ya, I just want the results....@5:30.....he didn't test Ethanol Shield

 

Chickanic just did that test.
(34) We Put Sea Foam To The Test Against Mechanic in a Bottle! Shocking Results! - YouTube

 

I've used Seafoam to good effect as a solvent for a few small engine-related tasks. I don't consider fuel preservation to be part of the product's core mission brief...not when the voluminous text in small font on the can promises to do almost everything, everywhere.

When adding a treatment to stored fuel, I've pivoted between Sta-Bil and Star-Tron. They're focused products made to do exactly what the labels promise.

 

Yeah, I might use Seafoam for help cleaning out crankcase and lifter sludge in grandpa's old 1972 Buick but I dont see any value in putting it in a snowblower or mower that gets regular oil changes.

And after seeing the results it seems a complete waste of $ to use as a fuel stabilizer. If anything it seemed to encourage corrosion. Who wants that?

 

He only tested one of the three Stabil products. Lately I've been using the blue marine version, which is working the same as the original red version has for me. The descriptions of the three are so confusing to me, they all seem to say the same thing in a different way.

 

I use the same blue marine version. I assume its just as good.

 

The majority of additives are just junk, however Stabil has some promise. I enjoyed the Project farm test and even more insightful was the Daryl Fixes All 19 month test that is the gold standard of testing in my view on the subject. Plenty of cash to be made off these products seems quite a few can benefit from actually doing some research and providing a product that works over just selling some snake oil. There may be abit of value in a very few products but it really is buyer beware on making a selection.

Cheers.

 

Do not use gasoline with ethanol in equipment that you do not use regularly and all year, if possible.

 

Taryl FixesAll did the tests 2 or 3 years ago

 

The anti corrosive properties of Stabil stood out pretty far beyond the other products. That is the big take away that I did not already know. I will attest that K100 does work on gas that has water in it. It is expensive but it may be a good alternative in something where dumping out the old gas is very inconvenient.

 

IMHO most carb goop problems are caused by fuel evaporation. Try leaving any machine in the hot summer sun for two weeks,regardless of additives and you just might be convinced.

 

Guess which hunk of metal was protected by Stabil. I've been using it for years and PF confirmed it really works.

 

None of the products extended the life span of gasoline with ethanol. All the products failed there. Sta-bil did great however with preventing corrosion.

You need to use non-ethanol fuel or use up all the fuel (w/ethanol) within 1-3 months so you are always working with fresh fuel.

BTW, Project Farms testing took years for this video also.

 

None of the products extended the life span of gasoline with ethanol. All the products failed there. Sta-bil did great however with preventing corrosion.

You need to use non-ethanol fuel or use up all the fuel (w/ethanol) within 1-3 months so you are always working with fresh fuel.

BTW, Project Farms testing took years for this video also.

Sounds like good advice but there is no non-ethanol fuel within 40 minutes of me. I've been using Stabil products for 20+ years and in my experience ethanol gas sitting in multiple tanks for nearly a year has caused zero problems. Heck I just started my Snowblower with one pull on gas sitting since March and now it's October.

Snowblowers, Chainsaws, Log splitters, Tractors, 4 stroke leaf blowers each has sat 10+ months with zero issues using Stabil with a completely full tank of gas.

 

Our E Free gas station is 40 miles away in Reno but that is nothing out here in the left coast. We take the trip once a month to save a couple hundred dollars. Gas here is $7 a gallon. In Reno it was $3.92 on Oct 4th.

Costco saves us 30-50 % on groceries. 2 burger meals here cost about $30-40. It's about $15 at In and Out burger for 2 meals.

The joys of living in California....

Shop local???? NAH!

 

$7?? Where do you live? I can't find that price anywhere locally on Gas Buddy. I'm in SLT, and gas is routinely $1.50 more than Carson City, but driving there just to fill up doesn't pencil out for me. After factoring in the gas to get there and back, the most I can save on fuel is $10-15, but we absolutely fill up during our tri-monthly Costco runs.

 

hack_man is correct ..... all my equipment is fueled from my 5-gallon gas cans, which upon filling each 5-gallon can up, I add 2oz of Stabil and 2oz of Seafoam .... never run out any equipment, never empty tanks, never an issue with starting right up.....dont ever have to worry if any equipment is treated, as they only get fuel from those cans year-round.

If I do not use my generator after 2 years, then I will take that fuel and put it in whatever equipment I am running at the time.

 

I use Sta-bal Marine all year , 1 oz. per gal is good for 2 years.

 

Stabil says Marine is good for 12 months 1 oz per 10 gallons.
That stuff is concentrated!

 

I've been running all my 4-cycle equipment on 100LL aviation gas for years. It's storage life is years for me. I still put in Marine Stabil just because. This is real gasoline, no evil EPA additives. Your hands don't stink till the next day - it evaporates completely. Sure, it's over$5 per gallon here in the People's Republic of Illinois, but it keeps and starts again next time every time.

2-cycle fuel is different. I've had NO luck treating 2-cycle fuel to get an engine to run again next time. The only thing that works for me despite Project Farm's test and Chickanic's frequent warnings, is TruFuel. I only have a couple newer Asian POS engines with the little square carburetors, but those are least troublesome with TruFuel.

 

Hello KVacek. What airport or station do you get the avgas?

 

My one complaint with Stabil products is their marketing is confusing. I'm never sure what's best, Red, Orange or Blue ? If Red works for 2 years but blue and Orange for 1 year, why not use red? They introduced orange Stabil 360 in 2014 but I never understood the name "Stabil 360", did they really mean "Stabil 365" since it was meant for "year round protection"?

Now I see they got rid of Stabil 360 and its called "Stabil In Season" but at least it's still orange

 

Looked into this as well.

What are the Differences Among STA-BIL® Products? – Gold Eagle

 

Taryl's Test was on 10 identical, new engines, two were baseline with just e10 in one and non-ethanol in the other. All 10 were outside in a non-climate controlled heated or air condition and the test was done over 18 months. He would start each engine monthly. He also had jars with the fuel / additive in it and would also record how much evaporated. As each engine failed to start each month, they were sidelined for the remainder of the test. At the end, only the non-ethanol engine and one additive engine started at the end of the test. I'll try to find it and see which one survived.

 

I think it was the stabil that made it but it was still gummed up.

 

For me, everything (boat, chain saw, etc.) gets a sta-bil product and liquid performance together in one tank. My ATV/Motorcycle mechanic said use liquid performance in every tank. I winterize/summerize about 5 pieces of equipment

 

I've always used seafoam and marvel mystery oil in my fuel. never had any problems starting even after a year of storage. but my equipment is in a garage that stays above freezing so the constant temp drop and rise doesn't cause the fuel tank to breath in new air with moisture.

 

So, it seems....

Stabil 360 is for everyday fill-ups to treat ethanol.

Stabil Storage is for gasoline that is stored a long time, meant for classic cars, etc.

Stabil Marine is for treating ethanol in marine engines and OPE.


Whatever happened to old-fashioned plain Stabil?

I don't use ethanol fuel, so i guess the best i can do for the snowblowers, ZTR and mower is use a mix of Marine and Storage...

 

I use Marine Stable all year long, most all my machines do not run during winter months. Have no fuel problems come springtime. Just battery charging.