Question about shelf life for gasoline
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UncleBuck01
Silver Member
Chris
Is "Sta-bil Ethanol" used for the ethanol problems only, or will it also treat the long term storage issues making the the red Sta-Bil unnecessary ?
racerboy832
Silver Member
I have spend 100's of hours in the powersports and power equipment industry cleaning carbs. Many of the older stuff had larger jet diameters so they would clog less easily. The majority of new generation pilot jets are the diameter of a BBG brush wire. It takes nothing to clog them up. Red Stabil is worthless with Alcohol. Star-tron is what I reccommend. I run all my smaller stuff (Mower, trimmers, etc) on premix. I've found with current fuel, the fuel seems to separate and the Alcohol picks up moisture and leaves a nasty green sludge in the bottom of the float bowl. I've seen this with stuff only sitting few months. The old two strokes when the fuel evaporated the only thing left in the bottom was oil. When you put more fuel into it , it thins out the oil, The machine may smoke for a bit but the always seem to start.
UncleBuck01
Silver Member
Decided to answer my own question by calling Sta-Bil, 1-800-367-3245 and customer service said
1) Sta-Bil marine should be used during the boating season, added to gas as consumed
2) End of season storage for boats and any other equipment with gas, RED Sta-bil is recommended
3) asked if I can use Red Sta-Bil and Sta-Bil marine at the same time she said NOT RECOMMENDED, because they are basically the same formula but DIFFERENT concentrations
4) Open Bottle of Sta-Bil has a shelf life of two years. Sta-Bil mixed with gas
has a storage life of ONE YEAR
5) Sta-bil marine or any product on the market today will not stop the harmful effects of ethanol on fuel lines,gaskets, seals if they were not designed for ethanol. She said Sta-Bil Marine is designed to fight the corrosive effects of moisture (water) that ethanol draws in a marine setting
above is the facts I took from the conversation I had today
timswi
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When I had oil heat in the last house, the delivery company asked whether the tank was above or below ground. If underground #2 would be fine. If above ground #1 was needed for gelling. They told me #1 is more or less kerosene. I had a below gound tank fortunately.
You can certainly run either on diesel, but the gel issue is real as I've seen it happen on oil furnaces. I wouldn't run kerosene in my machinery though.
As far as gas, I've had that around for a year or more and never had a problem. Longer than that might be a problem though. My summer equipment fires on the second try every year. No Sta-Bil, ever.
You can certainly run either on diesel, but the gel issue is real as I've seen it happen on oil furnaces. I wouldn't run kerosene in my machinery though.
As far as gas, I've had that around for a year or more and never had a problem. Longer than that might be a problem though. My summer equipment fires on the second try every year. No Sta-Bil, ever.
David Devuono
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Having owned a classic vehicle for 9 years, it sat for several weeks before each use. The carb float bowl would be pretty much empty. Since I put in an electric fuel pump I would run the pump for several seconds before attempting to start it. That constant evaporation really gums things up. I bought a wrecked Grand Vitara to fix my sons wreck
This fall I figured "even though it has no rad" I would try and build up some oil pressure since it has a good motor. To my surprise it fired right up, no stabilizer after one year.
Points I am trying to make is, run your carb dry after each use and change the fuel yearly. Personally for my generator, I empty the carb and tank after each use and I keep 5 gallons with stabilizer and cycle it every six months. In an emergency I have three vehicles in the driveway so should be good for a week. Of course if I still need a generator after a week, bullets will likely be more important.
This fall I figured "even though it has no rad" I would try and build up some oil pressure since it has a good motor. To my surprise it fired right up, no stabilizer after one year. Points I am trying to make is, run your carb dry after each use and change the fuel yearly. Personally for my generator, I empty the carb and tank after each use and I keep 5 gallons with stabilizer and cycle it every six months. In an emergency I have three vehicles in the driveway so should be good for a week. Of course if I still need a generator after a week, bullets will likely be more important.
OP
Natureboy
Silver Member
Points I am trying to make is, run your carb dry after each use and change the fuel yearly. Personally for my generator, I empty the carb and tank after each use and I keep 5 gallons with stabilizer and cycle it every six months. In an emergency I have three vehicles in the driveway so should be good for a week. Of course if I still need a generator after a week, bullets will likely be more important.[/QUOTE]
Thats pretty much what I do with all the small engines before storage-even though I use Stabil. Good point about needing the genny for more than a week. Dont know how old your 3 vehicles are, but have you had a problem siphoning gas out of a newer GM product (2006)? My wife traded in her 2006 a while ago, unfortunately I had just filled up the tank a few days prior. I tried to siphon out a couple of 5 gallon cans worth before trading it in, and I couldnt do it. Siphon hose wouldnt even touch gas. Just for the heck of it I tried it on her new vehicle, and my 2007 PU, same story. Are they now putting a screen or baffle in filler necks?
Thats pretty much what I do with all the small engines before storage-even though I use Stabil. Good point about needing the genny for more than a week
. Dont know how old your 3 vehicles are, but have you had a problem siphoning gas out of a newer GM product (2006)? My wife traded in her 2006 a while ago, unfortunately I had just filled up the tank a few days prior. I tried to siphon out a couple of 5 gallon cans worth before trading it in, and I couldnt do it. Siphon hose wouldnt even touch gas. Just for the heck of it I tried it on her new vehicle, and my 2007 PU, same story. Are they now putting a screen or baffle in filler necks?Last time i ordered & prepaid HHO for an outdoor tank, they delivered kero and billed me for the difference. They claimed they could be held liable if the fuel gelled and my house froze up. I hadn't wanted to pay the extra because I knew it would be gone before it got that cold.
My father uses #2 for his greenhouses and adds conditioner himself. I believe he also installed 1/2" lines to reduce the chance of gelling.
redlevel
Gold Member
Rather than starting a new thread, I am going to bump this one for a clarification, or a question.
I need to keep one, maybe two 55 gallon drums of gasoline to use in an old Ford tractor, weed-eaters, lawn mowers, a generator, and just for general "tin-foil hat" reasons. There have been shortages in my rural county in the past two years when gas was not available for two days or longer. Remember a few years back when there were calls for the UGA/'Bama game to be cancelled because of a shortage of gas? We are 35-50 miles from a hospital. I would just like to have enough gas for a couple of fill ups on hand.
Now, here is the question:
If I can get gasoline without ethanol for storage with stabilizer, is it worth the extra 10-25 cents a gallon I would have to pay? I can take my drums to Sam's Club in Macon and fill up with 10% ethanol for about $3.00, as of Saturday. That is about 35 miles. I can drive 10 miles to my hometown and fill the drums with "the pure stuff" for about $3.20. Is it worth it to get the good stuff? With stabilizer, can I keep the gas up to a year?
For what it's worth, I emptied my drum today with gas I put in it in October. It stunk, but when I pumped a pint of it in a clear jar, I couldn't see any water. My truck fuel tank holds about 35 gallons, and I put about 10 gallons of the old fuel with 25 gallons of fresh fuel. I poured in some Lucas fuel treatment. I drove it the rest of the day with no problems.
I need to keep one, maybe two 55 gallon drums of gasoline to use in an old Ford tractor, weed-eaters, lawn mowers, a generator, and just for general "tin-foil hat" reasons. There have been shortages in my rural county in the past two years when gas was not available for two days or longer. Remember a few years back when there were calls for the UGA/'Bama game to be cancelled because of a shortage of gas? We are 35-50 miles from a hospital. I would just like to have enough gas for a couple of fill ups on hand.
Now, here is the question:
If I can get gasoline without ethanol for storage with stabilizer, is it worth the extra 10-25 cents a gallon I would have to pay? I can take my drums to Sam's Club in Macon and fill up with 10% ethanol for about $3.00, as of Saturday. That is about 35 miles. I can drive 10 miles to my hometown and fill the drums with "the pure stuff" for about $3.20. Is it worth it to get the good stuff? With stabilizer, can I keep the gas up to a year?
For what it's worth, I emptied my drum today with gas I put in it in October. It stunk, but when I pumped a pint of it in a clear jar, I couldn't see any water. My truck fuel tank holds about 35 gallons, and I put about 10 gallons of the old fuel with 25 gallons of fresh fuel. I poured in some Lucas fuel treatment. I drove it the rest of the day with no problems.
dodge man
Super Star Member
For long term storage, I would go with the pure gas.