wrote in message ...

On Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:23:57 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

A few years ago we had a great debate here in rec.boats regarding the
gas additive "Stabil". Some argued it's positive benefits in
keeping
gas fresh, while some claimed it was nothing but snake oil.

Well, I have become a believer. I have a little Honda EU-2000
generator that was last used seven years ago. I had put some Stabil
in the gas tank the last time I used it.

With this storm on it's way I decided we should probably have a small
generator on hand but figured the little Honda would never start
after
7 years of sitting. I assumed that the gas in the carb and lines
would
have turned to shellac over the years. I dug it out of the barn and
checked the fuel tank. Sure enough, there was still gas in it, but
it
didn't smell stale.

Put the choke on about halfway and pulled the starter cord rapidly
about four times and the little son-of-a-gun fired up and ran
perfectly. I was shocked, and am now convinced that Stabil works.

This storm is gonna suck though.


There is Sta-Bil and, then, there is Sta-Bil.

The old Sta-Bil designed for E0 is, in today's world, crap. The new
Marine Formula Sta-Bil seems, in today's E10+ world, to be good stuff.

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Well, I don't know what Sta-Bil I used 6 years ago, but it worked.
It was red, I know that.
As Wayne pointed out, the little Honda engine used in the EU-2000i
generator is remarkable, but it's not immune to stale, shellacked, old
gas.
Whatever kind of Sta-Bil that I used worked.