Fuel stabilisers good or bad?

[Fab1]

Anyone used/using fuel stabilisers in their fuel and what is your experience with it?

I want to start using it in my premix outboard fuel instead of tipping fuel into mowers etc.

cheers.

[noelm]

Most do “something” you will get dozens of people saying how they have used XXX for years and never had a problem, but, there is thousands who use nothing at all and don’t have problems. Premixed fuel is different to good clean non mixed fuel, I’m not convinced stabilisers do anything to the oil mixed in the fuel, which will settle into little lumps on the bottom if left for a long time. The issue is, how long is it being unused and how it is stored. No amount of snake oil in a bottle will fix old fuel, neither will topping it up with high octane fuel, once it’s bad, it’s bad, get a litre of sour milk, then add a litre of fresh milk and have a drink…….it’s still taste bad! Another thing to remember is different additives do different things, there’s stabilisers, made to “help” fuel stay fresh, there’s decarbonisers meant to remove carbon from the engine, there’s “tune up” in a can, designed to clean your wallet and on and on it goes.

Edited September 16, 2023 by noelm

[XD351]

I reckon it is all a con job , I have had fuel sit in a tank for over a year and it still worked fine , todays fuel is far longer lasting than what we had in the 70s and I think some two stroke oils have built in stabilisers and anti settle out stabilisers.

I remember when I was working at a mower shop we would always get customers come in around this time of year with a mower that wouldn’t start , a quick whiff of the fuel tank usually put us on to the main problem - stale fuel and the customer ended up paying a service fee for us to drain the tank and carby then put fresh fuel in it - we did go over the mower looking for any other problems but 99% of the time it was stale fuel causing the problem.

[BaitDropper]

It's that '' Contentious '' Topic.. Fuel stabilizers..

One of the biggest misconceptions  I hear, is adding fuel stabilizer to old fuel, thinking it will return itself to its former glory..

I've listened and heard, over the years, from many so called experts, some being in the industry itself,  ALL had differing views and evidence to back there so called technical claims.  A big issue in my opinion, is  how old the fuel is when you purchase it at the bowser, It's certainly not refined the day before the tanker arrives at the petrol station.  I know plenty of people that swear by stabilizers, been using the product for decades without issue, added immediately after petrol purchase, then there are others, which Is the category that I fall into, that don't use a fuel Stabilizer and have also never had any issues. BUT, I do run with the 12 month rule on my important 4 stroke engines, the rest, ie, generator, whipper snipper, mulcher, all have fuel in it that is way older than 12 months and again, I have no issues with them. I can tell you how long before fuel will turn into a varnished mess inside of a carburetor !! and that's way longer than 12 months 😁 ask me how I know that 😆..

Best advice I can offer, from my own experiences, is to plan the amount of fuel volume you fill with, my 12 month rule has never caused issues, I also personally don't see an issue with half a tank of 12 month old fuel, filled up with fresh stuff, then off you go..  It's your call really, Just be sensible about the age of the fuel, in relation to the cost of the specific engine. If you wanted to add a fuel Stabilizer to fresh fuel, I say give it a go, it can't hurt, but take what you read from the so called '' Experts in the industry '' with a grain of salt, just experiment with it and form your own opinion or strategy from there..

Only last month, I fired up a 3kva Honda generator, which hadn't been started for 18 months since we moved up here, the fuel is over 4 years old,  Go figure !!

 

[noelm]

 A (very) general rule is, if the fuel still smells like petrol, it’s OK to use, once it starts to smell “strange” then best to replace it. That said, I never quite saw the merit in putting it in your car, a car repair these days is not cheap either, and nothing quite beats dragging the mower out of the shed  on a boiling summers day and pulling your guts out until you snap the starter cord because you cheaped out and saved $4 on new mower fuel……but maybe that’s just me.

[Fab1]

14 hours ago, BaitDropper said:

It's that '' Contentious '' Topic.. Fuel stabilizers..

One of the biggest misconceptions  I hear, is adding fuel stabilizer to old fuel, thinking it will return itself to its former glory..

I've listened and heard, over the years, from many so called experts, some being in the industry itself,  ALL had differing views and evidence to back there so called technical claims.  A big issue in my opinion, is  how old the fuel is when you purchase it at the bowser, It's certainly not refined the day before the tanker arrives at the petrol station.  I know plenty of people that swear by stabilizers, been using the product for decades without issue, added immediately after petrol purchase, then there are others, which Is the category that I fall into, that don't use a fuel Stabilizer and have also never had any issues. BUT, I do run with the 12 month rule on my important 4 stroke engines, the rest, ie, generator, whipper snipper, mulcher, all have fuel in it that is way older than 12 months and again, I have no issues with them. I can tell you how long before fuel will turn into a varnished mess inside of a carburetor !! and that's way longer than 12 months 😁 ask me how I know that 😆..

Best advice I can offer, from my own experiences, is to plan the amount of fuel volume you fill with, my 12 month rule has never caused issues, I also personally don't see an issue with half a tank of 12 month old fuel, filled up with fresh stuff, then off you go..  It's your call really, Just be sensible about the age of the fuel, in relation to the cost of the specific engine. If you wanted to add a fuel Stabilizer to fresh fuel, I say give it a go, it can't hurt, but take what you read from the so called '' Experts in the industry '' with a grain of salt, just experiment with it and form your own opinion or strategy from there..

Only last month, I fired up a 3kva Honda generator, which hadn't been started for 18 months since we moved up here, the fuel is over 4 years old,  Go figure !!

 

I am talking about adding stabiliser to a full tank of fresh fuel/oil mix to clarify.

[Fab1]

I guess it’s like reading restaurant reviews.Make your own decision when you’ve tried it yourself.Will buy some and give it a go and make my own conclusion I guess.Thanks for the comments.

[noelm]

I guess for a small boat with a portable tank, just filling up when needed is about as good as it gets, of course, that doesn’t take into account what’s left after a trip out. My tinny sits most of the winter and has somewhere between a full 25l tank to near empty, and first trip of the crabbing season I just fill up (if it needs it) or just go out if the tank is near full, and never had an issue……..yet!

[frankS]

I have always been of the opinion that IF fuel was older than about 4 months old I would get rid of it somehow, either give it to someone to put in their car (always mixed fuel) or some other means.

I recently bought a boat with a underfloor tank, I guess about 150 ltr capacity and it had some fuel left in the bottom of the tank.

My intension is to remove the tank and give it a good flush out before using the boat. (straight fuel with no oil added) .

I have never used stabilizers as I am under the impression that they are just money makers for someone. I have used Metho on occasions to get rid of water moisture.

This thread has got me thinking IS all the hassle of removing the tank worth the effort. 

Frank

 

[noelm]

44 minutes ago, frankS said:

I have always been of the opinion that IF fuel was older than about 4 months old I would get rid of it somehow, either give it to someone to put in their car (always mixed fuel) or some other means.

I recently bought a boat with a underfloor tank, I guess about 150 ltr capacity and it had some fuel left in the bottom of the tank.

My intension is to remove the tank and give it a good flush out before using the boat. (straight fuel with no oil added) .

I have never used stabilizers as I am under the impression that they are just money makers for someone. I have used Metho on occasions to get rid of water moisture.

This thread has got me thinking IS all the hassle of removing the tank worth the effort. 

Frank

 

Unless the tank is easy to remove, then no, (in my opinion) if you can siphon some from the very bottom of the tank (not through the pickup) and see if there is water/dirt on the bottom, and have a “sniff” of the fuel, that will determine what you need to do.

[JustJames]

3 hours ago, Fab1 said:

Will buy some and give it a go and make my own conclusion I guess.

With respect @Fab1 if you use stabiliser and your boat runs fine, what will that tell you?

 

It's a bit like rubbing olive oil on your head to prevent your hair falling out.  (Too late for me!)  If you do it, and your hair doesn't fall out, does that mean that the olive oil worked?

 

The last three or four years I've had 2 stroke outboards that used premixed fuel, and because Sydney had stormy winters, I had fuel sitting for almost six months, and had no issues.  Similarly, on my previous boat, I had a backup separate fuel tank to the underfloor tank, and I kept the backup tank full of premix.  After at least six months, and prolly more like a year, I emptied the backup tank into the main tank and re-filled it with fresh premix, and had no issues.

 

The fuel was 95 octane, and the 2 stroke oil was whatever outboard 2 stroke was on special when it was time to buy.

[XD351]

You would think that some genius industrial chemist would design a two stroke oil with a built in fuel stabiliser.

[Bryant fish]

Go fishing more

[Fab1]

37 minutes ago, Bryant fish said:

Go fishing more

There’s always one in every crowd.😂

[BaitDropper]

8 hours ago, Fab1 said:

I am talking about adding stabiliser to a full tank of fresh fuel/oil mix to clarify.

😁

Yeah, I did realize you were talking about using an additive with new fuel,  But I have seriously read where some were asking if it fixed up stale fuel...

 Anyways, I say, go for it with regards to giving stabilizer a crack, nothing to loose and everything to gain if it leaves you with usable fuel after a stint out of the water.

[Bryant fish]

Fab 2 strokes are very basic engines I wouldn’t be too concerned 

[Fab1]

5 hours ago, Bryant fish said:

Fab 2 strokes are very basic engines I wouldn’t be too concerned 

I know.Basic engines will still run bad with crap fuel.

[Fab1]

Here goes nothing.I have my boat running perfect and know there’s nothing wrong with anything on motor or fuel related as I stripped, checked, cleaned and adjusted everything now.I’ll be out next week.

[dunc333]

i listen to fully qualifed marine engineers half of them call it snake oil and the other half say it only works with fresh fuel and it will make the fuel last a bit longer before going off .it defintley does not bring old fuel back to life .my opinion is i dont reckon it would hurt your baby if used . the other thing they used to say top your tanks up after use now the experts say dont top it up till your ready to use the boat again which i do and  ive never had a problem touch wood or my head lol cheers dunc333

[Fab1]

12 minutes ago, dunc333 said:

i listen to fully qualifed marine engineers half of them call it snake oil and the other half say it only works with fresh fuel and it will make the fuel last a bit longer before going off .it defintley does not bring old fuel back to life .my opinion is i dont reckon it would hurt your baby if used . the other thing they used to say top your tanks up after use now the experts say dont top it up till your ready to use the boat again which i do and  ive never had a problem touch wood or my head lol cheers dunc333

You don’t want to know my thoughts on most “fully qualified engineers mate” I know and have met.
  As for everything I’ve ever done in my life i ask the questions, listen to or read replies, don’t take anything that’s said as gospel and then finely find out for myself and make the final conclusion on weather it works or not.

  Cheers.

 

[dunc333]

yep agree thats why i stated that they could not agree if fuel stabalisers are any good or not 

[JustJames]

23 minutes ago, dunc333 said:

they used to say top your tanks up after use now the experts say dont top it up till your ready to use the boat again which i do

Both make sense.

 

Keeping tanks full leaves no space for condensation.  A water trap fuel filter should be able to remove any water from the fuel.

 

Filling the tank just before using it means the fuel is as new as possible - fuel loses octane over time because the higher octane parts of the fuel are the most volatile.  And the counter argument is that your outboard is probably not tuned to be close to the edge of what is safe with the avilable octane level anyway.

 

I prefer to keep my boat's tank full because it's part of the prep that I do after using the boat, so that it is always ready to go when I decide to go. 

[dunc333]

yep agree, what ever floats your boat .pardon  the  pun🤩

[Bryant fish]

So what about the people who say run the carby dry to stop it gumming up and what no lubrication for last couple of strokes ,not for me

[noelm]

15 minutes ago, Bryant fish said:

So what about the people who say run the carby dry to stop it gumming up and what no lubrication for last couple of strokes ,not for me

 Never do this unless you are going to store it for a long time, don’t need any expert or miracle fix in a can to know that. The lubrication is mixed with the fuel, so that’s not fully correct either.