Is it worth the extra money to use the marine sta-bil rather then the red stuff?
Last edited:
Fuel sta-bil
- Thread starter bigsteve
- Start date
- Status
I have had the best luck with Sea Foam,(in my two stroke engines and four, everyone thinks of it as a cleaner, but it is a great stabilizer.Much better luck than with the red stabil, I have never used the marine. I work with a guy that uses the marine stabilizer and has had good luck with it, but then he never tried the red either.
Some say the marine version is better if you have ethanol enriched gasoline. I've used the red stuff with no problems.
They are both good, marine is probably a little stronger. Sea foam is great too, buddy uses that, I just use the red stuff. I only use Sta-bil for lawn equipment though. If I had a boat I would use marine I guess.
The marine StaBil (the blue stuff) is not twice the cost of the red stuff because you use half as much. I've read some who guess that there is really no difference, just twice the strength, but I have no way of knowing that. Used the red StaBil for many years in my outboard gas for every tank and I've never had a problem with bad gas after the winter layup. I also use it to pickle the gas in my motorcycle in the fall, with good results. Ethanol gas is much more prone to degradation and "phase separation" over the winter, and in fact some don't recommend using it after 30 days unless it is stabilized. I've also heard that Seafoam is a good stabilizer.
I think in massachusetts we have 10% ethanol.
I read somewhere that regular red Stabil has been/will be reformulated to provide better protection with ethanol blends.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Originally Posted By: Garak
I read somewhere that regular red Stabil has been/will be reformulated to provide better protection with ethanol blends.
Heard that also.
I read somewhere that regular red Stabil has been/will be reformulated to provide better protection with ethanol blends.
Heard that also.
Anyone know the shelf life of red Stabil? I only use it in a couple of small engines and a bottle will last me 3-4 years. Is it still good?
Originally Posted By: Garak
I read somewhere that regular red Stabil has been/will be reformulated to provide better protection with ethanol blends.
Maybe on the new bottle labeling that came out last year?:
Quote:
Anyone know the shelf life of red Stabil? I only use it in a couple of small engines and a bottle will last me 3-4 years. Is it still good?
The web site FAQ section says an opened bottle has a life of 2 years if stored cool and dry.
I'm one of the guys that guesses they are the same product. Talking with a tech. at their company, he said "use either product with ethanol gas, but the marine will give you more bang for the buck (cheaper at 1/2 the use rate)".
Their web site still says the marine has four times the cleaners as the red, but maybe this does not reflect the new bottle labeling. Otherwise, as said above, you use the marine at 1/2 the rate of the red, so is there any real difference?
The tech. also told me that Stabil does not prevent phase separation because that is impossible......which means Pri G is lying???? Who knows?
I read somewhere that regular red Stabil has been/will be reformulated to provide better protection with ethanol blends.
Maybe on the new bottle labeling that came out last year?:
Quote:
Anyone know the shelf life of red Stabil? I only use it in a couple of small engines and a bottle will last me 3-4 years. Is it still good?
The web site FAQ section says an opened bottle has a life of 2 years if stored cool and dry.
I'm one of the guys that guesses they are the same product. Talking with a tech. at their company, he said "use either product with ethanol gas, but the marine will give you more bang for the buck (cheaper at 1/2 the use rate)".
Their web site still says the marine has four times the cleaners as the red, but maybe this does not reflect the new bottle labeling. Otherwise, as said above, you use the marine at 1/2 the rate of the red, so is there any real difference?
The tech. also told me that Stabil does not prevent phase separation because that is impossible......which means Pri G is lying???? Who knows?
- Status
