Gas Additives - stabil

When putting the lawn equipment/generator/snow blower away I've been using stabil (red color) for a number of years.

Recently heard of a green colored one - better for e-85 i was told

What is the best additive to stop or delay the breakdown of gasoline in small engines?

What about 2 cycle engines - haven't been using stabil in them but should I?

Most of the 2-cycle oil you mix in has preservative in it. I kinda like Sea Foam otherwise.

You need Startron for the stupid ethanol. It raises holy havvock with any white metal parts. It also jells out as globs of white, clear, or black snot looking stuff.

I have not had good luck with Stabil. Our local small engine guy sells "Ethanol Shield" and by the same company, "Mechanic In A Bottle". Both seem to be light years ahead of Stabil. I have had many excellent results from each. MIAB is good if your carb is partially gummed up, ES is good to prevent problems with our ethanol fuel.

I've used ethanol in my chain saw for many years with no problems. I've also had gas around for over a year that was perfectly fine. Don't waste your money. I have seen Stabil go bad FASTER than non-treated gasoline if it's left in too long. In fact, I recently had to treat several customer's tractors for Stabil damage. It turned to asphalt in the tank. I sure wouldn't put it in a finicky two-cycle engine if it were me. Mike

I second Startron. Treat the gas the day I buy it and I don't drain or empty tanks on small engines now. Been using it for close to 2 years and haven't replaced any fuel lines, had to deal with gummed up carbs or find milky gas in my chainsaws that's been sitting for 3 weeks and have to dump gas and buy new. My little 2 stroke leaf blower likes it too.

If you don't use some kind of fuel stabilizer and haven't had problems with your small engines, you simply don't have ethanol in the fuel that you use.

"If you don't use some kind of fuel stabilizer and haven't had problems with your small engines, you simply don't have ethanol in the fuel that you use."

That's only TRUE if storage for more than a month or two is in the equation.

If you use the machine day in and day out, all will be well!

I used to add Stabil to my 2 cycle fuel, but one day I read on the bottle that Stihl oil has a stabilizer already added.

I've never had any problems with fuel treated with StaBil. I wasn't aware that there was "green" StaBil for E-85.

Well lets see here , my snow blower gets used maybe a total of six or seven times a year . Usually when the snow season ends there is about a half tank of gas in it . Each time i use the snow blower i do not turn off the key i turn off the gas and when it quiets the tarp gets pulled over it and tied down . And what ever gas is left in it tat the end of the SNOW season is still there come next year . This 75 dollar Fea bay find was almost a piece of JUNK when i bought it and other then a couple bearing and a belt is still a 75 dollar piece of junk but it still starts with one pull (no electric start) on the old gas with out the aid of stay bil and the same goes for the 75 dollar Wal Mart lawn mower that was a return and i scarffed . As it will not start with just one push of the primer but will start each and every time with four pushes and here again it starts on six or seven month old gas with no stay bil along with my little gen set. and so does all the old tractors that get used maybe a few hours each year . even Dusty's old H started on gas that was shell we say well aged like about four or five years old gas , yea the exhaust did sorta burn the eyes but it started and it did run . I just finished up using the last of the gas that was bought last spring and it has sat in a five gallon can since last April . Usuall fill the five gallon can and a two and a half gallon can and under NORMAL years this will do the snow removal and lawn mowing for the year . The only thing that will make me use more is if i have to run the gen.

I've been having better luck running the carb dry before putting it away. Then drain the tank.
I like running sea-foam through an engine now and then too.
I have had no problem with my 2 stroke stuff since I started using stihl oil mix. I don't do anything with them. Maybe drain the tank if it has been sitting too long. Stihl claims their oil has an additive mixed in it.

This saga will never end. Here we go again. The lovers love "Snake oil" (a buickanddeere term) and the skeptics turn their noses up.

I started out as a sideline looker aka skeptic and through performance of the products will not be without them.

So if you use it you use it if you don't you don't.

Now in answering your question, I have no idea so I can't help there on the new Stabil product. They also market a blue for marine use. No doubt marine usage is a unique environment especially when you use dock fuel.

On the Sea Foam product, Love it. Use the red Stabil also. The Stihl oil does contain a fuel treatment for storage. I have one and I use it and have no fuel problems even though I mix up a gallon of 2 cycle mix at a time and it may last 2 years or so if I have no wood to cut.

Cheers,
Mark

i use the red as after having to rebuild or replace 8 carbs on small engines due to damage from old fuel read 6 months old here, the red works for me, and if it works i dont fix it. im not sure what kind of junk we have in our gas, but after 4 or 5 months it deposits a blue/grey substance on anything its in and even rebuilding some small carbs doesnt fix it

My Stihl dealer told me not to use gasoline with ethanol and just run the engine out of fuel when putting in storage.

I use the same red stabilizer you mention in 4 cycle engines but only use 100% gasoline.

I worked on small engines at my old job. Stable works well if you're only storing the unused gas for about a year. I started using Star Tron the last two years and I've had much better results from that than i ever did with stable. I'm not sure if Star Tron is the "blue stable" that you're talking about, but I figured I'd share my experience just in case.

(quoted from post at 11:21:33 02/11/14) You need Startron for the stupid ethanol. It raises holy havvock with any white metal parts. It also jells out as globs of white, clear, or black snot looking stuff.

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Yepper. I used to use Stabil and started having problems with it a couple of years ago. I now use Startron and it works very well.
the genny sat with gas for over a year and fired right up first pull with premium gas and Startron.

stabil version 2

I run no E-85 in anything but gas today at all most every station does have Ethanol. I have used Stabil and was not impressed with it.I have been useing Sea Foam in all my 4 stroke engines for some time. For the last 2 years I have been useing Briggs&Stratton fuel stabilizer in 2 and 4 stroke engines and run it all year around. That way if I use one of the pieces of equipment and then it sets months before I use it again I have no trouble with it. Also the Briggs stabilizer is good for two years.
Stihl and Echo dealer around here don't recommend useing gas that has been stored over 90 days even if it has been treated.

No. Startron is from a company in Florida and it is enzymes and other things. I used it in my diesel storage tanks (55 gallon drums) for years but unless I order it from them directly, I have a hard time getting the diesel additive around here. WW locally stocks the gasoline additive in the sporting goods dept.

Mark

I like seafoam better than stabil in everything I add it to. It keeps the gas fresh longer and is a fuel system cleaner also.

guess I got the color wrong

Thanks All

I use SeaFoam in my 2 cycle OB so I had it around the place. I had an old chain saw and weed eater that I had replaced with new thinking they were dead.

One day I had nothing to do so I started tinkering with it in these two 2 cycle engines. Within an hour I had both purring like kittens.

In my OB, my Merc. is an '02 year model and for the first time last year I popped the carbs and had a look see. Not one speck of varnish or anything of the sort. Blew them out with the air hose finding a tiny piece of black hose in the #2 high speed jet (reason for the look see), put it all back together with original gaskets (had no new ones) and she is running like a top.

I put it in everything now and love it.

Mark

Jennifer is the Stabil 360 regular Stabil with corrosion protection or just corrosion protection?