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Good Fuel Stabilizer?

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1978Blazerk5

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Well who makes a good fuel stabiliezer? I am gonna fill my 5 gallon jerry can and i dont know when i get a chance to use the fuel. ya any suggestions on fuel stabiliezers?


Thanks
 
IMO none of them are worth a damn, just a gimmick to make more money. Why not just fill your jerry can and every other tank or so put it in your gas tank and refill your jerry can. This way it keeps getting used but you still have a jerry can full of fuel.
 
I have used Sta-Bil with good results in my lawn equipment. Never had a problem getting them to fire in the spring, and I haven't seen the varnishing in the fuel bowl that I have seen in years past. Just my experience, YMMV.
 
FWIW, I add half a bottle of Sta-bil to a full tank of gas in my boat every fall- it sits for 8 months a year up in my neck of the woods. I prefer to store my boat with a full tank of gas to prevent condensation buildup during our wildly-fluctuating winter temps.

What's worse in my case, Scott? Condensation buildup or relying on a product I'm not 100% convinced is legit???? :dunno:
 
Can Can said:
FWIW, I add half a bottle of Sta-bil to a full tank of gas in my boat every fall- it sits for 8 months a year up in my neck of the woods. I prefer to store my boat with a full tank of gas to prevent condensation buildup during our wildly-fluctuating winter temps.

What's worse in my case, Scott? Condensation buildup or relying on a product I'm not 100% convinced is legit???? :dunno:
Click to expand...

Well, assuming the fuel tank in your boat is aluminum (all i've seen are) and the cap is on tight you shouldn't be getting any condensation in the tank. Even if you do since the tank is aluminum it won't rust the tank. You would at the very least just need to drain any water/moisture from the tank.

The problem with keeping a full tank of gas is that after about 6 months gas starts to go bad (turns to varnish and smells like terpentine) and if the stabilizer doesn't do it's job then you have alot of bad gas that
(1) you need to get rid of
(2) you now need to boil the tank to remove the bad gas from the pores of the aluminum
(3) you've wasted alot of money (gas here is 4.00/gallon now).
If you don't drain and boil the tank then you risk the possibility of damaging the engine when the valves stick and the pistons hit them.
 
the gas i will be putting in my jerry cans will be used probaly withing 4-months. I just wanna keep the cans from rusting.
 
Believe - it - or - not : Adding two cycle oil to the gas will prevent varnish buildup. The gas will not last forever in a container so add it ( the 5 gallon can ) to your tank every two months. The ideal treat rate would be 50:1 ratio ( 12 fl.oz. / 5 gal gas ). You may also notice a smoother engine response since two cycle oil is also a detergent.
 
I use a small amount of seafoam. It works great as a stabilizer due to it's properties. I've had fuel sit for longer then I like (8 months) and no evident effects were drastic. I use it in all my saw fuels with great results as well. Just yet another option.
 
Scott, the fuel tank in the boat is plastic, and yes, I've seen small signs of condensation in the tank from time to time when the temp goes from 90' to 45' in a matter of 24 hours........:doah:

Keep in mind that the weather up in my neck of the woods is WAY less stable than what you're used to, with only about 100 frost free days a year. FWIW, the local marina mechanic(who has earned my trust) recommends the use of a stabilizer, especially on FI boat motors.

Maybe Ryoken will drop in on this thread.....
 
I noticed a difference in my rigs performance after storing it with and without stabilizer. The stabilized fuel seemed to start and run better after 6 months of storage than the unstabilized. Of course this truck sat for 18 months one time with no stabilizer and it started fine but ran like crap for a couple minutes. Once it warmed up it was fine to drive to the gas station and fill up with new fuel.
 
Just to point out - the fuel stabilizers you buy at the local autozone aren't really stabilizing anything..they're isopropyl alcohol mixed with kerosene, or some other type of petroleum distillate. the petro is there to "bond" the alcohol to the fuel molecules...all these products do is "un - gum" the deposits via the solvent nature of the alcohol.

Now, that's all well and good, but alcohol is pretty detrimental to the fuel system..IIRC GM has some bulletins warning against the use of fuel additives with alcohol..also - ketones, or MEK are ingredients to avoid as well..those are solvents too.

Not saying anything will grenade, but over time the detrimental results of their use will be seen.

see, fuel becoming unstable means that the metals ( copper / vanadium) in the fuel have dropped out of suspension & are causing varnish / gum deposits.. fuel is only truly kept stable by anti - oxidants ..which you won't find in a fuel product costing less than five bucks.

so, if you want a "good" fuel stabilizer ( and much more), you can click on my vendor thread below and read all about it.. or you can buy stabil or something, but at least you know what you are buying..
 
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