Fuel stabiliser advice (petrol)

[RobWales]

Hi,

I've recently bought a 24ft cruiser from on inland waterway user which has had very little use of the last two years, it's not going to be used by me until the spring 2017 as I want to carry out some work over the winter months.

It currently has approx 250ltr of petrol in the tank which has already been there for some time and I'm wondering what if anything I should to stabilise this fuel over the coming months?

Many thanks, Rob.

 

[sarabande]

we use Briggs and Straton Fuel Additive.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/n...e-how-to/browse/fuel-additives-that-work.html


Chain saws, strimmers, generators, etc. Seems to work well and keep the diaphragms and fuel lines from dissolving with the ethanol. Certainly the chains saws start much better.



I would be inclined to remove that amount of petrol and use it in a vehicle (diluted), and then seal the tank and breather to prevent condensation. Start the new season with fresh fuel.

 

[Trundlebug]

Or this from Frost

http://www.frost.co.uk/sta-bil-fuel-preservative-stabilizer-236ml.html

 

[VicS]

Hi,

I've recently bought a 24ft cruiser from on inland waterway user which has had very little use of the last two years, it's not going to be used by me until the spring 2017 as I want to carry out some work over the winter months.

It currently has approx 250ltr of petrol in the tank which has already been there for some time and I'm wondering what if anything I should to stabilise this fuel over the coming months?

Many thanks, Rob.

I would be inclined to remove that amount of petrol and use it in a vehicle (diluted), and then seal the tank and breather to prevent condensation. Start the new season with fresh fuel.

I think I agree with Sarabande.

If the petrol has already been in the tank for sometime it may be too late to treat effectively with a stabiliser. Therefore better to empty the tank and start off in 2017 with fresh fuel

 

[nigelmercier]

... If the petrol has already been in the tank for sometime it may be too late to treat effectively with a stabiliser. Therefore better to empty the tank and start off in 2017 with fresh fuel

I agree.

Use it in your car at about 10% mix with new.

 

[RobWales]

Doubt it'll mix with the diesel in my car, but worth a try thanks.... ;-)

 

[simonfraser]

I add a water remover additive now, not had a problem with fuel since.
Some suggest crystals develop in wet fuel and these jam up the jets.

Not using the engine would concern me, any way you can run it for half an hour at least on a regular basis ?

 

[Big John]

Hi,

I've recently bought a 24ft cruiser from on inland waterway user which has had very little use of the last two years, it's not going to be used by me until the spring 2017 as I want to carry out some work over the winter months.

It currently has approx 250ltr of petrol in the tank which has already been there for some time and I'm wondering what if anything I should to stabilise this fuel over the coming months?

Many thanks, Rob.

250ltr (55 gal) Seems a lot of petrol on a 24ft inland waterway boat.

 

[thinwater]

I add a water remover additive now, not had a problem with fuel since.
Some suggest crystals develop in wet fuel and these jam up the jets.

Not using the engine would concern me, any way you can run it for half an hour at least on a regular basis ?

a. If the gas contains ethanol, "water remover" can just make it worse, since it is most often ethanol. If it is one based on glycol ether (cellosolve), engine manufacturers warn against this chemical due to gumming and intake damage. Very bad, though the damage takes considerable time to develop. Obviously you can't actually remove water, only get it to dissolve.

b. The crystals are aluminum corrosion products. The solution is a good corrosion inhibiting additive, such as Merc Stor, Biobor EB, or Soltron. Keeping salt out is vital too.

 

[sarabande]

TW

My understanding is that additives such as Biobor and Soltron are designed primarily to treat the fuel bug. Their main purpose is not to inhibit corrosion in fuel tanks or pipes. If biocides successfully kill fuel bugs which can create acidic by-products such as hydrogen sulphide, then corrosion inhibition is a bonus.

There are numerous purpose-designed anti-corrosion products available, but it is best to specify where the "corrosion" is taking place, e.g. on the surface of the aluminium of tanks (ethanol is implicated in attacking the surface oxide, but needs oxygen from water to be effective at doing so), or in the pipework/diaphragms/gaskets of pumps and carburettors, so that an appropriate product and application regime can be arranged.


There is a school of thought which considers that if water in fuel is not removed physically at a separator, but allowed to remain dispersed in the fuel, then the spray pattern, wear rate, and combustion characteristics in the injectors and upper cylinder chamber can be adversely affected.


We are all agreed that water in any form should not be in fuel tanks. Prevention is much better than cure, and is a matter of good tankage design (filler route, inspection plates, pickup point. tank drains, water traps, etc). Sadly, most people are concerned with responding to a fuel problem that arises from poor design, or the filling of already contaminated fuel.

 

[thinwater]

TW

My understanding is that additives such as Biobor and Soltron are designed primarily to treat the fuel bug. Their main purpose is not to inhibit corrosion in fuel tanks or pipes. If biocides successfully kill fuel bugs which can create acidic by-products such as hydrogen sulphide, then corrosion inhibition is a bonus.

There are numerous purpose-designed anti-corrosion products available, but it is best to specify where the "corrosion" is taking place, e.g. on the surface of the aluminium of tanks (ethanol is implicated in attacking the surface oxide, but needs oxygen from water to be effective at doing so), or in the pipework/diaphragms/gaskets of pumps and carburettors, so that an appropriate product and application regime can be arranged.


There is a school of thought which considers that if water in fuel is not removed physically at a separator, but allowed to remain dispersed in the fuel, then the spray pattern, wear rate, and combustion characteristics in the injectors and upper cylinder chamber can be adversely affected.


We are all agreed that water in any form should not be in fuel tanks. Prevention is much better than cure, and is a matter of good tankage design (filler route, inspection plates, pickup point. tank drains, water traps, etc). Sadly, most people are concerned with responding to a fuel problem that arises from poor design, or the filling of already contaminated fuel.

Yes, corrosion is the problem. I have run many testing on this and am working on developing and ASTM method, in cooperation with OEMs. Big project.

Remember that with ethanol you cannot remove the water. It dissolves up to about 0.5%, depending on temperature.

* Biobor EB (ethanol buster) is not Biorbor. It is an ethanol-specific product focused on corrosion. Very effective.

* Merc Stor is focused on corrosion. Very good.

* Startron (US version of Soltron I think) is reasonably good. They make an ethanol version that is better.

The US has lots of good ethanol anti-corrosion products because we have been using E-10 for a long time. Virtually all US gas is E-10. The corn lobby is pushing for E-15. It is a bad idea, but we suffer from a huge agribusiness lobby.