Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Being that im too lazy to do a search, figured I would just ask? Which stabilizer do you like best? Im sick and tired of ripping apart the carb next winter, so I figure I will be proactive and add somthing now. Any thoughts?

I am a Vespa dealer and we winterize about 100 scooters a year. We use the marine version of Stabil. It has the highest concentration of anti corrosive additives and it seems to work the best. To be safe I'd suggest that you always have some Stabil Marine on hand so that even if the machine sits a month the stabilizer is in the gasoline protecting the carb and tank. Remember that the issue is not just the classic breakdown of the fuel but the corrosion that is caused by the water held in suspension by the Ethanol. The Stabil covers you for both! I think that it is a very prudent measure to drain the tank and carb before you put the machine away at the end of the season. New fuel when you want to use it in the Fall/Winter and away you go. Remember that the fuel you store in a fuel can goes bad too. I never let it sit unused. When I am done with the snow blowing I empty the can into my car and leave the can empty so that the next storm I will not have contaminated fuel to put into a nice clean fuel system. Rifboy

I didn't know they had a marine version.  I might have to try that out. I'm usually left with quite a bit of fuel at the end of the snow season in my sleds.  That fuel usually goes into the cars as well.


Rifboy wrote:

snow machine

If you just run your engine until it stops , it just stops because you do not have the required amount of fuel in it to keep it running. There is always something there. Some fuels have water mix with the PFEE. If that is left in your boll it will corode and pit you boll.

To prove it Take some gas and put it in a gar. Now pour the gas out.  take a match and throw it in the jar and see what happens. The same with your gas tank and your carb boll . It is not mutch gas left but enough.

sorry about all the underlining. My computer is acting crazy

bus708 wrote:

Let's take a  few seconds to think about that suggestion before trying it out.  There's a few steps missing from this procedure.

At least call the fire department and the ambulance and let them have a few minutes of head start just in case it "happens" 

I did mention above that I empty the bowls out at the end of the season.  I was asking where else there would be fuel in carb if tank and bowl were emptied?  Is there significant amounts of fuel left in some jets internally?

1.  I turn fuel valve off
2.  Run it until it quits
3.  Pull off fuel line from tank and power remaining fuel into approved container
4.  Remove carb bowl and empty contents and clean out any debris if there is any.
5.  Reinstall bowl and turn over to see if it will fire.  It never does.
6.  Reattach everything and put away


bus708 wrote:

snowmachine wrote:

HERES THE LINK http://www.goldeagle.com/products/product3CC6.aspx

bus708 wrote:
The above example is of little to no consequence regarding varnish build up or residual corrosive chemicals left in the carb.   Take that same jar and don't throw the match in.  Allow it to dry.  Try to find anything in the jar once it's dry.  It takes quite a bit of fuel to create enough varnish/corrosion to cause carb problems. 

I don't believe in additives anymore and subscribe to running carbs dry at the end of the season.  I own 30+ small engines.  Many of them two strokes.  Everything gets run dry.  No problems.  EVER!

borat wrote:
I'm giving that a try this winter.  No fuel additive or preservative.  I'm just going to buy enough fresh fuel as I use them.  If any fuel is older than 3 weeks, I'd just pour into the tank of the car and use it up.

aa335 wrote:
If your fuel is kept in sealed containers, there should be no issues with degradation.  At least that's what I've experienced.  I leave fuel in five gallon containers at my camp over winter for 5 to 7 months, sometimes longer.  I've never had a problem with it.  At home, my fuel always cycles from one season to the next.  Winter fuel goes into summer equipment and vice versa.  

I've been saying it for years, dirty/water contaminated fuel from the pump is where most problems come from.   When I pour fuel from my plastic containers, I always leave a portion of fuel in it then take a look to see if there's anything undesirable in the fuel.  In the winter, if the fuel is kept in sub freezing temperatures, excess water will freeze solid on the bottom of the container.  That's a good thing.  Dirt will not.  Keep your fuel clean and many problems will be solved before they start.  

OK, evidently some of you are offering some quack idelogies on why you should not add a fuel stabilizer and the answer is in the stresst comment / question. Well best of luck to you all and I can't say I didn't warn you. The truth of the matter is that fuel additives were was once a standard component that was automatically added to petrol fuels however it did not take the industry giants very long to figure out that in todays world the fuel does not stay in the ground very long and that they could raise their already enormous profit margin without consequense. Fuel without additives will break down extremely quickly. For starters a chemical breakdown process called phase separation starts within 2 weeks and more importantly E-10 and MTBE fuels have an entire set of unique characteristics that were not prevalent just a couple of  years ago.

To really answer your question stresst you may want to reference the following URL

http://www.fuel-testers.com/is_gas_additive_safe_with_e10_list.html

Starwarrior