Sta-Bil follow-up/field test -14 months later

[Rider]

A little more than a year ago, 14 months, to be precise, I filled 4 NATO Jerry cans with 4.5 gallons of gasoline and 3 ounces of Sta-Bil. I wasn't really sure how long this would keep the gasoline good, but my plan was to store it for 6-12 months and then rotate it.

I let it go a while longer than that. This weekend, I emptied one can into my gas tank when it was a bit less than halfway full. So, basically, about a 25% mix of fresh and stored gas. I drove about 60 miles with no problems, no rough running, etc. so I poured another can into the tank and drove around doing errands today. Still running fine. I refilled the tank and cans with regular while (I assume) stations are still using the winter blend.

The gas in the can looked fine, smelled fine, and seems to burn (in a direct injection turbo engine) with no problems. So, it would appear that for medium-long term storage, this is a viable solution.

Does anyone know the upper bound on gasoline storage with fuel stabilizer?

 

[MisterHappy]

can you try it in a small engine? Those are often more finicky about what they eat...

thanks for the report, anyways.

 

[JimB]

i was under the impression that it was 2 years. but poured into a

20 gallon tank from a 5 gal can would you notice the difference;

 

[Dija]

Thanks for the info, but like Misterhappy says I'd be interested how it does in a small engine.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

I store gas for over a year w/ sta-bil and use it in my snow blower, chain saw, weed whacker, and lawn mower. No problems. I don;t even drain gas out of any of my small engines. On the contrary I make sure there is sta-bil in the fuel, and I just top them off and start them once a month. They've all run fine for years.

I don't know about anything older than a year though. That is typically the max length of time I'll keep it for. It gets dumped into my truck and rotated after that.

 

[Rider]

can you try it in a small engine? Those are often more finicky about what they eat...

thanks for the report, anyways.

I'll put some in the lawn mower when I get the chance. It hasn't been fired up in a couple of years, so it should be a fun test.

I did this with the truck because my thinking was that this would be more likely used for transportation than lawn-mowing, but I can see where powering a generator would be a close second. Hmm, maybe I'll run it through the generator. It's tank is empty atm.

 

[shiggi1]

Sta-bil is only designed to keep gas "fresh" for six months. I have stored gas using Sta-bil for about eight months then attempted to use it in my generator for when I went camping. The generator started right up and ran fine for a couple hours without a problem.

 

[alphawolf]

Good info!

Someone lazy like me will invest in some stabil.

 

[kharma]

I wish my DI turbo engine ran on regular... it would probably start swearing in German if I put my lawnmower/generator gas in it!

 

[Alien]

Anyone try PriG

PRI Advanced Fuel Treatments

 

[GM-GUY]

I just bought some PRI-G, PRI-D, and PRI-G small engine, currently testing as I am out of Amsoil stabilizer and have heard nothing but good results with this stuff.

I store Gas 1 year in an aluminum take-off boat tank - no issues, even in the 2012 Fusion used it 90% 1yr/10% existing in the tank and the car ran fine, no warning lights, no hesitation. Store 92 octane gas from January for the best results - highest volatile content and least ethanol.

Diesel - I have two years+ in storage right now - with lubricity treatments and cetane boost - my Kubota starts and runs fine summer/winter.

 

[Rider]

I wish my DI turbo engine ran on regular... it would probably start swearing in German if I put my lawnmower/generator gas in it!

My old 1.8t would run on reg, but it definitely ran better, faster, and got better mileage with super, which I pretty much always used. VW tunes their engines for super.

The Ford twin-turbo Ecoboost engine will run on anything, but I think you get a little better mileage with super. It runs fine on regular, and it probably isn't worth the extra money. There are wars being fought on the F150 forums over whether it makes a difference.

 

[garandman]

Folks storing fuel long-term seem to favor PRI-G. I've used it in our boat (100 gallons, stored September - May) with good results.

But have been using Sta-Bil Marine Ethanol formula for small engine fuel.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

I just ran a Briggs engine type generator this last power outage on gas that I stored five years ago with Sta-bil and it didn't miss a beat.

 

[JayMcB]

5 years ago gasoline might not have had the same mandated Ethanol content.

I have used Pri-G and Pri-D with success for 2 year old fuel.

I rotate out the stock on everything else, with the exception of the 50 gallon tank in my deuce, which gets 10 gallon fresh diesel topoffs, howe's and or seafoam to condition it

 

[Wrench75]

I haven't bought gas for my truck in over a year. I remove old boat gas from marinas and people who don't want to pay out the ass to get rid of it. Other than occasionally getting some stuff with a decent amount of water or rust in it, it has all run in my ford ranger. The oldest was 3yr old with stabilizer in it. It ran just fine.

The biggest thing you have to look out for with long term storage is ethanol breakdown. It will form a gritty varnish over time. So if you store it for more than 2 yrs. I would run it through a filter, a very fine screen works well, and throw a bottle of octane boost in or a few ounces of pure acetone. The person who said small engines are pickier is correct. The same gas that ran fine in my truck won't run in an outboard and some lawnmowers/chainsaws don't like it either. I haven't tried any in a generator but I wouldn't expect one to like it.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

5 years ago gasoline might not have had the same mandated Ethanol content.

I have used Pri-G and Pri-D with success for 2 year old fuel.

I rotate out the stock on everything else, with the exception of the 50 gallon tank in my deuce, which gets 10 gallon fresh diesel topoffs, howe's and or seafoam to condition it

Yes, the ethanol content was the same back then as now.
I normally rotate all my gas cans too but this one was back under a bench in a shed and missed the party for a while. It worked just as well as the others even though it was five years older.

 

[BenDover]

If stored in air tight containers the storage life is greatly improved. I use 15 gallon HDPE drums that have a threaded plug to make them air tight. PRI-g is the preservative I use. People report 2 years storage and more with his setup.

You likely won't get gret storage results with he gas in tanks of power equipment as most are not 100 percent air tight.

 

[Roscoe]

Where can you purchase these Gerry cans from ?

The ones with the seam look like they wouldn't store as well as without.

Edit : yes I know how to google. I'm looking for a recommendation or good experience. Local source is best.