Fuel stabilizers for e10 gas - long storage

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I figured now maybe a good time to get some opinions on fuel stabilizers. My work is ending around mid week and I have 3 vehicles full of fuel. The country is basically shutting down now, and the possibility of a lockdown meaning I can't even drive to use up the fuel.... By the time this is over their could be major fuel system damage from ethanol.

A test done by project farm with Lucas stabilizer showed basically no improvement, the e10 was toast and corroding the aluminum parts. So I'm hoping the stabil Marine (which is what I have currently) will do better.

The Caprice is already filled with 95% e0 Shell v power, the Cutlass just got pulled from storage (had very small amount of e0 left in it for winter) and I stupidly took a chance and filled it with e10 since the price difference was so huge. 05 Silverado has a full tank of Esso e10 and it's likely going to be driven the least of the 3 vehicles with work being stopped. It's also less likely to be affected by gas going bad compared to the carburetors but there is still the chance of fuel injectors gumming up.

I'm not going to argue whether ethanol is safe in all of these vehicles long term, I've seen enough evidence that it isn't. How long it's going to be okay for is up for debate, so I wouldn't mind opinions on that (just not from the "I've never had a problem with ethanol in anything" crowd.
I'm mainly looking for opinions on whether any stabilizers will actually keep the gas stable and for how long?

Thanks in advance.
 
I believe in Sta-bil Marine. Use it in my cars which sit for 6 months at a time without issue. Unlike Seafoam which caused misfires when I took the car out of storage.
 
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Every winter I store my 1996 Contour for 3 to 4 months with E-10 regular in the tank. I've never had a problem. I'd be more concerned about the battery. I use a maintenance minder charger to keep the battery charged.

Whimsey
 
Sta-bil makes one for ethanol fuels. When I can't make my last run of the season to a E0 station, I use it. Car is parked for 4-5 months.
 
Originally Posted by Whimsey
Every winter I store my 1996 Contour for 3 to 4 months with E-10 regular in the tank. I've never had a problem. I'd be more concerned about the battery. I use a maintenance minder charger to keep the battery charged.

Whimsey


The battery I can deal with. The white crusties that build up inside the carb are much more difficult to fix.
 
I'm by no means an expert (or even an amateur when it comes to lubrication), so the below is only what I've found when storing engines. Maybe it will help you with your question.

I use E-10 fuel in my non-auto machine engines & Sta-bil seems to work fine for long term storage. (Sometimes a year) I've done it for decades.
Even the machines with diaphragm carburetors survive.

I add it as specified & run the engine for a short time to distribute it. I do try to minimize how much fuel is left in the tank.
I don't know the magic behind Sta-Bil. Maybe it's as simple as a special oil that floats on top to keep water out & also lubricates the rubber seals. (A simple guess on my part)

Semi Related: I wonder if fogging your cylinders with oil or a special product will help protect your cylinder walls against rust during your forced storage?
With pull-start engines, such as are on mowers, I also pull the rope until I feel strong resistance. This means both valves are closed & moisture won't get to the cylinder.

Hope This Helps!
Paul
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
How long are we talking?


I really have no idea how long before we're able to work again. The truck could have that gas in it for over a year for all I know. It has the largest tank and it will be sitting the most. Luckily the gas has to get a lot worse to mess up EFI.

Driving to the grocery store could maybe use up the tank in the Cutlass over a period of 6 months. I live in town and the closest grocery store is a 5 minute walk away. I've already had the carb plug up twice over a period of 12 years and that was just from running e10 daily while being driven plenty. (100k miles in 12 years - parked every winter). It was always stored with e0 and stabilizer.

We really don't know what's going to happen, if we will continue to be allowed (but discouraged from) going for drives. I don't want to risk a big fine just for a drive in the country when we're making half our regular income on Canadian emergency response benefit.

For now, I can still drive, but I want to be prepared for being locked down.
 
Originally Posted by PGB1
I'm by no means an expert (or even an amateur when it comes to lubrication), so the below is only what I've found when storing engines. Maybe it will help you with your question.

I use E-10 fuel in my non-auto machine engines & Sta-bil seems to work fine for long term storage. (Sometimes a year) I've done it for decades.
Even the machines with diaphragm carburetors survive.

I add it as specified & run the engine for a short time to distribute it. I do try to minimize how much fuel is left in the tank.
I don't know the magic behind Sta-Bil. Maybe it's as simple as a special oil that floats on top to keep water out & also lubricates the rubber seals. (A simple guess on my part)

Semi Related: I wonder if fogging your cylinders with oil or a special product will help protect your cylinder walls against rust during your forced storage?
With pull-start engines, such as are on mowers, I also pull the rope until I feel strong resistance. This means both valves are closed & moisture won't get to the cylinder.

Hope This Helps!
Paul


I've had great luck with all my outdoor power equipment the past several years but they all get stored with e0 and stabilizer. I already had them going last week.

As far as fogging, I have never had an issue with engines sitting for as long as a couple of years (with reasonably fresh oil). My 350 in my Cutlass sat for unknown number of years and had cooling system issues (frost plugs rusted and started leaking and it needed a major coolant flush) but no issues with the bottom end.

If I knew it would sit for several years I'd probably want to fog it but I don't think it's a concern for how long it will sit. The Cutlass has Mobil 1 high mileage 5w30 with about 150 miles on it (sat 5 months with the fresh oil and then driven all highway). The Caprice has Mobil 1 0w40 with less than 3k miles of mixed short trips and highway, but lots of extremely cold starts, I'd be changing it if I cared more about the engine, but it's fine.
The truck has Quaker state full synthetic high mileage 5w30 with a couple hundred miles on it. Should be good to sit a while.
 
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.
 
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).
 
Someone who use to live a few blocks away let his fathers old full size Caprice sit for two years after his father died. I saw him trying to start it but the motor was barely turning and he said he had just put a fully charged new battery in it. I told him that my car had a the biggest battery that could fit in it and it was rated at 700 CCA and I had an extra heavy set of jumper cables. So we jumped it (with my motor not running because I will not take the chance of damaging the alternator) and it cranked slow but fast enough to start. After it ran for a while the motor loosened up enough that he could start it normally.

I think any rust that forms on the cylinders will be scrubbed off after a few minutes of running, but it might take two good batteries to initially get it to start after it sits for a long time.
 
BTW, I have fogged the cylinder of my Coleman Powermate generators Tecumseh 10 HP engine with Sta-Bil spray fogging oil every time after I ran it before storage one every year and after several years the spark-plug was fouled. So be aware if you do not run it for a long time between foggings it could foul the spark-plugs.
 
Originally Posted by JimPghPA
Someone who use to live a few blocks away let his fathers old full size Caprice sit for two years after his father died. I saw him trying to start it but the motor was barely turning and he said he had just put a fully charged new battery in it. I told him that my car had a the biggest battery that could fit in it and it was rated at 700 CCA and I had an extra heavy set of jumper cables. So we jumped it (with my motor not running because I will not take the chance of damaging the alternator) and it cranked slow but fast enough to start. After it ran for a while the motor loosened up enough that he could start it normally.

I think any rust that forms on the cylinders will be scrubbed off after a few minutes of running, but it might take two good batteries to initially get it to start after it sits for a long time.


Sounds like that one did have some rust. My dad had a 79 f250 given to us years ago that sat for a number of years. I tried to get it going years later (maybe 5-7 years or more) and it was basically seized. It would turn over very slowly but not enough to get running. The 460 got scrapped. I do know that engine got flooded several times and the oil was probably overdue conventional and it was definitely badly fuel diluted. (the Holley 4barrel was really easy to flood).

My 350 Olds seemed as though it had been sitting for 10 years or more but it spun over really good first try (and turned by hand in the junkyard when we first saw it). The car it was in had a ton of used oil filters and oil jugs in the trunk so my theory was whoever had it was religious about oil changes. It turned out of be the best free junkyard engine ever. My original plan was to rebuild it 10 years ago but it never became a priority because it runs so good.
 
Originally Posted by JimPghPA
BTW, I have fogged the cylinder of my Coleman Powermate generators Tecumseh 10 HP engine with Sta-Bil spray fogging oil every time after I ran it before storage one every year and after several years the spark-plug was fouled. So be aware if you do not run it for a long time between foggings it could foul the spark-plugs.


That's a good point. I did fog it the year before last with MMO, to see if it helped clean ring packs and bring up compression at all. It didn't cause any issues as it got a good long drive first time starting up in the spring. I don't know if it helped or not because I never got around to another compression test but the engine feels slightly smoother at idle.

I did the same MMO fogging on a 5.3 ls engine I plan to swap in the Caprice eventually. It ran great but had an oil usage problem which I'm hoping is either the valve cover (they came out with an updated part because of pcv issues) or ring packs are plugged up. Between the MMO soaking in the cylinders for however many years until I swap the engine in...and a replacement valve cover I hope it doesn't use as much oil once installed.
 
I just take a scenic drive every once in awhile. Since this virus has got bad around here we are still allowed to go to the store but that is once a month for me. I had a full tank of gas so I get wife out and go to back roads or the river and watch. It helps with mentality not only for her but myself and the 2 dogs. We don't go window shopping but a good drive every so often. Haven't driven in 2 weeks made an interstate run about 6 miles in each direction then passed by the river. My dogs are like children and love to get out and see a different view as well.
 
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Originally Posted by tiger862
I just take a scenic drive every once in awhile. Since this virus has got bad around here we are still allowed to go to the store but that is once a month for me. I had a full tank of gas so I get wife out and go to back roads or the river and watch. It helps with mentality not only for her but myself and the 2 dogs. We don't go window shopping but a good drive every so often. Haven't driven in 2 weeks made an interstate run about 6 miles in each direction then passed by the river. My dogs are like children and love to get out and see a different view as well.


This is the only thing to keep us same IMO, but I'm worried that they'll start enforcing no travel except for groceries.
 
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.
lol.gif
 
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