StaBil and ethanol?

[slomo]

Used to run machines dry in the fall. Fuel lines would dry up, crack and leak. Replaced lines either yearly or bi-yearly. This is in 2 and 4 strokers.

Now use Stabil year round. Leave fuel in the machines year round. Never have to worry "how old is this fuel" anymore. Fuel lines get replaced at much much longer intervals. All machines start in 1-3 pulls in spring.

Oh and everything stored in my attached garage. No E-10 just plain ol' 87 octane.

 

[Gym123]

Used to run machines dry in the fall. Fuel lines would dry up, crack and leak. Replaced lines either yearly or bi-yearly. This is in 2 and 4 strokers.

Now use Stabil year round. Leave fuel in the machines year round. Never have to worry "how old is this fuel" anymore. Fuel lines get replaced at much much longer intervals. All machines start in 1-3 pulls in spring.

Oh and everything stored in my attached garage. No E-10 just plain ol' 87 octane.

The shut off valve is a good thing to have, as long as it's not too far from the carb- changing a short piece of fuel line isn't a big deal.

I had two different paddle type snow throwers that stopped working well- they ran fine for awhile, then it was like they just had nothing more to give. Both needed new fuel lines- they were sucking air, but fuel didn't leak out of the lines. They never had that problem after replacing the lines.

 

[Gord Baker]

The shut off valve is a good thing to have, as long as it's not too far from the carb- changing a short piece of fuel line isn't a big deal.

I had two different paddle type snow throwers that stopped working well- they ran fine for awhile, then it was like they just had nothing more to give. Both needed new fuel lines- they were sucking air, but fuel didn't leak out of the lines. They never had that problem after replacing the lines.

If your Paddle type Snow Blowers don't have a Fuel Pump, they don't Suck! If a fuel line has any sort of split, it will leak Fuel.

 

[Gym123]

If your Paddle type Snow Blowers don't have a Fuel Pump, they don't Suck! If a fuel line has any sort of split, it will leak Fuel.

I was wrong- one fuel line was on my 2 stage, which I still have and I still have the second paddle type, which is much newer.

That's true- one is gone, still have the other so I'l look (it's covered). I checked the lines for internal delamination & blockage and found nothing, but I have had zero problems with the two stage running since the fuel line replacement.

 

[gearz]

I use No-Spill gas cans with Sta-Bil 360 and Star Tron
and have never had a issue in my life time. My tractor is used year round but my blowers & pressure washer all have full tanks over the winter and they start right up. They can sit for 6-8 months before they are used again. The test that Taryl did was not what I Had for results. My fuel never sit for 2 years and I believe these products work.

 

[Gym123]

I use No-Spill gas cans with Sta-Bil 360 and Star Tron
and have never had a issue in my life time. My tractor is used year round but my blowers & pressure washer all have full tanks over the winter and they start right up. They can sit for 6-8 months before they are used again. The test that Taryl did was not what I Had for results. My fuel never sit for 2 years and I believe these products work.

And it's easy enough to find out if it will be a problem- shake the container and pour some into a clean, clear bottle. If it's cloudy, let the gas in the gas can settle, then pour the good gas into a different container so the water can be removed. I stopped filling my 5 gallon container and only use the 2 gallon- there's almost no chance that I'll have gas that's old enough to collect water.

 

[KA1J]

Make your own ethanol free gas; easy, safe and quick. Find this on youtube.

In short: Water and alcohol both hate gasoline. Alcohol will live with gasoline but water will not; water and gasoline separate instantly and will not mix. However, alcohol loves water and will go to it instantly and will happily stay with it.

When you add water to ethanol gas and shake for 30 seconds all the alcohol jumps to the water, leaving pure gas behind. The water/alcohol mix goes to the bottom and at first it looks murky between the two. Let it sit overnight and the cloudiness is gone as gravity pulls the water mix to the bottom. You now have 100% gas on top, alcohol/water on the bottom.

Do this with homebrewing beer/wine equipment. Use a 5/6 gallon glass carboy to put the ethanol/gas in. Put 4 gallons of gasoline in it. Add 1/2 gallon of water. Put a rubber stopper in the carboy and set it on cardboard or plywood. Slosh vigorously for 30 seconds and leave it till tomorrow. Next day put the carboy on a chair to siphon things out. Use a metal tube and motorcycle clear gas line tubing to suck the water gas at the bottom till only gas remains. (If you look at the volume of water coming out you'll see it is much higher than the volume of water you put in, that's from the alcohol which has left the gasoline and gone to the water). What is left is pure gasoline, no water. Siphon that to a marked tank so you know what gas is what.

I'm a bit OCD so when I siphon the pure gas I do so with another homebrewing tool, another stainless tube with hose, but this one has a spacer on the bottom. In homebrewing the spacer prevents yeast from being sucked up. In this case it prevents any water I might have not sucked up from getting into my pure gas can. I leave that small 1/3" of gas in the carboy and repeat everything the next time I do this.

Important: Only use the highest octane ethanol gas you have available. The ethanol increases octane and removing alcohol lowers your octane by two points. So 93 octane ethanol gas becomes 91 octane. & by the same calculation 97 octane ethanol gas becomes 95 octane with the alcohol removed.

Look on youtube if that isn't clear enough. I find many doing it there are sloppy and in a hurry and they are definitely moving some water along with what they think is alcohol freed gasoline. FWIW, I've been doing this for the last 10years and have had nothing but great success with it. I just pulled on my snowblower to bring it from the shed where it has sat since last January and it started on the first pull. I used my wood chipper this summer with this gas that was 3 years old and absolutely zero issue starting and running.

I have not added any form of fuel stabilizer since doing this 10 years ago. Zero need to.

Cheers!

 

[Gym123]

Make your own ethanol free gas; easy, safe and quick. Find this on youtube.

In short: Water and alcohol both hate gasoline. Alcohol will live with gasoline but water will not; water and gasoline separate instantly and will not mix. However, alcohol loves water and will go to it instantly and will happily stay with it.

When you add water to ethanol gas and shake for 30 seconds all the alcohol jumps to the water, leaving pure gas behind. The water/alcohol mix goes to the bottom and at first it looks murky between the two. Let it sit overnight and the cloudiness is gone as gravity pulls the water mix to the bottom. You now have 100% gas on top, alcohol/water on the bottom.

Do this with homebrewing beer/wine equipment. Use a 5/6 gallon glass carboy to put the ethanol/gas in. Put 4 gallons of gasoline in it. Add 1/2 gallon of water. Put a rubber stopper in the carboy and set it on cardboard or plywood. Slosh vigorously for 30 seconds and leave it till tomorrow. Next day put the carboy on a chair to siphon things out. Use a metal tube and motorcycle clear gas line tubing to suck the water gas at the bottom till only gas remains. (If you look at the volume of water coming out you'll see it is much higher than the volume of water you put in, that's from the alcohol which has left the gasoline and gone to the water). What is left is pure gasoline, no water. Siphon that to a marked tank so you know what gas is what.

I'm a bit OCD so when I siphon the pure gas I do so with another homebrewing tool, another stainless tube with hose, but this one has a spacer on the bottom. In homebrewing the spacer prevents yeast from being sucked up. In this case it prevents and water I might have not sucked up from getting into my pure gas can. I leave that small 1/3" of gas in the carboy and repeat everything the next time I do this.

Important: Only use the highest octane ethanol gas you have available. The ethanol increases octane and removing alcohol lowers your octane by two points. So 93 octane ethanol gas becomes 91 octane. & by the same calculation 97 octane ethanol gas becomes 95 octane with the alcohol removed.

Look on youtube if that isn't clear enough. I find many doing it there are sloppy and in a hurry and they are definitely moving some water along with what they think is alcohol freed gasoline. FWIW, I've been doing this for the last 10years and have had nothing but great success with it. I just pulled on my snowblower to bring it from the shed where it has sat since last January and it started on the first pull. I used my wood chipper this summer with this gas that was 3 years old and absolutely zero issue starting and running.

I have not added any form of fuel stabilizer since doing this 10 years ago. Zero need to.

Cheers!

My next door neighbor has someone service her mower and snowblower but she wasn't great at starting them, so I showed her after she came over to ask since mine always start easily.

I explained that pulling the cord slowly a few times draws gas into the cylinder and builds compression. The first pull works, even after Winter/Summer storage.

 

[Auto Doc's]

Stabil does nothing for the Ethanol, it only keeps the gasoline portion from oxidizing. High contents of Ethanol will collect moisture and that will corrode aluminum carburetor badly. Moisture in the air collects like dew during frequent climate changes.

How the equipment is stored or not stored plays a huge factor in fuel breakdown (oxidation).

All gasoline oxidizes eventually, stabilizer just gives the fuel a little more time. (short time)

In the late Fall, I usually empty the fuel and run my equipment dry, and it has saved many Springtime headaches. For my Kawasaki Mule that I use year-round, I use non-ethanol.

For the recovered fuel, I put it in one of my vehicles.

As for fuel additive, I use Lucas Ethanol fuel conditioner, but I do not use low budget fuel, only mid-grade.

Once upon a time I did use Stabil (red) but kept having problems with it eventually gelling if left sitting for long periods over 6 months. Stabil is not an indefinite solution to prevent fuel breakdown.

Stabil Marine (blue) is said to be better, but I have not used it.

I also have some professional lawn care clients that add a little 2-stroke mix to their fuel, and they swear by it, but I have never tried that.

The government as recently passed legislation that all gasoline will be 15% Ethanol instead of 10%, so the problems are only going to get worse for storing gasoline in equipment or unsealed fuel safety cans.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-administration-approves-e15-gasoline-sales-expansion-midwest-states-2024-02-22/

 

[Gym123]

Stabil does nothing for the Ethanol, it only keeps the gasoline portion from oxidizing. High contents of Ethanol will collect moisture and that will corrode aluminum carburetor badly. Moisture in the air collects like dew during frequent climate changes.

How the equipment is stored or not stored plays a huge factor in fuel breakdown (oxidation).

All gasoline oxidizes eventually, stabilizer just gives the fuel a little more time. (short time)

In the late Fall, I usually empty the fuel and run my equipment dry, and it has saved many Springtime headaches. For my Kawasaki Mule that I use year-round, I use non-ethanol.

For the recovered fuel, I put it in one of my vehicles.

As for fuel additive, I use Lucas Ethanol fuel conditioner, but I do not use low budget fuel, only mid-grade.

Once upon a time I did use Stabil (red) but kept having problems with it eventually gelling if left sitting for long periods over 6 months. Stabil is not an indefinite solution to prevent fuel breakdown.

Stabil Marine (blue) is said to be better, but I have not used it.

I also have some professional lawn care clients that add a little 2-stroke mix to their fuel, and they swear by it, but I have never tried that.

The government as recently passed legislation that all gasoline will be 15% Ethanol instead of 10%, so the problems are only going to get worse for storing gasoline in equipment or unsealed fuel safety cans.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-administration-approves-e15-gasoline-sales-expansion-midwest-states-2024-02-22/

Blue StaBil is made for with Ethanol- their site shows that the red is too, but I have read that it's not as good as the blue. I have all three- they also make an amber version and while I don't leave a lot of gas in the tank of anything, my engines all start easily. Draining a tank isn't so difficult if the gas goes bad, but it's just something else to add to the list when I need them to work.

I worked on many boats with old gas- it has a very nasty, distinctive odor and if I smell that, I eliminate it before doing anything else. I tend to run the tanks close to empty, then fog the engine- the stabilizer is added to the gas as soon as I refill a gas can, so it's one less thing to do when Winterizing.

WRT E15- as usual, Congress didn't listen to the manufacturers and WE have to deal with their stoopidity.

Anyone who stores combustible liquids in unsealed containers needs to have them taken away.