Fuel Addatives For Small Engines

[Renegade1LI]

As an old habit i always add some sea foam and marvel mystery oil in every 5 gal can of fuel. 5 Oz of each at fill up and using sea foam also works as a fuel stabilizer. Is this overkill? Necessary? I don't think there is a down side other than cost plus I try to always use ethanol free fuel. I use this for 2 and 4 stroke engines and I have never had any fuel related issues. Just curious what others do to maintain engine life? I also try and change all oils before winter.

 

[redmondjp]

I only use ethanol-free fuel, stored in leak-tight steel containers (the old-school Jerry cans, with good gaskets, with the lids screwed on tight). I have E-0 gasoline from two years ago (I label the fill date on blue painter's tape on each container) that I am now opening and using, and it still works just fine. For some containers that I know I won't open for a long time, I use Pri-G stabilizer, available online. I leave my equipment gas tanks filled up all winter and everything starts right up in the spring. I was just at the MIL's place doing the fall yard cleanup last Saturday. The mower and trimmer haven't been started since July. Both fired right up on the first pull, on the gas that they had sitting in their tanks.

Ethanol-free gasoline has been a game-changer for me with all of the outdoor power equipment. It saves me tens of hours per year in not messing with gunked-up carburetors and brittle fuel lines. Of course, I'm old enough to have grown up and been mowing lawns as a kid before they thought of adding alcohol to the gas.

A bit of seafoam will help the carburetor to stay clean, but isn't necessary if you are already using E-0 fuel and have a clean carb to start with. The Marvel oil may help upper cylinder lubrication, but also may contribute to excessive deposits on your spark plug. If you are happy with your results, go with what you do now.

 

[BillK]

Way too many discussions about this. But I will add that there is no way I would be adding MMO in the fuel. Especially if you are using Ethanol free gas. Thats just like burning oil all of the time. Same with Sea Foam

89 Octane Shell for me and I simply have not had an issue.

 

[Zeke]

You don't need oil in the gas for a 4 stroke engine. Stabilizer is something else altogether and is more for the engine and tank than the gas in the can. Old gas is old gas. I suppose if you fill a can to the very top and seal it, it can stay viable longer.

What you can do to help the engine is keep everything super clean. No contaminants in the gas tank or gas can.

 

[jonesg]

i add marine stabiit if its gonna sit over the winter.
buy pure gas only.

 

[mike93lx]

Regular gas, from the pump. Change oil annually, usually.

For storage, I'll thrown in some stabil

 

[dcg9381]

Ethanol free for me (only). No additives. If it's going to sit for a year, I'll add stabil, but really don't know if that makes much of a difference. I've also used 100LL (aviation fuel) in certain circumstances as I know it's better designed for long term storage.

 

[dhammond]

I start adding stabil 360 about now (seasonally) every time I refill the 5 gallon gan so by the time I'm mostly finished with leaf cleanup and final mowings they've both been run through pretty good. I leave the Z mostly empty for winter and the X stays full for snow. Haven't had a handy ethanol free station around me to use that.

 

[mike93lx]

I start adding stabil 360 about now (seasonally) every time I refill the 5 gallon gan so by the time I'm mostly finished with leaf cleanup and final mowings they've both been run through pretty good. I leave the Z mostly empty for winter and the X stays full for snow. Haven't had a handy ethanol free station around me to use that.

Nice rigs

 

[dhammond]

Thanks, super happy with them.

 

[ATC]

Pure gas is all I will buy. I don't use additives in the cans themselves, but might put a splash of seafoam/stabil in the last tank of the season for the pressure washer/mower/etc...

For diesel, I use Hot Shots EDT to add lubricity.

 

[NUTTSGT]

90 REC user here and I add nothing.

 

[nadogail]

Because I can’t find ethanol free or 100 octane Low Lead in my local market I add Staible to the gas I buy for my small engines.

 

[AC-WC]

A little off topic here- I don't think I've EVER seen a front fender on any tractor! I had to look twice!
On topic-Gas sta-bil if I don't forget for the winter.
I don't change oil until next season starts-maybe I should? Not the 1st time I've read that.

 

[mike93lx]

A little off topic here- I don't think I've EVER seen a front fender on any tractor! I had to look twice!

I noticed the same. Guessing it moves a little faster than the stuff us poors use

 

[Dakotadadv8]

I used 93 Octane.

 

[3rdgendslmech]

I just add 2 oz of Stabil to my 5 gallon cans when i take them to get filled up. Round about this time of year, i'll empty the 1 year old gas out of my 5500W generac, dump that in my pickup, then fill the generator up with fresh gas for the winter. It rarely ever get run, but once a month I try to fire it up and let it run for 15-20 minutes.
Never had a problem with anything. A few years ago, i did get into a new practice though. Anything I knew I wasn't going to run for a while, I drained the gas, and let it run itself completely out of gas then started it a few times with the choke on. Still no problems when i added gas and fired everything up.

 

[nadogail]

I try to run my small engines out of gas every time they they are started.

 

[charbar]

I run straight unleaded 87 octane in everything without additives in mowers, weed wackers, etc that sit all winter and I've never had an issue.

 

[PCustoms]

I start adding stabil 360 about now (seasonally) every time I refill the 5 gallon gan so by the time I'm mostly finished with leaf cleanup and final mowings they've both been run through pretty good.

Churning through mower gas all summer I might just use plan old 87. I keep 5 gallons premium (ethanol free) for the generator and for saw mix. Once a month or so that gets dumped into something that needs gas and refilled so it's fresh.

About a month back I specifically switched over to premium (non ethanol) with stabil for the mower, as I'm mowing less. I might do 1 more time for leaf cleanup, so there will still be plenty in the tank and the lines/carb are all protected.

 

[WillyBoy]

dhammond, I'll have to admit, I've never seen front wheel fenders on a 739, or any tractor that size. Very nice.

 

[dhammond]

A little off topic here- I don't think I've EVER seen a front fender on any tractor! I had to look twice!

It was a cheap add-on at the time, turns out they are very effective.

I noticed the same. Guessing it moves a little faster than the stuff us poors use

Got them both pre-crazy prices, I did the JD build & price very recently, I literally got two for the price of one compared to now.

dhammond, I'll have to admit, I've never seen front wheel fenders on a 739, or any tractor that size. Very nice.

Thanks, and actually useful turns out, the HDAP tires are mud and snow flingers when in 4WD and with all wheel steer.

 

[lolaetype]

For the two stroke equipment I use the oil that also claims to stabilize the gasoline. I guess it works. The chainsaw I had it in hadn't been used in about 18 months and it easily started after I topped off the fuel tank. The same for all the other 2 stroke stuff; blowers and trimmers. In the riding mower I use Walmart's store brand fuel stabilizer year round. Starting is never an issue.

I used to use ethanol-free gas then switched to "up to 10% ethanol" when the ethanol free gas got hard to find, and noticed no difference.

 

[Fav Onefour]

Non Oxy gas has been a game changer. I'll add that it helps to get it from a station that sells the stuff consistently.
I used to try fancy additives and draining each season. I still ran into trouble every so often with gas going bad. The local small engine shop suggested buying non Oxy from a specific small station down the road. That little change in practice has saved so much hassle. On small engines, I shut off the fuel and run motors dry at the end of the season. That's it.

I also have a pile of snowmobiles. I wouldn't call them small engines, but they are seasonal. I usually try to run non Oxy in the last tank for the season. The sleds don't have fuel shutoffs, but they are fuel injected. I've had good luck without additives, draining, or flushing the system. The snowmobiles bring up the point about stations that sell the fuel consistently. Early season fills often mean getting gas that has potentially sat for months. Oxy blends can start breaking down by that point. I try to be cautious with first ride fills and do the smell test. It's not scientific, but if it doesn't smell right, I stop the fill and go to the next spot. Fresh gas seems to be a big deal with those high strung motors.

 

[PWC Repair]

I've seen Sea-Foam swell up rubber gaskets and o'rings....DON'T use it in your fuel. I've been using Lucas Safeguard for years winterizing customer watercraft.......NO problems come summer. Plus it's only 1oz for 5 gallons of fuel which means it's actually one of the cheaper fuel stabilizers by gallons treated. I only run non-ethanol in my power equipment and play toys BUT, I have tested ethanol fuel in a jar with Lucas Safeguard and it was in great shape 6 months later.

 

[Hank11]

My best standard is to drain the equipment including the carb bowl. 2 strokes I run dry and leave the cap off the tank for a few days. In reality sometimes that does not happen. For a machine I might use, but not right away, I drain the old and refill with fresh.

As far as keeping gas, I keep it in metal cans, only buy non-ethanol and rotate it through so that I always have gas no older than 6 months.

 

[428PI]

I don't do anything special and really don't have a problem letting it set over the winter. Only when I let it sit for a couple years do I have a problem.

 

[finn]

Chainsaws get ethanol free premium. So does the boat.

everything else gets 87 octane with ethanol, except for the last tank of the season, when it gets ethanol free. That includes the seasonal cars.

Small engines are run dry before storing.

I don’t recall ever seeing hard data showing that fuel treatments are effective. Lots of opinions and folklore bantered around, though.

 

[Mike65]

We use Stabil in all our gas engines that will sit over the winter that do not have the oil/gas mix.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I have found getting nonethanol fuel around me in the southern Adirondacks is not a problem. Must be a higher demand here but it's a dollar a gallon more.

 

[Renegade1LI]

This may be why it's easier to get nonmethanol around here.

What kind of gas does a snowmobile use? - Ski-Doo

For those new owners of Ski-Doo snowmobiles, not sure about what kind of gasoline to use? This informational page is for you.

ski-doo.brp.com

 

[Beemer]

Seafoam has saved my **** so many times after winter layup.
I've never had to clean a carb.