My wife doesn't drive much. The car is a 2017 Corolla. She drives about 3500 miles a year. A tank of gas will last her 3-6 weeks. We live in NE Arkansas and it's pretty humid much of the year. I just dawned on me this morning I should probably be adding a little fuel stabilizer to her tank when she gets gas. I told her this morning to get a half tank at a time would be better. I use TRC DZL-LENE XL/10 in my mower gas with no carb trouble. If you're wondering why that, it's because I inherited it. I also have and use MMO which I've used since 1975 so I can use it if it would be better. Should I add a taste of one of these to her tank?
Fuel Stabilizer in car not driven much
- Thread starter bovine1
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It will not hurt anything.
Will it help, yes it will.
JHZR2
Staff member
You could run a range of things…
Folks have run MMO forever with good results. Sta-bil can work. TCW-3 at a low dose provides lubricity and stabilization too.
Folks have run MMO forever with good results. Sta-bil can work. TCW-3 at a low dose provides lubricity and stabilization too.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
I have used this in everything running off gasoline …
Great product from a top notch company …
Very concentrated too …
https://www.westmarine.com/chevron-techron-marine-fuel-system-treatment-10-oz.-19185933.html
Great product from a top notch company …
Very concentrated too …
https://www.westmarine.com/chevron-techron-marine-fuel-system-treatment-10-oz.-19185933.html
Yes
At first I was thinking, okay maybe a tank of gas is lasting 6 mos...
You do not need fuel stabilizer or anything else to merely run through a tank of gas in 3-6 weeks. That is not really "doesn't drive much". It will just be a waste of money.
If you were instead storing gas over winter, especially for use on carb'd equipment, then fuel stabilizer makes more sense, or just don't store the fuel over winter but sometimes it is prudent, like if you have a snow blower or generator and may or may not need it a few times depending on the weather or power outages.
You do not need fuel stabilizer or anything else to merely run through a tank of gas in 3-6 weeks. That is not really "doesn't drive much". It will just be a waste of money.
If you were instead storing gas over winter, especially for use on carb'd equipment, then fuel stabilizer makes more sense, or just don't store the fuel over winter but sometimes it is prudent, like if you have a snow blower or generator and may or may not need it a few times depending on the weather or power outages.
My truck sees about the same, maybe less, driving. I use Stabil Marine without issue. Not saying its better or worse than anything else or even than nothing. Just saying its what I do and don't have any trouble.
?? 3500 mi/yr is averaging over 9 miles daily. It would be better to NOT drive more miles than that, if you live and work where that is reasonable...
Adding the fuel to her car won't hurt but may not be needed.
Fuel stabilizer is more important in marine applications. Here is why: auto fuel tanks are pressurized so there is no continual addition of humid air into the tank. In marine applications: much bigger tanks that are not pressurized have open vents with continual access to humid air. What does humid air have to do with it?: The water in the air combines with the ethanol and that mixture separates from the gasoline so there are layers in the boat tank. Water in engine doesn't work well.
Fuel stabilizer is more important in marine applications. Here is why: auto fuel tanks are pressurized so there is no continual addition of humid air into the tank. In marine applications: much bigger tanks that are not pressurized have open vents with continual access to humid air. What does humid air have to do with it?: The water in the air combines with the ethanol and that mixture separates from the gasoline so there are layers in the boat tank. Water in engine doesn't work well.
Because we have a 2005 Camry that I commute 60 miles a day in and the Corolla is our travel car. When the Camry swarms I'll update the Corolla for her and drive it. Also I'm 65 so depending on my health could have to retire at any time and we wouldn't need 2 cars. The Corolla would be a good travel car for a long time barring accident of course. My mother lives 400 miles away and she makes that trip without me a couple of times a year so having a ride with less miles on it is good for my peace of mind. The Camry was our travel car until 2019 when my work car started requiring really frequent repairs so I updated. Thanks all for the opinions. I put some MMO in it.
Absolutely you should! I worked for a large government airport fleet for 30 years. The problems caused by stale old fuel were some of the worst to repair of all. One time I asked a mechanic I respected how long was too long for fuel and he said, gas lasted reliably for about 3 months, after that all bets were off whether the motor would run off that gas.
Problems with stale fuel could happen on the kinds of engines I maintained, because most of them spent months and sometimes years sitting idle. My job was to go around and inspect, maintain, and test the numerous small engines on X-signs, small-to-large generators, etc. And the last thing I wanted to deal with if I could possibly avoid it, was being forced to haul something all the way back to the stop, because of a no-start caused by stale fuel! So since it was stocked by the parts room, the one I used was "Stabil". I added "Stabil" to everything with a gas engine at least once a year. (We also added some kind of anti-fungal chemicals right into our main underground diesel tanks, just before the tanker came to fill it up.). And I never had any problems with no-start on any of "my" equipment.
You might need a fuel stabilizer for your wife's car, or you might not. But for $12 a year, I think I'd just add it to the tank.
I put it in anything that may even remotely sit for a while. It shouldn't hurt anything. But I've experienced weird behavior on start-up once.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-does-sta-bil-work.142919/#post-2078110
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-does-sta-bil-work.142919/#post-2078110
My first thought is, I think I'd try stirring up the fuel first, using some wooden paint-stirrer stick or some such, and then try to start your engine. If that didn't help, then I think I'd mix in a pint or so of fresh gasoline, and see if that makes any difference.
On the bottle of Stabil, (if that's what you're using), it tells you the proper ratio of chemical to fuel quantity. It also says if you might store the motor for longer than 6 months, you should double the amount of Stabil that you mix in.
Used stabil in my mustang which sat in storage with the same (full) tank of gas for five/six years with no issues. Actually drove around on that gas for half the summer with no performance issues.
Regular 87 octane E10 in my area cost between ~ $3.39 - $3.69 gallon(there-about).
The limited stations that I can even find non-ethanol gas is 91-93 octane and cost ~$4.85- $4.89 gallon.
You decide!
The limited stations that I can even find non-ethanol gas is 91-93 octane and cost ~$4.85- $4.89 gallon.
You decide!
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