Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Gas stabilizer

I have a side by side that’s relatively new, less than 50 miles on it. It’s been parked for six weeks with a near full tank of non ethanol gas and it may not get started till next spring.

Should I put stabil in the gas tank and run it some to get that stabil in the system?

I would add some if that tank of fuel is likely to sit all fall and winter. The non-ethanol is certainly the way to go.

As he said.

Any gas engine we own besides the cars and truck gets non-alcohol Fleet Farm 89 octane regular and Seafoam fuel stabilizer and never an issue.

The main ill of small engines is sitting with deteriorating gas in the system. Seafoam at double rate mixed and ran long enough to be all through the system is a good plan. A pox on the ethanol scam…no different than wind energy, subsidized and inefficient not to mention bad for engines. Alcohol draws water then corrodes.

Ask a small engine repairman. He'll likely tell you that alcohol gas keeps him in business.

Seafoam - just follow the directions on the can.

drover

On things like boats, mowers, 4 wheelers, etc. I use ethanol free gas plus stabilizer year round. Then there is no ‘should I run some stabilizer at the end of season’ question. The stabilizer is cheap enough that the cost isn’t an issue. I got caught one time when I didn’t do that and it bit me on a fuel injected motorcycle. Had to clean the injection system and it cost more than all the stabilizer I’ve ever bought in my lifetime.

I’ve used seafoam as a cleaner on occasion, but I don’t generally use it as a stabilizer. I’m sure it works fine but it also contains up to 25% isopropanol alcohol, which is what we are trying to avoid in the first place. Given the relatively small dose it takes, I don’t think it’s nearly the issue that using ethanol fuels is, but it’s still there.

The biggest issue with seafoam is cost per dose. Seafoam calls for 1 ounce per gallon. Mercury marine stabilizer is 1 ounce per 5 gallons. Sta-bil calls for 1 ounce to 2.5 gallons. Seafoam just costs quite a bit more per dose.

Boat motor, atvs, snowblower, snowmobile, Honda generator all get stabil marine with every tank.

The snowblower and the snowmobile sat outside all season in rainy Alaskan weather with full tanks of fuel treated with marine stabil.

Both started right up and have been working fine.

Of the stabil products, the marine version has excellent corrosion inhibitors and also has PEA fuel system cleaners.

Just a "one size fits all" fuel treatment. Surely better than nothing at all.

Recently, sea foam brought out a "marine" formula. It has no isopropyl alcohol like the original formula. My question is, was the original formulation not good enough, when compared to existing products?

Can you drain the tank?

I wouldn't use stabil, I've seen it ge crusty in the bottle. That can't be good. I've used Lucas fuel stabilizer in my small engines for the last 5 years and has worked great.
No issues after storing.

I wonder if that was from a bad batch, or had been exposed to extreme temperature swings.

My experience with Stabil has been stellar. One of my generators (Stored in my basement) has 9 year old fuel in it, fortified with 4oz of Stabil every spring and fall in it's 8 gallon tank. I test run it twice a year, and it starts first pull and will pull a 5000W load with that old fuel without protest. It used to be my camp generator until we got power run to the camp, and I "replaced" it with a more modern inverter generator for the house to run the smart appliances. Going to continue the experiment with the old one to see just how long the fuel will work with regular additions of Stabil.

I also use Stabil and have for years. Add it to every can of gas as I fill it for use in riding and push lawnmower, and UTV. Non ethanol gas as you mentioned, and make sure you run it long enough tp get it in the entire system.

I have also used Star Tron with similar good results.

Related question for people with mowers

Do you fill them with stabilized fuel prior to storage or run them dry?
I have had good luck running them dry (with stabilized gas) prior to storing. Then refilling in spring with fresh fuel.

All my small engines are run dry before storing them, if they have a fuel shutoff valve. Weedwhackers and chainsaws are dosed with Stabil and I will run them about every 6 months and re-treat with Stabil before storing again.

About time to do it again.

I fill everything with stabilized ethanol free gas year round and store with them full of gas. I problems so far.

Interesting, I just called a lawnmower repair place near me and asked him whether to run them dry or fill them.

He said its a horse apiece.

Just to use non-ethanol gas with some stabilizer of some sort and either fill or run dry. Said the stabilizer is important as even running them dry there will be a small amount remaining in the carb.

Today infact...

Just bought 10 gallons Eth Free (Clear) as they call it here

88 Octane.....$4.14/gallon

In the barn storage now

I don't see the need if it's non-eth. I left some avgas (non eth) in a dirt bike for 5 months and all that was left was the oil in the carb float bowel. This carb is new and looked new when I wiped the oil out. The oil still had a good blue tint to it like when it comes out of the bottle.

Good to know.

I use Startron, my boat guy says it's better than stabil but don't mix them together

I use PRI-G for fuel storage ,had a Honda 2000,sat for two years with that in it,started right up.

If Eth Free is available

Why not use it ?

Pure gasoline & 88 Octane here

Non-eth is readily available here but it's very expensive. Even so, I use it in every engine that's not in a car. It adds to the price of a day's UTV trail riding but it's cheaper than hauling the thing to town for repairs when it clogs up.

If you don't know where to find it, check this site: PURE-GAS.ORG
They don't have all the stations that carry it because it's generated by customer updates but they do show a lot of them.

There is no need for Eth free in a modern, fuel injected 4 wheeler or SxS. My Ranger XP 1000 sits for 6-7 months of the year, every year, and it's never had any eth free, or fuel stabilizer added to it. Fires right up and goes to work every summer just fine.

Ethanol gas is a death sentence to anything with a carburetor. Ethanol free gas and a good fuel stabilizer in all my small engines. Bought a Swisher tow behind brush hog and they recommended Stabil.

You're in a very small minority in thinking that.

I'm starting to think he's right, and that the rest of us are stuck on all the troubles carb passages & gaskets have caused us.

Untreated E10 gummed up the FI system of my motorcycle. My ‘last ride’ caught me off guard and I didn’t have time to switch over to ethanol free and treat it.

I think E10 is fine as long as you go through it regularly. If it sits, it’s bad.

Eth dissolves stuff, like plastic, rubber, varnish, etc. Then as it moves that crud through injectors and tiny carb passages, they clog up.

Am I? You think everyone that lives in a snow state, and parks their RZR for months on end uses eth free? They don't. They park it, then fire it up in the spring and go ride. Any fuel injected gas engine made in the last 20 years is designed for E10.

Yeah, I pretty much don't give a [bleep] on anything fuel injected. Have to fight everything else. Latest being a pressure washer that spends the winter inside.

My Honda snowblower manual said that it was okay to use ethanol fuel, but what cured me from ever using ethanol fuel in a small engine again was that the muffler was heated orange during a snow blowing. That can't be good for that piston I figured and it has been non-ethanol 89 octane regular (regular has a lower flash point than premium) from Fleet Farm with Seafoam ever since in all my small engines. I have not seen that muffler that hot ever again.

I was talking to a John Deere dealer down in Milwaukee once and he said that 90% of the lawn tractor engine problems that they repair are fuel related to the Milwaukee blended gas that they have down there. He said that when he visits his daughter out of that area, he takes his gas cans and fills them with good gas.

More than 1 small engine man has told me that ethanol is what keeps him in business.

GOOD STUFF !!

I buy non-ethanol gas at my local Buc-ees for all my small engines, welder and chainsaws. I put Stabil in the can at time of purchase. The regular Stabil says it can be used with 4-stroke and 2-cycle mixes. So, I can use the same gas when I mix up my chainsaw fuel. The Stabil 360 does not specifically list using with 2-cycle mixes. I'm not sure about some of the other fuel stabilizers and compatibility with 2-cycle mixes.

I would, and top off the tank when you're done.

To keep it simple I buy alchohol free gas and add stabil everytime I fill the 5 gal gas cans that I use for all my small 4-stroke stuff - ATVs, generators, lawn tractor, brush mower, snowblower, etc.

If I used gas with ethanol in small engines I'd drain fuel tank and run the engine dry before storing.

For 2-stroke stuff like chainsaws and trimmers I use alchohol free gas for the mix but no stabil.

I have used Seafoam in all my small engines, my 4 wheeler, and storage gas for years with no problems.