I had a nice gentleman at a cruise-in yesterday highly recommend something for ethanol treatment such as Sta-Bil's "360 Protection". I had never heard of this, any opinions? I'm all for preventing damage but have just been using premium with a lead additive bottle (318/non-hardened seats) and hoping for the best.
Opinions on ethanol treatments
- Thread starter Zaggart
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It's all snake oil, especially that lead additive you're already using. All that stuff does is remove money from your wallet.
Agreed.
The station on our corner sells ethanol free 90 octane for about a buck more a gallon than regular. I buy it for all my small engine equipment on the farm. I tested it and it is truly ethanol free.
Thanks! I'll ditch that stuff post-haste. We have a local recreational gas pump as well but between the automatic shutoff being broken, it not taking credit cards, and having a (hopefully soon to be remedied) lazy gas gauge it's been a slight PITA. I'll keep going that route then.
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I agree, ditch the lead but I do use marine 2 cycle with every fill up and since doing so tens of thousands of miles ago I stopped having to open my carbs annually to clean out any gelatinous goo. I also use it in place of Stabil for winter storage and never have any fuel related issues since I began using it.
Lead additive is not a substitute for good valve guides and seats. I'm with Big John and detmatt, ditch that garbage.
Detmatt, how much do you put in a tank? Do you have to adjust fuel/air mixture etc? Can you elaborate a little?
I use ethanol free in all my engines big or small that don't see frequent use. There's nothing wrong with draining the fuel before storing a vehicle for a long time. If it's not bad I just put it in our daily drivers. Just be careful with leaky gaskets etc when firing up again after storage...
By the way, the only "additive" I know that's really worth a hoot is nitromethane
but only when used as and where appropriate!
Detmatt, how much do you put in a tank? Do you have to adjust fuel/air mixture etc? Can you elaborate a little?
I use ethanol free in all my engines big or small that don't see frequent use. There's nothing wrong with draining the fuel before storing a vehicle for a long time. If it's not bad I just put it in our daily drivers. Just be careful with leaky gaskets etc when firing up again after storage...
By the way, the only "additive" I know that's really worth a hoot is nitromethane
but only when used as and where appropriate!
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If you’re into measuring it would be 1 oz per 5 gallons but I just do a few glugs in every tank. No other adjustments are necessary and I’ve never seen it translate to smoke from the tailpipes.
If I don't stabil my gas at the beginning of winter, the sun cooks the gas to varnish.
Never a problem before ethanol.
I've used both red and blue stabil. Both seem to work fine.
Ethanol sucks. It should be removed from gasoline. I'm not even sure what they are claiming it does any longer?
Every corn farmer I know disagrees with the stuff. Every person I know with knowledge of the engine they have disagrees with using the crap. No one likes it, except the corporation.
What's gonna happen this year when the corn production is so low? Will that make the gasoline industry raise the price because ethanol is suddenly "difficult" to get. Just remove it One of the stupidest things that an industry has done in a long time!
Never a problem before ethanol.
I've used both red and blue stabil. Both seem to work fine.
Ethanol sucks. It should be removed from gasoline. I'm not even sure what they are claiming it does any longer?
Every corn farmer I know disagrees with the stuff. Every person I know with knowledge of the engine they have disagrees with using the crap. No one likes it, except the corporation.
What's gonna happen this year when the corn production is so low? Will that make the gasoline industry raise the price because ethanol is suddenly "difficult" to get. Just remove it One of the stupidest things that an industry has done in a long time!
> One of the stupidest things that an industry has done in a long time!
Ethanol has been in our gas for a very long time (the US became the world's largest producer of ethanol fuel back in the Bush administration!) so I don't think it's going away any time soon in spite of all the talk. Personally I really hope congress has enough sense to roll it back before too long. Only they have the power to do so permanently, and it would seem to be a smart thing to do in an election year, but go figure how they think in DC, so not keeping my fingers crossed.
Ethanol has been in our gas for a very long time (the US became the world's largest producer of ethanol fuel back in the Bush administration!) so I don't think it's going away any time soon in spite of all the talk. Personally I really hope congress has enough sense to roll it back before too long. Only they have the power to do so permanently, and it would seem to be a smart thing to do in an election year, but go figure how they think in DC, so not keeping my fingers crossed.
Slap Stick
Active Member
So you are saying the 2 cycle gas is preventing the carbs from gumming up?
If so, then why do weed eaters and chain saws get gummed up?
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No I’m saying that running 2 cycle oil in 10% ethanol pump gas is keeping my carbs from gumming up. I believe it’s also keeping the ethanol from attacking my rubber fuel lines and also helping to prevent the moisture that goes hand in hand with ethanol from rusting the my steel tank and lines.
Slap Stick
Active Member
Again, if 2 cycle oil works in four stroke engines, why not 2 stroke engines?
Percentages...
If your 2 stroke whatever is using a 40:1 ratio, that's 3.2 ounces per gallon.
Mixing 1 ounce with 5 gallons (as Matt says) is 640:1 or .2 oz. per gallon.
Lot's more oil per gallon in your chainsaw.
Full disclaimer: I don't put anything in my gas tank except gas except my snow blower gets a little Stabil in it during the summer storage. I do use ethanol free gas in my old cars though... except when I'm traveling and then they get whatever is in the pump where I stop.
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Makes perfect sense. I don’t have any 2 cycle engines so I wasn’t going to comment on something that falls outside my experience.
thrashingcows
Senior Member
Ive been using the Marine Sta-Bal for 5-6 years now and it definetly does help with mitigate the negative effects of ethanol in the fuel. I have a lot of gas powered small engines, quads, snow mobiles, generator, chipper, mower etc etc....and I put the Sta-bal in all my fuel that is going in to these motors. Not only does it keep the fuel fresh(er) for at least a year, but seems to mitigate the worst effects of ethanol...minimal water absorption and the eating of O-rings, seals and hoses.
I can clean out the float bowl on any of the motors now and there might be just a hint of crud/gum in the there and everything looks clean and new, before I'd have had a float bowl full of rust/crud and the parts of the carb would look like it had been sitting in a river for a year.
These are just my real world findings...;)
I can clean out the float bowl on any of the motors now and there might be just a hint of crud/gum in the there and everything looks clean and new, before I'd have had a float bowl full of rust/crud and the parts of the carb would look like it had been sitting in a river for a year.
These are just my real world findings...;)
cbarge
World Famous Barge in a Budget
The only thing I use is Seafoam when storing the C's.
Locally, I burn Shell V power and wherever I can when travelling.
If non- ethanol is not available I burn whatever the gas station has. It will be burned till next gas stop!
As most of you know, the Boab is no stranger to long distance trips!
Locally, I burn Shell V power and wherever I can when travelling.
If non- ethanol is not available I burn whatever the gas station has. It will be burned till next gas stop!
As most of you know, the Boab is no stranger to long distance trips!
In another forum, a carb rebuilder from the Midwest advised against using StaBil and letting the float bowl get empty. Seems he got a carb in that had happened to. The red coating would not clean out of the carb, he said.
I used to use Lucas Ethanol Additive "green stuff". It worked well in the lawn mower. It could sit with treated fuel in it over the few months of winter. 10 pumps of the cup and it was running on the second pull. No worries about "overtreat", but such would turn the spark plug ceramic a green tint. Spark plug always looked new and clean.
According to the www.fuel-kits.com website, a whole LOT of the fuel additives on the market have alcohol in them. IF you're trying to get away from ethanol, that's not the way to do it, using the ones with alcohol in them.
The amount of lead which "lead additives" have in them is so minor that it is more "in name only" than really beneficial. In an article (in a motor home/trailering magazine back in the earlier 1980s), it mentioned that there were two types of "lead replacement additive" on the market. One was "oil based" and the other one was "sodium based". I opted for the sodium-based additive to use in my '67 Chrysler 383 4bbl w/906s. Don't know if it did any good for the valve seats, BUT it did stick the accel pump discharge "anti-pullover" weight in the 9801 TQ I had on the motor. Accel pump did not work, as a result. Also resulting in very hard starting! Pulled the shooter cover off and freed it up. It was stuck! Afterward, no more additives.
Just some observations and experiences,
CBODY67
I used to use Lucas Ethanol Additive "green stuff". It worked well in the lawn mower. It could sit with treated fuel in it over the few months of winter. 10 pumps of the cup and it was running on the second pull. No worries about "overtreat", but such would turn the spark plug ceramic a green tint. Spark plug always looked new and clean.
According to the www.fuel-kits.com website, a whole LOT of the fuel additives on the market have alcohol in them. IF you're trying to get away from ethanol, that's not the way to do it, using the ones with alcohol in them.
The amount of lead which "lead additives" have in them is so minor that it is more "in name only" than really beneficial. In an article (in a motor home/trailering magazine back in the earlier 1980s), it mentioned that there were two types of "lead replacement additive" on the market. One was "oil based" and the other one was "sodium based". I opted for the sodium-based additive to use in my '67 Chrysler 383 4bbl w/906s. Don't know if it did any good for the valve seats, BUT it did stick the accel pump discharge "anti-pullover" weight in the 9801 TQ I had on the motor. Accel pump did not work, as a result. Also resulting in very hard starting! Pulled the shooter cover off and freed it up. It was stuck! Afterward, no more additives.
Just some observations and experiences,
CBODY67
Bad link, but all us northern guys were no strangers to Dry-Gas. Basically a can of alcohol to absorb the water. The better brands were ethanol and the cheap ones were methanol.
It wasn't unusual to dump a can or two in the car... Often after having problems with gas that had water in it from the pump.
It all went away with fuel injection and ethanol laced fuel.... Although we had a driver working for us that insisted on having some in the delivery van along with a can of 3 in 1 oil for the door hinges.
Sorry for that bad link. www.pure-gas.org for ethanol-free gas stations. www.fuel-testers.com for the additive information in the lh menu, including state gas pump ethanol labeling information.
Hope that heips,
CBODY67
A few sessions ago, the TX Legislature had a bill introduced to eliminate ethanol from gasoline. As much as the car people wanted it to pass, it did not make it. Reason? A financial report that stated such a ban would cost the state money. We know that it takes more E10/mile than E0, so fewer gallons of gasoline sold, which then means less "gas tax" at the local level. Millions of dollars/year in lost state revenue with the ban on ethanol'd gasoline. So, in that orientation, the proposed legislation did not get very far past the "talking stage", unfortunately.
"Gas tax" equated to "Road Tax" to repair/rebuild/build roads.
So, the chemical means of counter-acting ethanol in gasoline seems to be all we have, other than the more expensive E0, where available, in an octane we can use.
CBODY67
"Gas tax" equated to "Road Tax" to repair/rebuild/build roads.
So, the chemical means of counter-acting ethanol in gasoline seems to be all we have, other than the more expensive E0, where available, in an octane we can use.
CBODY67
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