Project Farm fuel stabilizer test

[tomplum]

Here ya go. It may not be a motor oil thread, but a hot topic none the less.

 

[CalG]

Why did you start a new thread on the same topic?

 

[tomplum]

Why did you start a new thread on the same topic?

I assume that this was posted elsewhere by your comment? I hope Muhammad will still send me my dollar for posting....

 

[Topzide]

Here it is -

Stabil in the mix?

Any a regular Stabil user that includes the two stroke mix? My weed whackers hang on the wall all winter. Some of the chain saws get infrequent use. The back pack blower really only gets used "seasonally", Though I did try it on a fluffy snow last year with impressive results. A put Stabil...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[ZiggyD]

Todd from project farm is the modern day consumer reports. Kudos to him.

Because of his testing I’ve settled on Hot Shot Secret as a diesel additive and Seafoam for gasoline. My conundrum with additives is that they don’t all do everything and I never know if adding two ‘best of’ to the same batch of fuel will do more good than harm.

What I’ve been doing for several years with good results is only buy ethanol free fuel for small engines and add seafoam to every batch. Buy quantities that I’ll use within the season and never keep the fuel for longer (just dump it in my car after 8 weeks and buy fresh as needed). Lastly, for two stoke engines, those expensive premixed fuels (except the red can) have been a game changer. Easy starts, clean carburetors, no issues after a long winter storage. I even drain the regular fuel on my 4 stroke equipment and run some of the premixed fuel which provides excellent winter protection.

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

I run regular ethanol free in all my small engines then the last tank full before putting them away for awhile I run 100LL aviation fuel. 100LL doesn't seem to varnish like regular gas. I've never noticed any of the fuel stabilizers making any difference.

 

[ZiggyD]

I run regular ethanol free in all my small engines then the last tank full before putting them away for awhile I run 100LL aviation fuel. 100LL doesn't seem to varnish like regular gas. I've never noticed any of the fuel stabilizers making any difference.

I agree. Additives are a leap of faith (or marketing snake oil). That’s why I love watching the project farm tests. Sometimes, as in the fuel stabilizer comparison, the results are starkly conclusive.

 

[ArlyA]

I also love watching the project farm tests and use seafoam as my "go to"stabilizer...

 

[ZiggyD]

I also love watching the project farm tests and use seafoam as my "go to"stabilizer...

If you watched the stabilizer comparison, the Stabill far outperformed the Seafoam as a corrosion protector.

The most telling aspect of that video was that NONE of the stabilizers did anything to protect the freshness and viability of the fuel. The big lesson was that fuel stabilizers don't stabilize the fuel.

 

[tomplum]

If you watched the stabilizer comparison, the Stabill far outperformed the Seafoam as a corrosion protector.

The most telling aspect of that video was that NONE of the stabilizers did anything to protect the freshness and viability of the fuel. The big lesson was that fuel stabilizers don't stabilize the fuel

For me, corrosion protection really stood out. And I do this stuff everyday. Stabil was the original as far as I know. All the "improved" versions were lacking in the corrosion dept. here. If I open up a carb and it is corroded, I urge replacement. I begrudgingly clean a varnished carb if I have to. But repairing a corroded carb isn't a good repair practice.

They about all state on the bottle they keep fuel fresh for 2 years. When I hand the bottle of stabilizer to a customer, I tell them the 2 year thing is a flat out lie. It seems to keep people with small lawns that don't use much fuel out of the woods for the season though.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Since I don't watch You Tube, I have to ask.

How many years did that test cover? I know that StaBil keeps gas from stratifying for at least two years. And while I don't know by how much Star Tron beats that yet, I do know that it really helps with keeping gas fresh(er) and useful.

 

[tomplum]

He did 2 sets. 5 and 2 years if I recall. Honestly, the corrosion test was a hunk of pot metal in a mason jar covered with treated fuel. SO not an exact duplication of anything. The 2 year test he tried to get an FI generator to run on the fuel, and pretty much none did, though the Stabil did eventually run once he got the combustion chamber heated by using start fluid. I pretty much skipped most of that after.

Taryl Fixes All I think is the name of a YT channel that did a much more in depth, more accurate version of runnability on small engines w/ various stabilizers. Here in PF, the corrosion differences were stark, but not much else surprising.

BTW someone pointed out here that if you wish to skip all the ad interruptions of YT, to drop the address into Duckduckgo.

 

[dodge man]

I was thinking two of them started the generator without starting fluid, Stabil being one of them. I’m not going to watch it again to confirm it though.

 

[4x4moses]

I've tried Sta-Bil and PRI-G for gasoline. I prefer the PRI-G. I've tried lots of different diesel additives for lubricity, preservation, and anti-bacterial. I've settled on the Hot Shots for lubricity and preservation; and Killem' for bacteria.

 

[EddieWalker]

The only thing that has worked for me in small gas engines is buying Ethanol Free gas. Before it was available, I spent money on Sea Foam and Sta-Bil without any improvement. The only other thing that helped was to drain the fuel tank and run the engine until it was dry. Now I just buy Ethanol Free gas and let it sit. My engines start up every time and run great!!!!

 

[ArlyA]

Long ago, I work at a marine shop, and this was before alcohol was added... Nearly all the engines we got had fuel in and not running had gas that had turned sour. We indeed took the caps off and smelled it, sour smell meant the whole system needed to be cleaned out of chunky, bad fuel. They sold seafoam and told customers to used it and run it through each the fall. After that I tried stabil in a lawnmower and its fuel went bad the very same summer. I use seafoam today. Go figure.

 

[tomplum]

Long ago, I work at a marine shop, and this was before alcohol was added... Nearly all the engines we got had fuel in and not running had gas that had turned sour. We indeed took the caps off and smelled it, sour smell meant the whole system needed to be cleaned out of chunky, bad fuel. They sold seafoam and told customers to used it and run it through each the fall. After that I tried stabil in a lawnmower and its fuel went bad the very same summer. I use seafoam today. Go figure.

True. It seems to me that people who have paid huge fuel damage bills like boat engines , some bikes etc. are more prone to at least attempt to take care of their fuel in OPE.

 

[mascott]

I use pri-g and pri-d. And have been very pleased however I only use non-ethanol in my small engines
I do reapply yearly and am using 9 year old Offroad diesel today

 

[newbury]

I use Seafoam to "clean out" the fuel system on my chain saws. When I first got into CSM I was running about 4 saws routinely. Two Stihl 660's, the JD CS 62 and a Stihl 021.Lead free gas was not available. Fall was coming on. Saws were being used daily, and I didn't empty them out.
My back went out bad fairly suddenly, surgery and recuperation took a couple of months. When I was finally able to start sawing again all four saws were basically dead lined due to the carbs.
So, I just lined them up in my walk out basement and filled them with new fuel mix and new plugs and added a heavy dose of Seafoam. Made a point to go and crank each one for three or four pulls at least every other day.
Took about a month or so but all 4 came back running fine for years.