Fuel stabilizer

[Tomster]

I've decided to run only ethanol free fuel in my 500 and 350Rs. Although non-ethanol fuel is a big step towards keepomg fuel issues at bay, stabilizer takes it even farther.

I recall some blurb somewhere that we are not supposed to use fuel stabilizers. Anyone know for sure and if so, why would it not be alright to use?

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[Johnny Rockit]

Subd.

 

[MAGS1]

Certain additives and octane boosters aren’t recommended (mainly manganese-based products) but I don’t see why a fuel stabilizer like Sta-bil or Sea Foam would cause any issues. If you’re driving the cars fairly frequently they’re not really needed but to my knowledge they don’t cause any harm and a lot of folks here in the Midwest use a fuel stabilizer when storing their cars for the winter.

FWIW, the Mustang owners manual and supplement for the 500 are silent on fuel stabilizers but do call out the additives and octane boosters. So, if Ford thought they (stabilizers) would cause issues I’d think they would call it out as well.

 

[JAJ]

I tracked down the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) for Sta-bil and here's what it says is in it:

From this list, which shows no inorganic chemicals (and the rest of the document doesn't indicate any inorganics either) it looks like the ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGBE)is the "active ingredient" and everything else is either a carrier or a solvent.

Here's what the EPA says about EGBE:

Now, EGBE is used in brake fluid, and one thing we all know about brake fluid is that happily absorbs water. Presumably, in Sta-bil, EGBE's job is to capture moisture in the fuel and keep it in suspension, as opposed to letting the water form a puddle at the bottom of the tank - the kind of puddle that's famous for cutting engine power on take-off.

Now, I'm not offering professional advice here, but from taking a look at the molecular structure, which is way simpler than the name, it should burn cleanly and easily without leaving any residue. And any water is just water, so it turns to steam on the way through the engine.

 

[Postal Bob]

Stabilizer is not needed unless car is not being driven for a few months. And if using non-ethanol fuel, needed even less. Ethanol is the downfall of gasoline now. It absorbs water more than non-ethanol gas. Which is why Stabil makes a marine formula which helps with boats and other engines exposed to water more regularly.

 

[sublime1996525]

The best we can get in Utah is 88 octane ethanol free.

 

[Crew4991]

 

[5.2 VooDoo]

Hmmm interesting question, the only thing I can add to the conversation is that I’ve used stabilizer over the winter since day one. I believe the first few years was a product called K100 and the following years StaBil. I top off the tank before storage with Shell Gold which is ethanol free (Petro Canada has 94 pump octane but doesn’t guarantee no ethanol). So far, touch wood no issues…the Orange Snake sleeps 5 months like a hibernating bear!

 

[JAJ]

Hmmm interesting question, the only thing I can add to the conversation is that I’ve used stabilizer over the winter since day one. I believe the first few years was a product called K100 and the following years StaBil. I top off the tank before storage with Shell Gold which is ethanol free (Petro Canada has 94 pump octane but doesn’t guarantee no ethanol). So far, touch wood no issues…the Orange Snake sleeps 5 months like a hibernating bear!

Chevron 94 in BC is ethanol-free. And it's 94. Very hard to say "no".

 

[JAJ]

So, an update on Sta-bil. I have a pressure washer that was brand new about 10 years ago. Massive Honda engine, 3600 PSI and 4 GPM.

We have a large back patio area to clean, and this thing does it with ease. I usually do it at this time of year, and after using it once in the spring, it's finished for the year.

When I'm done for the day, it goes back into storage until the next year. Storage mode means turning off the fuel supply at the tank and running the carburetor empty, filling the gas tank with Chevron no-ethanol 94, adding Sta-bil per the instructions, and blowing the water out of the the pump and hoses with compressed air. Then I pull the spark plug and put a little motor oil down through the spark plug hole, turn it over by hand a few revs and put the plug back in. Done.

For a variety of reasons, we haven't done the patio since 2018. So, today, five years later, I pulled it out of storage with the 2018 gas and Sta-bil still in it, hooked up the water, turned on the fuel and it started on the first pull and runs just fine.

Score one for Sta-bil and no-ethanol gas.

 

[luca1290]

I guess that's more for your very good upkeeping routine that to the fuel stabilizer itself, especially drying it and storing correctly with a full tank of gas.
Maybe you can spray a little silicone grease in the pump to avoid it getting stuck...

Water is a problem only on iron tanks, our cars have plastic ones and it will be burned the first time you start it back.
Corrosion is not an issue for percentages up to 15% (here it's sold up to 5% only), so I would not waste my money on those concoctions.

 

[JAJ]

I guess that's more for your very good upkeeping routine that to the fuel stabilizer itself, especially drying it and storing correctly with a full tank of gas.
Maybe you can spray a little silicone grease in the pump to avoid it getting stuck...

Water is a problem only on iron tanks, our cars have plastic ones and it will be burned the first time you start it back.
Corrosion is not an issue for percentages up to 15% (here it's sold up to 5% only), so I would not waste my money on those concoctions.

Well, maybe. The reason I do what I do to the pressure washer is because I learned the hard way what happens when ethanol-blended (E10) fuel absorbs moisture from the atmosphere over a winter. The problem isn't corrosion, it's clogging.

A few years before the pressure washer arrived, I bought a new gas-powered lawnmower. After the last mow of the year, with the gas tank mostly empty, I rolled it into the garage and forgot about it until spring. First mow of the spring, it wouldn't start. Took it to a repair shop and they stripped down the carb and showed me the thick goop clogging it that came from the ethanol in the gas combining with moisture from the air while the mower was stored. Paid them to clean it up and at the end of the season, the ritual I described above began. Ethanol-free fuel, Sta-bil, oil in the cylinder, etc.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

Bad gas will do in weed whackers and blowers in one winter.

 

[wingnutt]

or Or OR..just drive the dam car once in awhile

 

[Tomster]

or Or OR..just drive the dam car once in awhile

It's no secret that I keep one of my Rs off the street as much as possible. The 2018 base R (JR357) is a rare car and I bought it to put away and use it on rare occasion. The other R I have gets driven, so does my 500CFTP.

So although I agree with your sentiment, this is a situation that falls outside your simple solution.

I appreciate your input.

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