Chonda junk

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
running stabil has always worked best for me, im not into a dry carb, as it isnt just the carb that gets dried, ie gaskets diaphrams etc. dump some stabil in it and let it run 15-30 mins a month, all should be well


I agree Stabil is endorsed by manufactures and even comes in the gas cap on some B&S, plus Stabil has a cleaning effect. What I do is add the Stabil to the fresh can of gas, so the gas in the can is protected and it gets completely ran through the fuel system. Stabil recommends treating the gas as soon as possible plus a can of gas might last me all year. Before ethanol was added to gas I never needed to add stabilizer. Well at least not with any of my Briggs equipment, with my Honda that's a different story.

 

[kcfx4]

i too never ran stabil etc/until i ran a ope shop for yrs, and all the stuff i seen come in fuel related, i started using it as a safety measure i guess

 

[cronk]

I don't like storing my carbs dry anymore. All we can get in my area is the gas with 10% ethanol. Ever since I started using this gas, it seems like every time I stored a carb dry, I had problems once I put gas back in it. Its like the e10 dries out the seals and once the carb sits dry, all the rubber parts crack or shrink.
I at Stabil to the gas, and still try to start the engines once a month for good measure.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I always store my OPE full of fuel also. I've had nothing but trouble trying to start a "dry" engine after it's had a season or more of use. I keep Stabil in the fuel, and even the E10 stuff starts right up in the spring. I'm still using it NOW to bag leaves every now and then.

 

[D_Ville_TX]

We have a welder-generator with a Lifan 13HP clone engine where I work. The hour-meter was at 886 hours a few weeks ago. It always starts easy and works as good as it did new. We change oil every 75-100 hours and use Rotella 15w40.

My opinion is that Lifan engines works as good as the Honda it was copied from.

Just my observations.

 

[j_mac]

I've been adding the red Sta-bil to my OPE gas cans all season. The stuff sits around alot anyway and its a way to ensure that at the end of the season you'll have Sta-bil throughout the entire fuel system. In other words, I'm running Sta-bil year round.

Someone mentioned green Sta-bil. Is this the marine or ethanol type or some other I'm not familiar with?

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: j_mac
I've been adding the red Sta-bil to my OPE gas cans all season. The stuff sits around alot anyway..


I know. I think I've said it before, but I need Sta-bil for my Sta-bil!!

As a substitute, I've also had good luck with Lucas upper cylinder lube. I had a gallon jug of it that lasted me a bit over a year, but I was adding it to my vehicles and OPE.

Another thing I've said before, but for winterization, I put quite a bit of Sta-bil, lucas or quality 2-stroke oil in the last little bit of fuel in the tank and run the equipment until it wont run anymore.

Joel

 

[Vikas]

Stabil used to be green around 2000-2001 time frame. My green bottle(s) lasted until 2008 or so and then I had to buy new Stabil which was red.

People claim that Seafoam is better stabilizer than Stabil but that product is way over hyped without any scientific data to back up the exaggerated claims.

- Vikas

 

[unDummy]

I use Stabil Marine because it has 4x the cleaner of regular Stabil. My experience is that most issues occur with crud buildup. Never noticed the 'ethanol' on the label. So, looks like its protecting against the E10 I'm forced to use too.

And, I do use it year round. It gets added to every 5-gallon fuel container at any fill up time. Never know whether I'll use up the fuel quickly enough. If the container is a few months old and not empty, I just dump it into one of the cars and refill it.

I'll also sometimes add the Lucas, MMO, or Seafoam also. But, I don't consider them fuel stabilizers... UCL's and additional preventive maintenance fuel system cleaning.

 

[Vikas]

Does any normal store sell Stabil Marine or I have to find boat supply store?

 

[kcfx4]

I think you can find it at walmart

 

[j_mac]

I know Auto Zone has it.

 

[engineerscott]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Personally, I am now believing that current red Stabil is just not cutting it. I never had any trouble with starting at the beginning of either snow season or mowing season for last 10 years using green Stabil until this year. I had problems with the red Stabil with my mower and snow blower. Is there anything better than Stabil? Unfortunately Stabil seems to be the only game in the town.

- Vikas


I'm wondering if it isn't the increased ethanol content that is to blame. For decades most of our gas pumps have been labeled "Contains up to 10% Ethanol", but until the greenies got that huge Corn/Ethanol subsides passed a few years ago (supported by congressmen from both parties from big Corn states) we actually weren't seeing much gasoline having beyond 4% Ethanol, with 2 ~ 3% being common. Post Ethanol subsidies, by God every gallon has 10% Ethanol, and rumors exists of some blenders going up to 11 ~ 12%. This just raises heck with OPE motors, particularly when they sit idle in the off season and the fuel absorbs water vapor from the air. At some point the Ethanol/Water mixture drops out of solution and goes to the bottom of your tank where most setups pull fuel for the carburetor. I supposes if you yank on the starter enough you might pull the water out of the bottom of the tank and get back to pulling fuel, but I won't want to bet how much pulling and cussing that would take. I wonder if the Stabil formulated in the days of 2 ~ 3% Ethanol is up to the full 10% stuff we see to day. Best bet is to find a fuel supplier that sells Ethanol free fuel. Usually you can find one or two stations that carry it in even a moderate sized city. Since I've done that myself I haven't had any first start of the season issues.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I've never had any issues with the E10 sorbing so much water, it comes out of phase right there in the gas tank. I always store my OPE with a FULL tank over the winter (no room for water vapor/condensation), and empty my gas cans into the OPE or one of my road vehicles, so they don't soak up any moisture either. I do run stabilizer year-round also (and will have to look for the Green Stabil at AutoZone, my Walmart doesn't sell it).

I've heard about folks having problems with E10 gasoline in their OPE for ages, but I guess it's warm enough in North Carolina for that to not be an issue. To be fair, my OPE's off-season is really only about 4 months long. The mowers run through about this time of the year for leaf bagging, and will come out again in April.

 

[Vikas]

I do not buy the offered explanation. It would seem that having 10% ethanol in gasoline would *help* absorb water rather than hurt it. On the other hand, 10% ethanol definitely cuts the gas mileage and reduces the power.

 

[doitmyself]

There's plenty of discussion of E-10, Stabil, and other fuel stabilizers in the fuel additive forum. I am surprised Bill has let this thread wander so far off topic!

 

[boraticus]

"I am surprised Bill has let this thread wander so far off topic!"

It's been civil. What's the problem?

The discussion began with OP bashing a Chinese engine because he had a "fuel" problem. It obviously wasn't an "engine" problem. The discussion then turned to why he had a fuel problem. Thereafter, discussion on how to avoid repetition of the problem.

 

[kcfx4]

im agreeing w bortacius, if were off the ot, were on the new one/root of the problem

 

[kcfx4]

I got out of the sm engine bus in 06, but at that time i wasnt so impressed w honda, i was selling scag tiger cubs w 24hp hondas, they surged like crazy (not under load) and was having complaints w walkbehinds w hondas too, so i called honda and asked what was going on, they replied that they were having epa issues, and their fix was to underjet the carb, granted under a load they ran fine. Not to mention i was selling Cub cadet big countrys (UTV's) powered by hondas not running right, again called honda, ran engine serial nums, come to find out those engines were designed to be on generators running @ a set RPM. On to techumse, their snokings were good, but all in all a lackluster engine maker, i think ppl should give chondas a chance, The LCT seems quite impressive

 

[engineerscott]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
I do not buy the offered explanation. It would seem that having 10% ethanol in gasoline would *help* absorb water rather than hurt it. On the other hand, 10% ethanol definitely cuts the gas mileage and reduces the power.


With respect to water, alcohol is a double edged sword. As you're aware, alcohol (normally isopropyl rather than ethyl alcohol) is used to solubilize water back into gasoline when you've got a small quantity of water in fuel. That's the good aspect.

However .......

Alcohols are hygroscopic, so they actually attract and hold water. So, if you've got a lot of ethanol in your gasoline you can put more water in and it will stay in solution longer as compared to straight gasoline. Sounds good so far. The problem is, that your alcohol/fuel mixture now more readily attracts water as compared to straight fuel, which is pretty hydrophobic and does not tend to attract and absorb water easily. And when you go past that critical threshold where the alcohol can hold no more water, the whole thing falls out of solution (i.e. alcohol + water) so now you've got much more unburnable stuff at the bottom of your tank.

Add to that the tendency of alcohols to form varnishes and gum up, corrode metals and attack certain plastics and it makes alcohol added fuels a real mixed bag. Most of the bad attributes are not that big of a deal when you are burning through your fuel fairly quickly (like on a regularly driven car), but on engines that sit idle for long periods the negative attributes become a lot more noticeable.

The real icing on the cake is that for corn derived alcohol, the energy ratio is almost unity (1). On other words, you burn just about as many Btus of petroleum to make a gallon of ethanol as you get back when you burn that ethanol. Depending on who you ask, the energy ratio is either slightly less than one (i.e. cost you more energy than you get back), or at best it's slightly greater than one (i.e. you gain a very small advantage). If the ratio was 2:1 or 3:1 it would be a different argument and would make putting up with some of the downsides of alcohol mixed fuels more palatable. As it stands now, the government mandate to mix alcohol in fuel and the price subsidies are just a giant corporate welfare scheme to a few large farms and agribusinesses.