I go with the theory of full tank with stabilizer on metal tanks, and empty out plastic ones.

 

For my snow blower (plastic tank) I add stab bil and run it dry. Also fog the motor and then most important give the pull start a pull or 4 every 4 or 5 weeks.

Now a local small engine repair guy told me NOT to use the "red" Stab-bil. That with the gas formulations now you need to use "Blue" Sta Bil which I have never seen. There are several marine gas addatives that are blue and say are formulated for ethonol gas.

 

Why would you empty the plastic tanks and leave gas in the metal ones?

Dick

 

The metal will rust if any condensation occurs in there, plastic won't.

 

I just saw a commercial yesterday for new Sta-Bil for ethanol, besides the marine version. Haven't seen it in a store yet. I use the marine formula if I buy gas with ethanol.

 

double the price of the red:fing20:

 

I have 2 friends, (Yes I have friends.) they both have the same brand of Ice Augers and both them were boughten a week apart. My one friend swears by the fuel stablizer, and never had a problem. My other friend never used the stuff and always ran his machines out of gas and never had a problem untill he moved into the house he is in now. The only problem is just his Ice Auger. He puts stablizer in his Ice Auger and nothing else, and never had another problem. Now me, I never used the stuff. I always run my machines out of gas if they are going to sit for more than 3 months. Very seldom do I have a problem. In most cases if I do have a problem, it's from buying a machine that sat for a really long time. I just start it and run it with the choke on for a little while and keep backing the choke off untill it runs good. I've been in this house for almost 6 years, and haven't had a problem with any of my personal machines running them out of gas.

 

Heres the deal on Stabil; I called Eagle and spoke to a customer service filed tech. I asked him if I should use red or blue, here is his response;

"use the red, it is made for ethenol fuel, the blue is for using in marine engines during the season, it is the same as the red only double strength. Still use the red for storage in the marine engines"

If you read the red it sayd " for ethenol fuels"

 

In my case, lawn trimmer, boat motor and chain saw are run until dry - tanks left empty.

Everything else, like farm pickup (seldom used in Winter) pressure washer, generator, 4 wheeler, lawn tractor, fire pump engine, etc ..... I use Sta-Bil and fill tanks completely.

Never had a problem. :goodl::goodl:

 

I couldn't afford to fill all my tanks on everything I own,nor buy any costly "Stabil" type additives,so I run them bone dry (usually I run out of gas before the chores were even done!)--then if I'm worried about rusting in metal tanks ,I spray WD-40 or slosh some Marvel Oil or motor oil around in the tank if I plan on not using it for more than a month or two...if stored under cover most tanks wont sweat or rust up too quickly,however under a tarp they'll get condensation in a hurry...

I find my 2 strokes dont gum up if unused for a few moths like the straight gas in my 4 cycles will,I think the 2 stroke oil has the effect of retarding fuel souring and keeps it from gumming the carb up and letting tanks corrode...sometimes I'll add a teaspoon on 2 stroke oil to my 4 stroke engines and let them smoke a bit,its good for the valves and keeps the fuel fresh longer in my opinion...also do it with Marvel Oil when I have the money for some...

I dont really beleive in "Stabil",I think its Sta-BULL!..just an expensive un-nessasary additive in my case,since I cant afford to keep everything "full"...seen many carbs get just as gummed up with it as without,and if you use the wrong formula it might even make it happen worse ...I can buy a lot of gas for the price of one bottle of Sta-bil or similar stuff too...

 

I've never had any trouble with storing engines full or empty. I do use seafoam in almost every other tank of fuel I run through an air cooled engine and I never use anything less then the middle grade gas i.e. "plus" or premium or what ever they call it today. Something around 89, 90 octane. I think the seafoam keeps things really clean, removes deposits and might work as a stabilizer, althouth I don't really believe that stabilizers really do anything. If stabilizers work so well why don't the fuel companies just put it in the gas to begin with. They could charge more and get richer?

-everettdale

 

If stabilizers work so well why don't the fuel companies just put it in the gas to begin with. They could charge more and get richer?

-everettdale

I understand what you are saying, but try to look at it this way. Let's say that gas prices drop about 10 cents a gallon. Where I'm at it fluctuates up to 15 cents. Now let's say it drops 10 cents. If gas would keep forever, then I would have a 500 gallon tank for my machines. I'm small time. I'd fill it everytime the price of gas dropped. So would big companies like car rental places, car dealerships, tractor dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, ect. For 1 million business', let's say they buy on the average of 1,000 gallons. That would be 1 billion gallons, now that gas is 10 cents cheaper, the oil company just lost 100 million dollars. Realistically, I would think that there would be more than 1 million business' doing this and buying more than 1,000 gallons average. Now on the flip side, About a fourth of the machines I get is because it has to do with bad gas. I'm sure a lot of other guys and gals get quite of few that way too.

 

I run my junk totally dry. First tank of the season gets a bit of SeaFoam for clean up and I never have issues........this goes for everything from string trimmers to snowblowers to motorcycles

 

I have never had a problem with any of my stuff and I don't add anything. I don't have a metal tank on any thing other then the old Farmall "M". It is sheded and may sit at times for 3 mo. or so. Has a settlement bowl and if I see any water in it I dump it. I have bought stuff that had not run for years and you could smell the bad gas in them. Dump it out. Put a little fresh gas in and give it a try. If it fires up, fine. If not, pull the carp and and clean it out. If something sets so long that the gas goes bad in it, You more then likely don't need it. If you have old stuff sitting around that you collect. then I can see where there may be a problem,

 

I used to have problems every spring with my mower and every fall with my snowblower. Then I discovered Stabil. It goes in every can of gas I buy. No more long-term storage problems.

 

"If stabilizers work so well why don't the fuel companies just put it in the gas to begin with"

the majority of fuel users use up the fuel relatively quickly so there is no need for a long term stablizer.

 

Oh Stabil DOES work !!! I use it in my generator and double it for 2 yr storage. After 2 yrs the fuel is still fine, no problems...Now do that with untreated fuel as I have and its varnish smelling garbage...It works trust me

 

I add stabil and isypropel drygas to the gas. Then I start it and run it at full throttle for about 15 mins, then I shut off the gas and let it run until it dies. That way I run 98% of the gas out of the carb and what is left has both drygas & Stabil. Then when it is time to get it out again for the season, I fill up the gas, turn on the gas and wait a minute and it fires up on the first or second pull. Done it this way for the past 15 years and never HAD to clean the carb.

 

That's not a bad idea, in case you miss some. I have stored many engines completely dry for years, and restarted them like they had just been run. Keep in mind also, this is the way new engines are stored. I have several NOS engines that are 20 or so years old, and I'm sure that with the addition of fuel, they'll start right up.

Don't overlook the importance of oiling the cylinder and valves and storing the engine on top of the compression stroke.

 

After some of the problems I've had with E10 I no longer store fuel in anything over 60 days. That's with or without a stabilizer. I do use Startron E10 stabilizer all the time as well in my small engines. Things like weed wackers and chain saws get drained and then ran till they sputter or die.

One other thing that a small engine guy told me after I had to repair a stuck valve in a family members log splitter. He said on single cylinder engines, when you are done using them pull on the cord until you feel good resistance. That is the engine at TDC with both valves closed. It's pretty hard to get rust inside a cylinder that's sealed from the outside air. I now do it every time.

 

I have never used stabil in any of my equipment. I also would never be able fill up all of my gas tanks to store them. If I plan on not use a tractor for a while I shut off the gas and let the carb run dry. During the winter I try to start everythin abotu every two to three months and let it run for a few minutes so it can warm up them I put it back in storage.

 

CVCMAN If you have to put somthing in your gas can in the garage you muct not use much gas or you have one heck of a big can, I go through about 2 to3 gals. a week in the winter and more like 10 in the summer. So it is always pretty darn fresh

 

I have generator that I filled up 2 years ago, I run the carb dry every time I turn it on.. Needed to use it 3 times in 2 years, and I run it for about 5 minutes every 3 months just cause.. It starts on the 2nd pull and I have never put more gas in it... "stay bull" in my books too...

edit to add...

Carbs do gum up a lot, but, thats from fuel siting in the carbs.. stay bill or not, eventually the gas will evaporate... if you remove gas from the carb, the carb wil lbe clean, and you should not have any issues..

 

Boy, everyone has a different opinion about this. My generator manual says kill the engine and then shut off the fuel valve. I used to shut the fuel valve and wait until the engine ran out of fuel. However, you never get all of the fuel out of the carb, and the dry gaskets and hoses could crack. So now I keep the lines and tanks full and always use Stabil.

 

Yep, Ask 6 people a question and chances are you get 6 different answers. But the Good thing is on this forum I have found that everyone lets you have your opinion without getting all up tight and what have you. Not the case on many forums

 

I like saying ask 3 people and get 4 answers.

And YES! I believe you are absoluty correct about the good thing on this forum!

I like running my full synthetic 2 stroke mix through my engine before winter season. I have never had a starting problem with them in spring. They are stored in a unheated cellar.

7

 

Hey you are all wrong! How about using 90 octane for your last tank of the season. Doesn't 90 octane last the season? Also add a little oil to the piston at TDC. Last year I ran my 314 dry, used 87 octane with Stabil. In the summer with fresh fuel it wouldn't start. I found jelly in the fuel bowl, I cleaned it out but it never ran right after that. I had to rebuild the carb. I ended up cracking the fuel bowl body of the carb. I added a inline fuel filter, add new fuel lines. I never want to do that again. Thanks guys