Sta-bil age question

1936 · Oct 18, 2008

Have a sealed Sta-bil container and the liquid is no longer the red color rather a darker red. Does this have a self life for use??

Bob · Oct 18, 2008

What will it cost to repair crudded-up carburetors if it ISN'T still good vs. a new bottle of Sta-Bil?

JT · Oct 18, 2008

I would NOT under any circustances use any Stabil, don't care how old/new it is. I deal with this every day, we get machines in with contaminated fuel systems, when we tell customer this, they say "but I put Stabil in it". Well it does not work as well as it did when Knox Industries manufactured Stabil. I use and tell my customers to use Sea Foam. Put an ounce per gallon, comes in a 16oz can for about $7.00 a can, sometimes on sale for 5.50 ea. I have it in my generator, trimmers, everything I own, and have never had an issue with gas going bad. I have people tell me Stabil works for them, well that is fine. I am speaking from experince of over 30 years of working on machines that get stored a lot with fuel in them.
Jim

supergrumpy · Oct 18, 2008

I have noticed that stuff seems to start a lot harder after I used stabil

do not notice same issue with SeaFoam, stuff sure costs a lot

JDemaris · Oct 18, 2008

I don't know how anybody would know for sure, if it works, or it doesn't. Not without some sort of controlled study. I've used Stabil, also the powdered fuel-stabilizer the US military uses, and also - used nothing.

I just pulled my 1979 Datsun 280ZX out of the barn to see if it will start. Gas in the tank is now 6 years old. I put Stabil into it twice over the years. Started right up and runs fine.

Also pulled my 1971 MGB out. Gas in it is 5 years old and I never added a thing to it. Gas turned color and smells off a bit, but it started. Not as fast as the Datsun, but it's not fuel injected or Japanese either.

I've had many people bring me stuff for repair with real bad gas in it - basically turned to varnish. Some claim it's only a year or two old. So, how do you figure? I know that winter-blend gasoline has a different shelf life than summer blend. Also know that gas is supposed to last longer in an air-tight tank. That being said, I've got many old tractors with very old gas in them, and I rarely find any gas that's so bad, that they won't run.

John M · Oct 18, 2008

Im rather surprised, I have used Stabil for years and have not had one problem with it doing any damage or causing any problems either. I did skip one winter of putting in the tractors, but I could tell the next spring how poorly they started, and have been using regularly.

IH2444 · Oct 18, 2008

Stabil needs to be added to fresh gas to keep it from going bad. It will not fix stale gas.

I have been using stabil for about 10 years now and zero carb problems with anything I put stabil-ized gas into.

ken in texas · Oct 18, 2008

Ihave had good luck with SeaFoam,Originaly made for watercraft,hence the name.

DR Darren · Oct 18, 2008

i use sea-foam, sta-bil and the turning off gas method. on all my small engines i have a valve on the gas tank. that eliminates the carb problem from long sitting gas.

sea-foam for me has worked great. but have not used it as a stabilizer yet. i use sta-bil every time i fill the gas cans. but have always wondered if it really worked.

once my sta-bil is gone i am gonna use the sea-foam. is more expensive, but it really seems to help the carbs be clean.

CWH · Oct 18, 2008

I use synthetic two - stroke engine oil (1 oz/gal). It seems to work just as good as stabil or Seafoam.

Sta-bil age question

1936

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Bob

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JT

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supergrumpy

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JDemaris

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John M

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IH2444

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ken in texas

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DR Darren

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CWH

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