fuel stabiizers-how effective?
 

My question is about the effectiveness of stabilizer over a long
period of time.

My boat is normally stored from oct-nov to june-july. At the moment,
I have about 40 litres of 2 month old gazoline in the 100 litre tank.
Should I try to drain it and refill with stabilizer added to the gaz ?
Or should I just add fuel to fill the tank and assume that adding
stabilizer will properly treat all of the fuel for 8 months? The motor
is a 90hp Mercury 4-stroke.

AZ

I would not fill the tank. I never add fuel to my tank for storage.
Filling w/ fresh gas for the first use is much better.
I personally would:
1. Drain fuel and use in auto
2. Mix a small amount of fuel and stabilizer to run the engine so the
engine has fuel stabilizer in it for the storage period.

The other option would be to just add stabilizer to the 40 litres of gas
(haul it around to mix it up good), run the engine to get the mix into it.

Fill w/ fresh gas when you are going to use.

--
Tony
my boats and cars at http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com
"A.Z" wrote in message
om...
My question is about the effectiveness of stabilizer over a long
period of time.

My boat is normally stored from oct-nov to june-july. At the moment,
I have about 40 litres of 2 month old gazoline in the 100 litre tank.
Should I try to drain it and refill with stabilizer added to the gaz ?
Or should I just add fuel to fill the tank and assume that adding
stabilizer will properly treat all of the fuel for 8 months? The motor
is a 90hp Mercury 4-stroke.

AZ

On 13 Nov 2004 09:32:02 -0800, (A.Z) wrote:

My question is about the effectiveness of stabilizer over a long
period of time.

My boat is normally stored from oct-nov to june-july. At the moment,
I have about 40 litres of 2 month old gazoline in the 100 litre tank.
Should I try to drain it and refill with stabilizer added to the gaz ?
Or should I just add fuel to fill the tank and assume that adding
stabilizer will properly treat all of the fuel for 8 months? The motor
is a 90hp Mercury 4-stroke.

AZ

I normally store my boat for 6 months over the winter. I always use a fuel
stabilizer/cleaner and add it during the months when I use the boat too.
Just to prevent gumup between periods of use.

Several years ago, I had a bad back problem and needed surgery. I never used
my boat at all that year. After 18 months of storage, I brought her back out
and she ran fine.

Most stabilizers are recommended for a year of storage. Typical is the
product listed below.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...roductId=72550



Regards
John S

I would rather be boating!

On 13 Nov 2004 09:32:02 -0800, (A.Z) wrote:

My question is about the effectiveness of stabilizer over a long
period of time.

My boat is normally stored from oct-nov to june-july. At the moment,
I have about 40 litres of 2 month old gazoline in the 100 litre tank.
Should I try to drain it and refill with stabilizer added to the gaz ?
Or should I just add fuel to fill the tank and assume that adding
stabilizer will properly treat all of the fuel for 8 months? The motor
is a 90hp Mercury 4-stroke.

You can drain it if you want, but throw in enough stabilizer for the
entire gas load (what ever that is - won't hurt anything), run the
engine for a while to get stable fuel into the recesses and then in
the spring, fill 'er up and off you go.

That's pretty much how I do it.

Later,

Tom

you guys are buying Hoolium Foolium. Skip a step. Send the money to me and I
will pray for your fuel tank. You won't even mess up your hands and prayer is
just as effective.

nomo res pam, can you tell the accepted scientific definition of
"deteriorated"?




From:
Date: 11/13/2004 3:47 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

On 13 Nov 2004 09:32:02 -0800, (A.Z) wrote:

My question is about the effectiveness of stabilizer over a long
period of time.

My boat is normally stored from oct-nov to june-july. At the moment,
I have about 40 litres of 2 month old gazoline in the 100 litre tank.
Should I try to drain it and refill with stabilizer added to the gaz ?
Or should I just add fuel to fill the tank and assume that adding
stabilizer will properly treat all of the fuel for 8 months? The motor
is a 90hp Mercury 4-stroke.

Where are you located?

The gas that we get here in New England after 2 months of sitting in the
tank is old and has "deteriorated." SAure, it burns, but it's not as good
as fresh gas. Adding stabilizer to 2-month old gas may not do any good.
The instructions on the stabilizer bottle say that it is best to add it to
fresh gas.

It's best if you can drain the 2-month old gas that you have in your boat
tank (and burn it in your car or other gasoline engine). Then add some
fresh gas and stabilzer to your boat tank and run the engine 10 mins to get
the treated gas into the carb/fuel injection system/whatever.

They used to say that it was best to fill the boat's gas tank to the top
before the winter so as to avoid having moisture condense in the tank.
However, two very good marine mechanics each told me last fall to leave the
level low for the winter after adding stabilizer to the fresh gas. Then in
the spring, fill up the tank with fresh gas.

Sandy

On 13 Nov 2004 23:09:10 -0000, er (Thomas
Ranger) wrote:

On 13 Nov 2004, (JAXAshby) wrote:
you guys are buying Hoolium Foolium. Skip a step. Send the money to me and I
will pray for your fuel tank. You won't even mess up your hands and prayer is
just as effective.

The following is a quote to a fellow car collector but it would apply to
gasoline stored in boats:

Exxon Mobil Corporation

As a rule of thumb six months is the "shelf life" for gasoline that is
properly stored.

Properly stored can best be described as a sealed container not subject to
high swings in temperture or humidity. In equipment or in car storage
presents problems because gasoline is exposed to air (not sealed) and
swings in temperture and humidity. Hence, another rule of thumb; fuel tank
should be empty or full, the later to minimize air volume over the fuel.

Another issue to consider with oxygenated gasolines is that oxygenates will
promote oxidation which is the process which forms gums and varnish. We are
aware of this and use anti-oxidants in our fuel to counteract this
phenomenon. Gasoline stabilizers do this also.

There is no one simple answer for what is best for limited use equipment or
automobiles. We all know that limited service is the most severe service
for a engine, and all fluids in it.

As a fellow collector, I have found full tank storage with a fuel
stabilizer run in has resulted in fewer problems for me.

Hope this helps.

Lori Wagner
Customer Relations
Exxon Mobil Corporation




OK, did a google for "Lori Wagner exxon gasoline" and found this.

http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/showf...b=6&o=&fpart=1



Regards
John S

I would rather be boating!

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:47:03 GMT, wrote:

The gas that we get here in New England after 2 months of sitting in the
tank is old and has "deteriorated." SAure, it burns, but it's not as good
as fresh gas.

=============================

Sorry but I sincerely believe that to be bull. Two month old gas
should not be an issue.

As others have said, I'd add the recommended amount of stabilizer,
give it time to mix, and then run the engine for awhile. You'll be
fine.

Wayne.B wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:47:03 GMT, wrote:

The gas that we get here in New England after 2 months of sitting in the
tank is old and has "deteriorated." SAure, it burns, but it's not as good
as fresh gas.

=============================

Sorry but I sincerely believe that to be bull. Two month old gas
should not be an issue.

As others have said, I'd add the recommended amount of stabilizer,
give it time to mix, and then run the engine for awhile. You'll be
fine.
--------------------
From personal experience satbilizer does not work on gas-oil mixture.
Clean out the carborator bowl before storage to prevent a gooey mess.
SSB.

I have seen the bottom 1/3 of a fuel tank thick with stabilizer and Marvel
Mystery oil. Neither is necessary, but the repair shop was happy to take the
guy's money to fix the mess.

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:47:03 GMT, wrote:

The gas that we get here in New England after 2 months of sitting in the
tank is old and has "deteriorated." SAure, it burns, but it's not as good
as fresh gas.

=============================

Sorry but I sincerely believe that to be bull. Two month old gas
should not be an issue.

As others have said, I'd add the recommended amount of stabilizer,
give it time to mix, and then run the engine for awhile. You'll be
fine.
--------------------
From personal experience satbilizer does not work on gas-oil mixture.
Clean out the carborator bowl before storage to prevent a gooey mess.
SSB.