Stabil works or not, no objective studies?

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Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
I will say this, many small engine problems are caused by carburetor problems related to small bits of dirt or crud getting in and plugging up one of the teensy jets in there, but it can often be cured by a carb. cleaning. It's a good idea to run all of your gas through a filter funnel at some stage, and if possible to fit an inline fuel filter.


The carb I rebult (I admit not a small one) had an inlet fuel filter that was very clean, yet the bowl was full of dried deposits. I'm positive the deposits are produced in situ and not brought from outside the carb.
 
I have seen plugged carburetors on marine engines using pretty big and good fuel filters, which look fine, as all it takes is the teensiest piece of crud to lodge in the wrong place (like in the low-speed or idle jet) and your engine will be running poorly. There are lots of causes of carburetor deposits, and some of them have to do with stuff that is in the fuel or that we put in the fuel. Right around the time ethanol gas became common I was having a lot of carburetor problems on an outboard and it turned out that the new gas was causing a tiny internal O-ring to disintegrate, and then the small rubber bits were plugging up the carb. After a few years they changed the part number and the new O-rings have proven to be ethanol resistant. Can you describe your carburetor problem more? I understand it was on a boat. Were you using gas with ethanol in it? Were you using StaBil, and/or any other additives? What is your gas tank made out of (ethanol is known to dissolve some fiberglass tanks)? If you get enough water in the tank with ethanol gas you can get phase separation, as you pointed out, and that green gunge in the bottom of your tank will get picked up and surely cause your engine to run poorly, if it runs at all.
 
Stabil Blue is great. I've even had it clear up old gas that was preventing me from starting my motorcycle.

I added a good dose of Blue....shoook the bike. Crank it over for 30 second. Let the starter cool down. Crank it over for 30 seconds.

Next day, she fired right up.
 
Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
Can you describe your carburetor problem more? I understand it was on a boat. Were you using gas with ethanol in it? Were you using StaBil, and/or any other additives? What is your gas tank made out of (ethanol is known to dissolve some fiberglass tanks)? If you get enough water in the tank with ethanol gas you can get phase separation, as you pointed out, and that green gunge in the bottom of your tank will get picked up and surely cause your engine to run poorly, if it runs at all.


The carb deposit picture is posted in this thread: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...ber=2613158#top

I didn't use E10 knowingly until over a year ago when all the gas stations started showing the "up to 10% ethanol" sticker. I always put red stabil in gas. The boat and engine is new enough to be 10% ethanol resistant. No deposits in gas tank (I kept it always full) and absolutely nothing in the fuel filter. I used some octane boosting additives a few years ago, but not in the last 2 years.
 
That carb doesn't look too bad. Even with StaBil evaporation will occur. StaBil will delay degradation of liquid fuel, but doesn't entirely eliminate evaporation. I have read several people recommend that you drain carburetors if you are planning on storing for periods longer than 3-6 months, or else you run your engine periodically or at least the fuel pump to refill the carbs with liquid fuel. As long as there is liquid fuel in there you shouldn't get the deposits, but when it all evaporates deposits will be left behind.
 
Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
Seems unlikely it was the StaBil that was the problem if the gas was only two weeks old. Gas that new should be fine without an stabilizer in it, ethanol or not. It must have had a load of water or crud in it to begin with.


Where did I even suggest that Sta-Bil caused the problem? It's obvious it was the fuel but Sta-Bil did not do its job as advertised. The fuel removed from the lawnmower looked like apple juice instead of gasoline.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
Vikas said:
>I just spent $77 for a lawnmower repair due to bad gas that was two weeks old (in the gas can)

I am sure somebody took $77 from you and told you that it was bad gas but that does not make it so.

- Vikas


Quote:
Yup! That's typical of most small engine shops I've came across, citing that it's easy to lay causal blame on gas or someone else's fault than taking a deeper look and try to get down to the bottom of the matter.

And the even more funny part is: there are avg joes that believe in the "excuses" that most of their mechs or shops throw at them w/o thinking it logically...

My 2c's worth.

Q.


Yep, here come the armchair quarterbacks that know nothing of the situation but immediately blame the repair person and accuse him of lying. They don't know the work he did, what parts were required for repair, in fact you know nothing at all and have proven it. It runs perfectly now by the way. Thanks for your absolutely and totally useless comments. Now, back to the main feature.........
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
Seems unlikely it was the StaBil that was the problem if the gas was only two weeks old. Gas that new should be fine without an stabilizer in it, ethanol or not. It must have had a load of water or crud in it to begin with.


Where did I even suggest that Sta-Bil caused the problem? It's obvious it was the fuel but Sta-Bil did not do its job as advertised. The fuel removed from the lawnmower looked like apple juice instead of gasoline.


Now, I am confused. The Stabil website (FAQ) specifically states that Stabil will not correct gas that is already bad.

What do you mean that "Stabil did not do its job as advertised"?

What work did the mechanic do?
 
If anyone wants another one to try, I have had good luck with this:

http://www.getg.com/otherProducts/stabilizer.php

I tried stabil in my lawnmower for winter storage in both the gas tank and gas can and it would run the following spring but not very well. I'd have to get fresh gas from the station and dump out the old before it get back to normal. With the GET stabilizer, it starts first pull in the spring (briggs & stratton 7.5HP) and the fuel in the gas can seems fine too. This last spring i had a full gas can from last fall that sat all winter with the GET stabilizer in it. I used that can until about 2 weeks ago it finally ran out. The mower ran great on the old gas and I noticed no difference last week when using fresh gas.

I'm 99% sure my 87 octane around here is 10% ethanol.

EDIT: the stuff is also easy to find. My local Home Depot carries it for like $2.77 i think.
 
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I've used Stabil in my OPEs, and was not impressed.
I could not tell the difference between using Stabil and not using it.
The only really reliable storage method I've found is to run them dry.
Maybe the GET product is better?
I have used gas as much as two years old in my OPEs, with no fuel additive, and have had no problems with it.
YMMV.
IMHO, Stabil is nothing more than snake oil, based upon my experience with it.
You best friend in bringing a recalcitrant OPE to life in the spring is a can of either.
Once you get the thing running, it's usually quite happy to run on anything resembling fuel.
 
Originally Posted By: badtlc
If anyone wants another one to try, I have had good luck with this:

http://www.getg.com/otherProducts/stabilizer.php

I tried stabil in my lawnmower for winter storage in both the gas tank and gas can and it would run the following spring but not very well. I'd have to get fresh gas from the station and dump out the old before it get back to normal. With the GET stabilizer, it starts first pull in the spring (briggs & stratton 7.5HP) and the fuel in the gas can seems fine too. This last spring i had a full gas can from last fall that sat all winter with the GET stabilizer in it. I used that can until about 2 weeks ago it finally ran out. The mower ran great on the old gas and I noticed no difference last week when using fresh gas.

I'm 99% sure my 87 octane around here is 10% ethanol.

EDIT: the stuff is also easy to find. My local Home Depot carries it for like $2.77 i think.
On the topic of "fuel stabilizers" - back when I was trying out TCW-3.....I noticed many of the "2 Cycle Oil" products over in the lawn and garden area had a mention of "inherent" gas stabilizer......no idea if this is a "natural" aspect of the 2 Cycle Oil.....being an "oil" in all.......or if they actually go as far as adding "something else" to the concoction to allow it to "stabilize" fuel....

BUT, then go over to the Sporting Goods area(s).....none of the "TCW-3 grade" oils mention this characteristic.......


And well, we all know, regular "2 Cycle" would be a no-no in a modern engine, since it's not "ashless"......

Kind of "off topic" but still related to the whole 2 cycle oil idea
wink.gif
And thought of it when I saw the G-Oil mention
wink.gif
 
Update after 4 weeks of study:

All jars with gasoline exposed to air, phase separation, and high ambient temps have varying amounts of greenish deposits on the bottom. There is a difference in amounts of brass corrosion. I will continue the study for another month and will post final pictures.

So far, I'm not convinced any of the gas additives that I tried would prevent carb fouling if gas is allowed to seat in bowl for very extended time periods in hot weather.

Some additives seem to produce worse results compared to no additives.
 
Update 2:
8 weeks completed, one more to go (the study was designed to run 2 months).

All samples are reduced to small amounts of very thick yellow or green oily substance. Variable amounts of deposits. Will have pictures in a week. The shocking result is that Stabil has the least deposits!

This is contrary to what I thought before the study. The study was designed to find something that works better than Stabil in a carb bowl where gas seats forever and eventually evaporates.

The amounts of brass corrosion very a lot too.

The pictures will be great, I promise.
 
Years ago, I put the recommended amount of Sta-Bil in my old '93 Yamaha FZR600 and filled the tank with fuel.

I ran the machine around the block a few times getting the engine up to operating temperature and shut the tank petcock while the engine was still running in order to empty the carb bowls.

I removed the battery and covered the machine.

Over two years later, I installed a new battery and started it up. It took a little cranking, but it fired right up with no issues. I took it for a ride to the coast and was surprised when the tank hit reserve after only 90 miles. Ninety miles on 4.5 gallons of fuel? I think Sta-Bil works, but it certainly does something to the fuel.
 
Originally Posted By: paulo57509
Ninety miles on 4.5 gallons of fuel? I think Sta-Bil works, but it certainly does something to the fuel.


20MPG in a boat? No way!
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: paulo57509
Ninety miles on 4.5 gallons of fuel? I think Sta-Bil works, but it certainly does something to the fuel.


20MPG in a boat? No way!


The Yamaha FZR600 is a motorcycle, therefore 20 mpg is atrocious mileage!
 
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