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?

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

starwarrior wrote:
I just briefly remember that my father who has a riding lawn mower, a string trimmer, and a snowblower that is at least 10 years old.  At the end of the season, he runs the gas out bone dry and stored it it a shed, in both hot and cold climates.  That's what the dealer suggested.  He did not even fog his engine or put the piston at TDC for storage.  Never had starting or running issues.

I am not qualified to suggest to anyone whether or not to add fuel preservatives.  Not to get anyone wound up for my own amusement or practice FUD, but just offering a data point for quackery.  I'm giving this practice a try myself for another data point.   What's the risk?  I might have to mess with the carb to get it right.  Sounds like fairly manageable risk.

starwarrior wrote:
"offering some quack idelogies" 

And your qualifications to make such a remark are?????? 

That's sound like a line from a true "snake oil" salesman.


"Fuel without additives will break down extremely quickly."

I'd like to use stronger terms, but due to forum rules, I'll just say that your above statement is absolute B.S.   It's just more "snake oil" fear mongering.  Even the link you provided states that shelf life for E10 gasoline is three months.  Not that I believe anything in a  link that has an agenda to sell fuel testing kits. 

I've got decades of OPE use, operation and maintenance.  As do many other seasoned/experience participant of this forum.   From my  personal experience and knowledge garnered from others who actually work on equipment, I have to say that your fear of E10 fuel degradation is wildly exaggerated!

starwarrior wrote:
It also does not take industry giants (and a semi-clever accountant) very long to figure out that convincing consumers to spend merely 2 additional pennies per gallon of gas (whether practicing due diligence or FUD) also raises their profit margin even more. 

Fuel stabilizers can protect the gasoline for"Up To a Year", I have seen No Suggestion they do not, brand seems immaterial.  I choose to use BP-Amoco Premium (white gas) in all my machines, I always add either Stab-IL or Amsoil's stabilizer, which ever I have on hand at the time. I try to use up all the gas for the small engines (leaf blower, snow blower, JD lawn Tractor, Chainsaw, etc.) within 6 moths to be safe.  I will often dump it in the car after it reaches 6 months just to be safe, and then refill the cans for the small engines.   I also always either drain completely or run out the gas.  In machines that are between seasons the gas is drained. Temperature matters, heat speeds up the changes you don't want in the gas, so store it where it stays cold-cool, never in sunlight.

Years ago when was really into atv's and snow mobiles pretty much all that was out is stabil, figured with todays technology one "brand" would stick out. I see Briggs makes several, including a fuel cap with cartridges, amsoil, startron, etc, etc.  Again I assumed one was better then the others.

As far as running them dry vs. additives, its like the whats better ford or chevy? In the past I used both additives and also ran them dry on occasion. And over the years Ive had occasional issues with both ways. But imo its best to use an additive all the time and run them dry. I was never a fan of dropping the bowl as time was always seemed to be an issue.