Fuel stabilizers for e10 gas - long storage

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by eljefino

Pink stabil has done very little for me in OPE. I get the white crusties. But my carb'd dodge 318 plow truck starts right up after sitting +6 months. It has crude 1980s EVAP gear that may still work, but who knows? With oil-based gas so cheap, are we sure we're even getting ethanol? Some states are may, some are must. Put that stuff in Purell, instead.

You think with prices down so much that they might not bother with ethanol anymore? I'm not sure about law's here but the pumps all say "may contain ...."

 

[Surestick]

Originally Posted by caprice_2nv

Originally Posted by mk378

The carburetor ones you could do like people do with a lawnmower, block off the fuel supply (e.g. a pinch clamp on the hose) and run the carb dry.

That is an option, but I also like the idea of being able to hop in it and go....(think worst case apocalypse stuff).

Just take the pinch clamp off after you've shut down the motor. It will take a bit more cranking to get it started but you won't have to do anything special.

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by Surestick

Originally Posted by caprice_2nv

Originally Posted by mk378

The carburetor ones you could do like people do with a lawnmower, block off the fuel supply (e.g. a pinch clamp on the hose) and run the carb dry.

That is an option, but I also like the idea of being able to hop in it and go....(think worst case apocalypse stuff).

Just take the pinch clamp off after you've shut down the motor. It will take a bit more cranking to get it started but you won't have to do anything special.

Unfortunately I don't own a battery charger, and can borrow a small solar charger which will help to keep battery charge up...but I really don't want to have to do a lot of cranking to get it going again. I know I can prime it by filling the fuel bowl but if I needed to go right away and didn't have time to mess around under the hood I'd rather be able to crank for like 5 seconds and go...

 

[eljefino]

^ You worry too much, my plow truck needs ~30 seconds of cranking to get gas back to the carb and the battery carries it fine. Get a can of ether for your bug-out kit.

 

[Olas]

The only additive that can protect against ethanol fuel is WATER. Add water, stir, drain the moonshine off the bottom and you have PURE gas! Just add water, stir and drain. Pure gas lasts a whole lot longer than e10. If you want more octane there are many additives available.

 

[M56959]

Please keep on topic of fuel stabilizers. Worst case speculation regarding current events helps no one and will get this topic locked

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by M56959

Please keep on topic of fuel stabilizers. Worst case speculation regarding current events helps no one and will get this topic locked

Wow, mods are sensitive. Lol. All I tried to do was say the reason I don't want to have to mess around under the hood. Lol. We all know the worst case anyway, it was not speculation. Nothing wrong with being prepared. Lock it up if it makes you feel better. Good luck.

 

[Surestick]

Originally Posted by caprice_2nv

Wow, mods are sensitive. Lol. All I tried to do was say the reason I don't want to have to mess around under the hood. Lol. We all know the worst case anyway, it was not speculation. Nothing wrong with being prepared. Lock it up if it makes you feel better. Good luck.

I know! I read the mod's comment and was like: That escalated quickly! As far as fuel stabilizers got, I've used them, and not used them depending on how busy I was when the change of seasons came. Fuel injected vehicles don't seem to mind at all either way. I think that the sealed nature of everything past the fuel tank means that the hygroscopic nature of ethanol isn't really an issue anywhere but in the tank. That and the more accurate fuel metering means they are able to burn old fuel that might be marginal with a carb. Where I live, North-Eastern Alberta, it's fairly dry in the summer and very cold (so dry) in the winter so moisture doesn't seem to be much of an issue for carbed equipment either. Stuff will have to crank a bit longer (or take a few more pulls to start) on the first start in the spring but once started, no issues. If you live somewhere more humid you might be better off draining fuel bowls and adding stabilizers. One option not mentioned in this discussion is TC-W3. Most two stroke oils have fuel stabilizers in them. If you're really worried about something I'd vote for the 500-600:1 dose of TC-W3 in the fuel + a dose of Marine Stabil (which seems to be the most often recommended fuel stabilizer) and call it a day for fuel injected equipment. Do the same for carbed equipment and drain the float bowls. That way you get a slightly higher dose of stabilizer (Stabil + whatever is in the TC-W3) and a bit of corrosion protection from the leftover oil in the float bowls, on the injector tips, and upper cylinders (if you believe in that) when any residual fuel evaporates. Keeping your fuel tank topped up will also help to prevent moisture absorption by the fuel as it minimizes the air the fuel is in contact with. If you can hook up a maintenance charger or one of those solar chargers to keep your battery topped up you should be ready for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[PantherFan88]

The larger amount of gas, the longer it will take to "go bad." To put this in perspective, a tiny amount of ethanol blend in a 2-cycle diaphragm carburetor doesn't take long to begin promoting corroding and cause problems, but we're talking about a vastly larger quantity here. It would take a few months longer than a half full mason jar of fuel (per Project Farm's video) to show the effects of moisture absorption, etc. I feel as if most of these fuel stabilizers are more of a band-aid to the ethanol problem than anything else... will it help? Yes... will there still be factors that contribute to corrosion of metal and deterioration of rubber hoses/seals? Yes. How much exactly is the question. As you saw, even with Sta-Bil, Lucas, etc the issue still persists. I'm not sure we have any quantifiable way to measure this, but you all know what I mean. If I was you and especially concerned, it's probably worth filling it up with ethanol free if your storing it a while. I'm not sure quarantining would be an issue unless you're in NY and crossing state lines.

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by PantherFan88

The larger amount of gas, the longer it will take to "go bad." To put this in perspective, a tiny amount of ethanol blend in a 2-cycle diaphragm carburetor doesn't take long to begin promoting corroding and cause problems, but we're talking about a vastly larger quantity here. It would take a few months longer than a half full mason jar of fuel (per Project Farm's video) to show the effects of moisture absorption, etc. I feel as if most of these fuel stabilizers are more of a band-aid to the ethanol problem than anything else... will it help? Yes... will there still be factors that contribute to corrosion of metal and deterioration of rubber hoses/seals? Yes. How much exactly is the question. As you saw, even with Sta-Bil, Lucas, etc the issue still persists. I'm not sure we have any quantifiable way to measure this, but you all know what I mean. If I was you and especially concerned, it's probably worth filling it up with ethanol free if your storing it a while. I'm not sure quarantining would be an issue unless you're in NY and crossing state lines.

So far, we can still drive, (but if stopped I'd better have a good excuse), so I'll just attempt to use up most of the e10 in the Cutlass and refill it with e0 and dose with the stabil Marine again. The truck I will just top up and dose with stabil Marine. The boss pays for the gas in it and I don't want to have to explain why I put premium in. Thanks for your input and I agree with everything you said.