STA-BIL Question (MPBGT)

Wow this thread blew up. I'm traveling back from the Mecum auction in Houston right now. I'll read through all this and compose a response. There is a lot of info out there about ethanol some true some half truths. This discussion just proves the confusion in the market place.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Why is this story starting to sound like BS? So you've been starting it every three months with no battery? And you're going to let this vehicle sit on your property for another 10 years...which would put it close to 30 years? What is the owner's plan for the vehicle? Why haven't you asked him for the title so you can junk it?
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Here are a few pictures of the BS Mobile. And I put a couple of bottles of Geek Product on it so you would know that they were not pictures grabbed off the internet.
My friend won't junk it, or (my suggestion) sell it after cleaning it off a little (paint can not be corrected, as you will see) I have been after him to sell it since it was parked in 1997. Or at least keep it registered so it could be driven and moved to somewhere it could be washed and kept up. I even offered to help out with that. Nope. He wanted it left just as he parked it. So now it's a huge pile. :cry:
He is a hoarder. Mostly broadcast electronics and esoteric Hi-Fi. He loves to buy old destroyed speakers and re surround or re cone them. Doesn't give a hoot about any of his cars. To him they are just appliances..
 
I'm not so sure this person is truly a "friend". The person either has issues in need of help, or they are abusing your friendship, or whatever. Something is not right and somebody needs to step up to the plate. I don't mean to be judgmental without facts...but something sure seems out of the norm.
 
Instead of addressing specific threads I'll just answer specific highlights.

1) ethanol absorbs water- not directly from the air necessarily,but more so from condensation in your tank. Keep your tank full= no water issues.

2) shelf life of e10 ethanol blended fuel is about 30 days from production to starting to go bad.

3) isopropyl water removers absorb more or less the same amount of water as ethanol, Heet specifically has fuel system cleaner and other additives to help your car deal with running water through the system.

4) water and ipa /water and methanol do behave differently.

5) there are ethanol free gas stations out there. Mallory sells an ethanol test tube so you can test for yourself if there is ethanol in the fuel. Over 98% of the gas sold in the US is 10% ethanol and above.

6) the issues associated with ethanol are a) short shelf life b) gums up easily and quickly c) causes corrosion on metal and eats away rubber d) attracts water in fuel and becomes corrosive.

7) water in fuel is not a new issue. The problem is ethanol when combined with water has an aggressive PH that corrodes tanks and carbs.

8) the quality of fuel you start with as well as the environment you store it in has a huge impact on stability time.

9) old cars/boats/small engine equipment and power sports stuff have more issues due to a traditionally vented system.

General rule of thumb is if you think you will have gas on your car/boat/gas can/lawnmower for more than 30 days add Stabil when you fill up.
 
Just a comment...I'm always amazed on how little amount of Sta-Bil is needed per amount of gasoline.

Guess I also have a question...How long is Sta-Bil 'good' once one has opened the bottle?

Bill
 
I always try to add STA-BIL first before I fill up, but sometimes I can't. To that end: is there any harm adding it later? Will it still mix in with the gas ok?
 
Angus said:
I always try to add STA-BIL first before I fill up, but sometimes I can't. To that end: is there any harm adding it later? Will it still mix in with the gas ok?
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I don't know what situation you're talking about, tanking up before storing a vehicle? You can always bounce the car on the suspension (I can't in my OP situation because the car is on jack stands), but most fuel injected vehicles, I believe, if you turn the key to the run position the electric fuel pump will turn on and pump the gas through the fuel rail and back to the tank...or maybe it will just pump it until it comes up to pressure, I haven't really noticed a fuel pump running in a long time now that I think of it.

I haven't done anything with my car yet, and I don't think I can use that "run" trick because I have pushbutton start.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I don't know what situation you're talking about, tanking up before storing a vehicle? You can always bounce the car on the suspension (I can't in my OP situation because the car is on jack stands), but most fuel injected vehicles, I believe, if you turn the key to the run position the electric fuel pump will turn on and pump the gas through the fuel rail and back to the tank...or maybe it will just pump it until it comes up to pressure, I haven't really noticed a fuel pump running in a long time now that I think of it.

I haven't done anything with my car yet, and I don't think I can use that "run" trick because I have pushbutton start.
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For long term storage and filling 5 gallon tanks for use in small engines.
 
Well, I wound up doing nothing, and the car pretty much started right up (in the context of not being started for 9 months). Ran fine, and had a little mother's day excursion yesterday that burned up all the old gas. Not sure why I got so paranoid about this whole thing, I guess that snowblower experience got me a little gun-shy.

And a note to anyone that might put their car up for maint. and wind up leaving for longer than you think--make sure it's clean. I thought the car was pretty clean when I stored it, but I only expected it to be laid up for a month or so. I was just cleaning some bugs off the front from the aforementioned excursion, and I found one of those invisible bird poops on the hood that has probably been there since last year and created a small etch in the paint. Small but aggravating...I'm not talking about one of those "shadow" etches...I'm talking about one of those wrinkly clear-wrecking etches--fortunately it's only about a millimeter and I probably have rock chips worse.

Of course I had another surprise after getting it back on the road but that's too depressing to go into...
 
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