care business between wasting money on stabilizer and dumping out gas they'd go broke. :laughing:

I certainly dont dump old gas but seperate water thats accumulated in it.
Fuel cans only seem to attract water but small containers like the size of carbs always seem to allow fuel to go stale easier.
The fuel that was pictured was bought from a different source than where I normally buy.
I only seem to get problems from this fuel when customers buy there aswell so I advise to go to where I normally buy.

Now lawn-care businesess or aka "professional grass cutters"
probably will very rarely see old petrol unless it has been sitting about for a while like the snow blowers.

The best advice is never run a carb dry and leave it dry for a long period of time due to the seals can perish.
I would always leave fuel in it and start it every so often to keep fuel going through it.

Carscw said:

I wish I was so rich I could throw gas out

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I wish I could afford to drive a diesel Chevy. :thumbsup:

pugaltitude said:

The fuel that was pictured was bought from a different source than where I normally buy.
I only seem to get problems from this fuel when customers buy there as well so I advise to go to where I normally buy.

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That's why I don't buy gas at "discount" gas stations. I'll only buy at Sunoco or any other brand name.

X-man said:

I wish I could afford to drive a diesel Chevy. :thumbsup:



That's why I don't buy gas at "discount" gas stations. I'll only buy at Sunoco or any other brand name.

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I buy the Sunoco Gas I use the 93 octane in everything, both car and truck and my lawn equipment. We have that Citgo stuff and Marathon or Reliant crap all over the place and it garbage and if you really want bad you can always buy the walmart brand.

X-man said:

I wish I could afford to drive a diesel Chevy. :thumbsup: That's why I don't buy gas at "discount" gas stations. I'll only buy at Sunoco or any other brand name.

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Now you done opened up a whole new thing to argue about.

I think it's cheaper to run a diesel truck
The fuel cost a little bit more but I think I get more miles to the gallon around town pulling a trailer.

Now I do use my dodge ram gas burner most of the time. Does not have the power as the Chevy but it's a lot better ride.

Agreed the old Ford we drove got nearly 30mpg on diesel that was a f250 now we also had a f250 same year but gas it got at max driving careful 20 mpg

pugaltitude said:

I certainly dont dump old gas but seperate water thats accumulated in it.
Fuel cans only seem to attract water but small containers like the size of carbs always seem to allow fuel to go stale easier.
The fuel that was pictured was bought from a different source than where I normally buy.
I only seem to get problems from this fuel when customers buy there aswell so I advise to go to where I normally buy.

Now lawn-care businesess or aka "professional grass cutters"
probably will very rarely see old petrol unless it has been sitting about for a while like the snow blowers.

The best advice is never run a carb dry and leave it dry for a long period of time due to the seals can perish.
I would always leave fuel in it and start it every so often to keep fuel going through it.

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Not saying that's wrong but seals are not shipped in gas and gas doesn't seem like what you'd want to preserve rubber. Seals get old though.

X-man said:

I wish I could afford to drive a diesel Chevy. :thumbsup:



That's why I don't buy gas at "discount" gas stations. I'll only buy at Sunoco or any other brand name.

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Gotta agree with that. I'd have to be desperate before I'd buy gas at a convenience store. I don't mind buying gas at HEB or Sams.

I will admit it I buy gas at mapco because they are on every corner around here and I get free coffee. Been thinking about getting a 12volt coffee maker.

We only have one convenience store. You buy gas there or learn to walk a lot and cut with a clippers. If for any reason anyone wants to start their engines every so often and run them to keep the seals fresh that is fine with me. But I am not going to go out all winter every week or so and start up a lawntractor, three lawnmowers, two weedeaters, a mini tiller, a generator, and a chainsaw. I have a snowblower that has been run dry for over 20 years and no seals needed yet. And if it did a whole new carb would be cheaper than cranking on it 9 months out of the year just to keep it fresh in storage. Heck a whole new snowblower would be better than starting one all year long just to hear it run. I want to get it put away and consider it done not go out and relive the winter fun all year long. I put lawn stuff up dry in December and start it back up in April. Snowblower gets ran dry in April and started up in December. I never even look at them in the meantime. Many times over the years some of mine have been put into mini storage miles away and not looked at by anyone for several months or two or three years. I know of no one that goes to the storage place and starts their lawnmower every week or two.

Carscw said:

Now you done opened up a whole new thing to argue about.

I think it's cheaper to run a diesel truck
The fuel cost a little bit more but I think I get more miles to the gallon around town pulling a trailer.

Now I do use my dodge ram gas burner most of the time. Does not have the power as the Chevy but it's a lot better ride.

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I agree it is cheaper to run a diesel than a gas if your talking about mileage per tank, but the problem is you have to run the thing for 10 years to off set the price of buying the truck vs the regular gas truck and the cost of fuel. especially when diesel fuel is like 64 cents a gallon more than Regular unleaded and 20 cents more than premium.

No need for stabilizer in fl. All my mowers work Mon thru Sat yearly ,but to answer your question I have never had a problem linked to not using it nor ethanol ether .

Carscw said:

Now you done opened up a whole new thing to argue about.

I think it's cheaper to run a diesel truck
The fuel cost a little bit more but I think I get more miles to the gallon around town pulling a trailer.

Now I do use my dodge ram gas burner most of the time. Does not have the power as the Chevy but it's a lot better ride.

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The GM Duramax diesel engine is the best diesel engine on the market over the Cummins and Powerstroke. I know GM guys that are getting around 30 miles to gallon on Duramax w/Allison transmission. That also depends what drivetrain package you have also if your not seeing that 30mpg.

davbell22602 said:

The GM Duramax diesel engine is the best diesel engine on the market over the Cummins and Powerstroke. I know GM guys that are getting around 30 miles to gallon on Duramax w/Allison transmission. That also depends what drivetrain package you have also if your not seeing that 30mpg.

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Whether the GM Duramax diesel engine is the best diesel engine on the market is all opinion. Regardless to go and buy a diesel you really need to have a purpose for the truck, say working on a farm moving heavy equipment or pulling a fifth wheel some reason to have one would be nice. The diesel is kind of a specialty truck.

i burn marathon REC90 E0 in everything comes out clear in the pump and only starts to go stale after 6 months in a can i use stabil marine when i store my stuff for the winter nap.
i use to burn cheap mid grade from shell and started going stale in 2 weeks. I have tested gas here and everything has 5 % ethanol in it except what i run. and the fuels at those pumps have a very light brown color to them.

redfish9 said:

No need for stabilizer in fl. All my mowers work Mon thru Sat yearly ,but to answer your question I have never had a problem linked to not using it nor ethanol ether .

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How long is the growing season in your part of Florida? I dont use stabil because of the ethanol I use it for the down time storage during winter.

redfish9 said:

No need for stabilizer in fl. All my mowers work Mon thru Sat yearly ,but to answer your question I have never had a problem linked to not using it nor ethanol ether .

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wjjones said:

How long is the growing season in your part of Florida? I don't use stabil because of the ethanol I use it for the down time storage during winter.

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I would say by his post he's a lot like me and I mow basically year around and in some cases whether it needs it or not.

lawn mower fanatic said:

So the winter is over and there is a full tank of gas in my snowblower. It was supposed to be used up when we got a foot of snow, but the forecast changed at the last minute and we ended up getting only a coating. Last year, I just kept the gas in the tank, and ran it once a month or so over the summer. But this year, should I add stabilizer? I don't want to get into a big debate about whether to drain the tank or add stabilizer, but I do want to know if there is a certain type of fuel stabilizer I should buy.

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I usually leave gas (ethonal or not) in the tanks of all my stuff, to much time to drain or run out. I go to the parts store and get a can of SEAFOAM and add that to the gas at double ot so the recommended rate listed on the can, then run the engine a while to get it into the carb. I have had absolutley NO problems. I've used the stabilizer years ago, and had problems I fought for 2 to 3 months to get it out of the system. SeaFoam has worked GREAT for me, it cleans out the gum and carbon build-up very well. It can be used in gas, diesel, engine oil, and transmissions. Best thing since peanut butter on sliced bread!!

Ric said:

I would say by his post he's a lot like me and I mow basically year around and in some cases whether it needs it or not.

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I wish the growing season was a little longer here. I picked up a new bottle of fuel Stabil today we use it alot up here in the colder winter states.

wjjones said:

I wish the growing season was a little longer here. I picked up a new bottle of fuel Stabil today we use it alot up here in the colder winter states.

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The growing season is basically all year around, it slows during the winter months some but you always have people who love to water and use fertilizer trying to keep things looking nice and there always wanting things mowed. The money is nice but you really never get a break. Personally I'd like to take a month or two off in the winter months especially around the holidays but that's when everyone wants stuff done.

Ric said:

The growing season is basically all year around, it slows during the winter months some but you always have people who love to water and use fertilizer trying to keep things looking nice and there always wanting things mowed. The money is nice but you really never get a break. Personally I'd like to take a month or two off in the winter months especially around the holidays but that's when everyone wants stuff done.

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Your right the break up here is nice, and helps with down time for other stuff.

davbell22602 said:

Yes you do have to dump it. Just causes more problems and experienced this myself with Shell regular gas. I had better success using stabilizer with Shell regular than not using stabilizer. Now K100 is supposed to bring old gas back to life from what I read on it.

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I agree if it was over 90 days with no stabilizer I would dump it I use stabill

wjjones said:

Your right the break up here is nice, and helps with down time for other stuff.

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You mean like switching over to the Snow Blower forum and blowing snow...:laughing:
Bruce

Brucebotti said:

You mean like switching over to the Snow Blower forum and blowing snow...:laughing:
Bruce

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Yep...:thumbsup:... I do alot of tree removal, and trimming to that keeps me busy.

Ric said:

It wasn't the old gas that caused your problem. If your using regular/87 octane it's the wrong gas for most equipment. Most all manufacturers recommend at least mid -grade/89 in all types of lawn equipment. Everything I use, mowers included sees nothing less than premium gas/93 octane.

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What engine owners manual says to use 89? The owners manual for this engine 446677, 0470-E1 says to use gas with a minimum of 85 octane and to buy gas that can be used within 30 days.

davbell22602 said:

What engine owners manual says to use 89? The owners manual for this engine 446677, 0470-E1 says to use gas with a minimum of 85 octane and to buy gas that can be used within 30 days.

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Read post 35.

Use mid-grade unleaded gasoline with a
minimum octane rating of 89 (R+M/2)
and no more than 10% ethanol content.

Fuel with a lower octane rating may
increase engine temperatures. This, in
turn, increases the risk of piston seizure
and damage to the engine.

Ric said:

Read post 35.

Use mid-grade unleaded gasoline with a
minimum octane rating of 89 (R+M/2)
and no more than 10% ethanol content.

Fuel with a lower octane rating may
increase engine temperatures. This, in
turn, increases the risk of piston seizure
and damage to the engine.

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Ok Thats 2 cycle or small 4 cycle handheld. Do the newer 4 cycle mower engines say 89 in the owners manual?

lawn mower fanatic said:

So the winter is over and there is a full tank of gas in my snowblower. It was supposed to be used up when we got a foot of snow, but the forecast changed at the last minute and we ended up getting only a coating. Last year, I just kept the gas in the tank, and ran it once a month or so over the summer. But this year, should I add stabilizer? I don't want to get into a big debate about whether to drain the tank or add stabilizer, but I do want to know if there is a certain type of fuel stabilizer I should buy.

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if the snow season is over,, drain the tank and run the engine til all the fuel is out of the carb.bowl, as far as what stablizer I use,, Sta-Bil Marine formula

I'm not sure how available it is nationwide, but I have a couple gas stations nearby that sell pure gasoline (no methanol) in one pump, usually the pump that had K1 kerosene in it because people are not using it much anymore. I'm not sure if it is 87 or 89 octane though.

Thought it might be something that some of you would like to look out for. You can buy it in pint or quart cans even premixed at different ratios, but it is expensive.

Just my experience as a homeowner is that gasoline (with ethanol) that sits in the equipment or gas can in the garage for more than 60 days does not work well in small 2 cycle engines. It seems to work a little longer in my larger 4 cycle engines. I forgot and left gas w/ethanol in my 12 hp B&S engine all winter and it corroded the bowl on the carbeaurator and had to replace it and clean out the carbeaurator before it would run.

August59 said:

I'm not sure how available it is nationwide, but I have a couple gas stations nearby that sell pure gasoline (no methanol) in one pump, usually the pump that had K1 kerosene in it because people are not using it much anymore. I'm not sure if it is 87 or 89 octane though.

Thought it might be something that some of you would like to look out for. You can buy it in pint or quart cans even premixed at different ratios, but it is expensive.

Just my experience as a homeowner is that gasoline (with ethanol) that sits in the equipment or gas can in the garage for more than 60 days does not work well in small 2 cycle engines. It seems to work a little longer in my larger 4 cycle engines. I forgot and left gas w/ethanol in my 12 hp B&S engine all winter and it corroded the bowl on the carbeaurator and had to replace it and clean out the carbeaurator before it would run.

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In your case maybe you could buy the straight gas even if it's 87 and use octane booster.
I haven't noticed a big difference since using sta-bil or ethanol shield. My equipment runs the same and I didn't have much problem if any w/o those products. I tend to use my gas before 60 days pass.
I can say w/o a doubt that none of the other additives I tried did anything at all. Definitely not wasting any more money on seafoam.

Why add anything to the gas and dilute it more then it already is?

lawn mower fanatic said:

So the winter is over and there is a full tank of gas in my snowblower. It was supposed to be used up when we got a foot of snow, but the forecast changed at the last minute and we ended up getting only a coating. Last year, I just kept the gas in the tank, and ran it once a month or so over the summer. But this year, should I add stabilizer? I don't want to get into a big debate about whether to drain the tank or add stabilizer, but I do want to know if there is a certain type of fuel stabilizer I should buy.

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Interesting question. A popular 'on the shelf' fuel stabilizer uses Enzymes to 'stabilize' fuel. Unfortunately I recently learned that it not only dilutes the fuel, but it also causes a +25% reduction in the energy of the stored fuel. Not good.

We now use a stabilizer that works quite differently. Fuel contamination occurs when air comes into contact with fuel. With Ethanol now in gasoline, the situation gets worse: Ethanol attracts water......and all the repair issues that can follow.
The stabilizer we use solves the problem quite differently. Because it has a different Specific Gravity from fuel, it resides as a thin barrier on top of the fuel between the air in the tank and the fuel itself. The Energy in the fuel is preserved. Typically fuel can be held-over for several months to the next season. It works really great and is useful for all gasoline applications.

What i've heard on the news more than once is that the goverment makes the EPA lift retricttions on gas companies to refine the gas less, so they can produce more in the summer which is needed. Refine less = less quality. Never keep two stroke mix more than 3 months. If you use stabil in your gas to store, you should still run the engine about every 4 to 6 months, and fill the tank back up. Don't waste the gas. Burn it in your car or run it the lawn mowers. If you cut the gas enough the engine will never know it. I kept gas in my generator for a year one time with stabil and it ran rough for a few minutes then it was fine, but i won't do that again. It has a 18hp engine. The jets in the carb are a bit larger so i guess it passed some of the gum, but i believe the smaller engines would not have done that because the carbs have smaller jets. I have cleaned many small engine carbs. I haven't had to clean the generator carb even after approx. 10yrs. I own a approx. 10yr old ryobi gas trimmer and have only rebuilt the carb once ( installed new diaphrams and gaskits. I think it's time for new ones again. I've mostly run 87oct in all my engines. I started putting 93oct. with no ethanol in the generator when i found out it also eats rubber fuel lines and maybe causes problems with plastic gas tanks, and the gas with ethanol also ate my gas cap rubber i think. I dropped the bowl on my riding mower a couple of months ago and found black specks. i'm thinking the fuel lines are getting ate up. I heard the the new boat gas cans and fuel lines are supposed to be more tolerant of ethanol, and regular gas cans are to be made better so gas doesn't seep through the plastic. Thanks for all of your inputs on this matter.

Effective Jan 1st/14 Ethanol has been mandated in 91 Octane as well regular grade gasoline in Canada. (Gas stations seem to be quite slow to affix new labels on the pumps.....Where is truth in advertising?)

It's not too early to start thinking about using gasoline fuel enhancers that neutralize ethanol to prolong engine life & minimize premature repairs.

Ethanol can do a good job dissolving rubber gaskets over time.:frown:

gofer said:

...Ethanol can do a good job dissolving rubber gaskets over time.:frown:

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Ethanol can do a great job f***ing up your engine in general.

Just my :2cents:

:/ haven't seen it yet. I think people are afraid of change and innovation. But hey who cares about our fossil fuels getting consumed at an alarming rate. Who cares they are trying to slow that down with a gas alternative. I know let's go back to powering everything with coal... Yay

Saying ethanol broke your engine is just a excuse for poor maintenance.

And stop adding more **** to the gas. OMG people a engine will not run good on pure fuel stabilizer.