Stabil.... All that Stable?

[5030]

There seems to be appearing on store shelves more than one Stabil mixture lately, plus there are other brands like (Briggs and Stratton Gas stabilizer) and Power Service....

I see there is the good old standby stinky red Stabil...
The Marine blue Stabil.....
The light orange Ethanol Stabil.....
Diesel Stabil.....

Power Service offers a diesel stabilizer product.....
They also offer a Biocide for B20 diesel.....

Caterpillar Engine offers fuel additives for diesels (at a price of course)....

What the heck is the difference?

As an aside, I've been using the old standby stinky red Stabil for years but I'm wondering with the new alcohol laced gasoline if the new light orange stuff is the way to go. I see it's appreciably more expensive (the orange versus the red).

Any experiences out there and what do you recommend?

Gunked up injection and/or carbs can be an expensive 'no start' proposition.

 

[BXinNH]

I have had very good luck for the last several years running the blue Marine Stabil in all my small engine equipment. I mix it a little stronger than the recommendation but have had no issues with bad fuel. My string trimmer and backpack blower sit for months at a time (over the winter) with 2 cycle fuel in the carbs. Both start on the second pull in the spring. In my Kubota I use a Summit product recommended by my dealer and have had no fuel issues there either. For what it's worth.

Matt.

 

[Bird]

I have no idea what the difference is, since I've only used the old red Stabil. It says it's for gasoline, including ethanol blends. And while it gives the amount to use (1 oz. for 2.5 gallons) for up to 1 year, it also says for up to 2 years to just use a double dose. So I haven't used quite a full double dose, but sometimes close to it, even though I don't keep it for 2 years.

 

[Patches]

I have no idea what the difference is, since I've only used the old red Stabil. It says it's for gasoline, including ethanol blends. And while it gives the amount to use (1 oz. for 2.5 gallons) for up to 1 year, it also says for up to 2 years to just use a double dose. So I haven't used quite a full double dose, but sometimes close to it, even though I don't keep it for 2 years.

I've used the "ole stand-by" red Stabil for some time now;in fact, when Maine first got ethanol laced fuel I e-mailed the company and got a return e-mail from the company president(?) explaining all he has been using in his small engines/boat is the red stabil, and they've had ethanol blended fuel for 20+ years. His statement to me was "unless in a marine invironment, the red stuff is all you need".

 

[Ductape]

If the alcohol blended fuel is such a problem, one has to wonder why the refineries / petroleum companies can't mix in some type of stabilizer. Would it really add much cost at the manufacturing level?

 

[dodge man]

I can understand where this question is coming from. Everyone says how great the Marine Stabil is, but who knows? I've never seen any testing where it shows fuel last longer. I've also wondered when you mix the stuff stronger the recomended amount, is that hard on engines and/or fuel systems?

 

[5030]

I have no idea what the difference is, since I've only used the old red Stabil. It says it's for gasoline, including ethanol blends. And while it gives the amount to use (1 oz. for 2.5 gallons) for up to 1 year, it also says for up to 2 years to just use a double dose. So I haven't used quite a full double dose, but sometimes close to it, even though I don't keep it for 2 years.

One thing I noticed right off on the back of the Marine Stabil bottle is the explicit direction to mark the date you open the bottle in the box right below that instruction....

Because it clearly states that an opened bottle of Marine Stabil is only good for one year after opening....

What gives with that?

The Marine (blue) also smells different, not nicer but different... I think the old red Stabil smells putrid.

If the old stinky red Stabil is fine for ethanol, why is there more than one variant and why is the marine (blue) so much more expensive....???

 

[Patches]

Because the American consumer is always looking for ways to spend more money;if red Stabil is good at $.25 an ounce, blue Stabil at $.75 an ounce MUST be 3 times as good :confused2:

 

[Ken45101]

If the alcohol blended fuel is such a problem, one has to wonder why the refineries / petroleum companies can't mix in some type of stabilizer. Would it really add much cost at the manufacturing level?

#1 - the alcohol is not blended at the refinery, it is not stable enough to ship from the refinery that way. The alcohol is blended by the distributor.

#2 - for most use (cars), it's used up in a couple of days or weeks at most and therefore a stablizer isn't needed.

#3 - it would raise the price/cut the profits.

Ken

 

[Bird]

One thing I noticed right off on the back of the Marine Stabil bottle is the explicit direction to mark the date you open the bottle in the box right below that instruction....

Because it clearly states that an opened bottle of Marine Stabil is only good for one year after opening....

What gives with that?

The Marine (blue) also smells different, not nicer but different... I think the old red Stabil smells putrid.

If the old stinky red Stabil is fine for ethanol, why is there more than one variant and why is the marine (blue) so much more expensive....???

Glad I never bought any blue. In the future I'll always buy the smallest bottle of red, because right now I'm using the red that is at least 3 years old and maybe twice that.:laughing: