Stabil in fuel?

[InfinitySurf 302]

I have heard it recommended both ways for boat....add stabil (Marine blue color) to every tank of fuel year around....and to not run any stabil at all during summer and only use it at layup.

Just wondering what the opinions on this are from others. Are their benefits in your opinion....pros/cons/ fairy tales? On bottle, it says it prevents corrosion, cleans fuel system and removes water, on front of bottle it says "for every fill up", but it also pointed toward ethenol fuel (E10-E15) used in high moisture environments. (I only buy ethenol free for boat and to store around house for generator, mowers, etc). I have used this in at least every other fill up and have never had a fuel issue....but that could be cause I have been lucky to not buy bad fuel either and I am sure that ethenol fee fuel is better anyway.

[gravity12 83]

I use a product called enzyme at the end of the season before i store it. Not sure if it helps but it cant hurt. 

[Kalidgh 37]

If you buy Premium fuel...you dont need Stabil or other additives.It wont hurt but its not required

[DrNate 426]

I have used the Blue Sta-Bil in my boat on every fill up since it was new because I do not have ethanol free gas where I live.  Ethanol attracts water and for a marine environment, that's just bad news.

If I had access to ethanol free fuel like you do I would only use it at end of season for storage.

By the way, I've never had a fuel issue either and I'm at 700 hours

[nownow 5]

I run Blue Sta-Bil at about a half ounce to 5 gallons during most of the year, and 1 ounce to five gallons through April and October when I'm using the boat less (or may end up having fuel that sits all winter).  We have ethanol-free available, but it doesn't turn over very quickly.  Personally, I'd rather use fresh E10 and Stabil than potentially stale E0. 

550 hours over 5 years with the last boat (Malibu VTX) and it was fine - except, of course, for the fact that the fuel tank vent was in a stupid location and it got water in the vent line whenever I was heavily listed.  Dumb design.

Honestly I started using Sta-Bil when I had a carbureted I/O and used the boat less, but I consider it cheap insurance.

[Bigcatpt 408]

9 hours ago, Kalidgh said:

If you buy Premium fuel...you dont need Stabil or other additives.It wont hurt but its not required

The grade of fuel that you buy does not make any difference to how fast it breaks down and goes bad if it has ethanol in it.  This is one of the big myths about fuel.  Most research shows you are just throwing away money if you are putting higher grade fuel in your car or boat above what the engine specifications call for.  

[DrNate 426]

38 minutes ago, Bigcatpt said:

The grade of fuel that you buy does not make any difference to how fast it breaks down and goes bad if it has ethanol in it.  This is one of the big myths about fuel.  Most research shows you are just throwing away money if you are putting higher grade fuel in your car or boat above what the engine specifications call for.  

 I thought this was true as well.  It does seem odd, however, that some of the higher end PCM engines state in the manual that 92 octane is required.  I was curious to know if anyone knew why exactly

Edited April 11, 2018 by DrNate

[Troy 234]

1 minute ago, DrNate said:

 I thought this was true as well.  It does seem odd, however, that some of the higher end PCM engines state in the manual that 92 octane is required.  I was curious to know if anyone knew why exactly

Just due to the engine tune. they can advance timing to get more power with the higher octane. 

[nownow 5]

What he said.  Depends on the tune.

The Indmar Monsoon 350 in the Malibu called for 89.  I just always ended up using 93.

The PCM ZR409 in the Centurion calls for 87 (and specifically approves up to E10, not that I'll stop Sta-Bil) so I'm now using 87.  Helps offset the consumption difference between running loaded at 5,600 lbs and running loaded at 10,000lbs ...

[Mrwick 65]

You guys are on the right track.  Octane is relavent to compression ratio and timing.  Higher compression engines need higher octane fuel to prevent detonation.  The same can be said if the tune is pushing the limits on timing.  I can tell you first hand from many hours on a dyno that buying expensive premium pump gas to burn in an 87 octane engine is a waste of money. Now if you were buying a race gas that had additives that promoted combustion, that would be different.  The sta-bil on every fill is cheap insurance that if you get water in your fuel, it stays dispersed enough to not cause problems.  For the record, stabil accualy counteracts the effectiveness of your fuel/water separator.  If your boat has a fuel/water separator, it’s best to use additives only at storage.  If you don’t have one, every fill up is best.

[Wylie_Tunes 146]

Another point about the octane levels. The EPA regulates a certain level of additives to be put in all refined gasoline. Once its pulled form the pipeline by a distributor, a in exxon or shell for example, they can and may add soem of their own crap to it. They may add more/different to the higher octanes just to make it different and more expensive. Bottom line, there is nothing to regulate that ALL "premium" pumped into your tank, is all the same. So no, premium cannot be a blanket substitute for a marine additive.

I use the blue in the shop for boats as well as use it in ever can of gas for my lawn equipment. I dont think its needed every fill up for an engine thats used regularly, but it will not hurt to use it. I strongly recommend it for layup.   

[InfinitySurf 302]

6 hours ago, Mrwick said:

You guys are on the right track.  Octane is relavent to compression ratio and timing.  Higher compression engines need higher octane fuel to prevent detonation.  The same can be said if the tune is pushing the limits on timing.  I can tell you first hand from many hours on a dyno that buying expensive premium pump gas to burn in an 87 octane engine is a waste of money. Now if you were buying a race gas that had additives that promoted combustion, that would be different.  The sta-bil on every fill is cheap insurance that if you get water in your fuel, it stays dispersed enough to not cause problems.  For the record, stabil accualy counteracts the effectiveness of your fuel/water separator.  If your boat has a fuel/water separator, it’s best to use additives only at storage.  If you don’t have one, every fill up is best.

Thank you all, pretty much what I was figuring...above info was surprising to hear but actually makes sense when you think about it. With my ZR409, I have a fuel/water spin on filter and FCC paper fuel filter....I actually just changed both filters a few weeks ago (FCC was pretty dirty looking) but did not find much water in either of them, I thot it was a little odd....could be cause of consistently running the blue stabil, never even thot of that.

Think I will back off the use during summer for the above reason....plus I do use boat on regular basis and use only ethenol free, 87/89 depending on which gas station I go to. Every couple months I dump my 5 gallons cans in boat to keep them fresh (I keep about 60 gallons at house for mowers, generators, etc in case of emergency).....and I do have Stabil in those, that way boat will still get treated occasionally during summer use.

Just before layup, I always double the recommended "normal" dose and run it thru engine for at least 30mins.

[Mrwick 65]

Most people (even mechanics) don’t really understand how a fuel/water separator work.  There’re several methods but the most common is to coalesce the water with one layer of filter media and then strip the coalesced water droplets with a hydrophobic mesh.  When you add a product that emulsifies the water in the fuel like stabil, it counteracts the ability of the coalescing filter media to do its job.

[InfinitySurf 302]

Made sense to me the moment you said that in above post and I think further proof was not finding any water in my separators. Didn't expect much....but usually at least some in all previous boats I have had and changed, I always pour into clear container and look after changing.

Thanks again for the info

[Mrwick 65]

7 hours ago, Wylie_Tunes said:

Another point about the octane levels. The EPA regulates a certain level of additives to be put in all refined gasoline. Once its pulled form the pipeline by a distributor, a in exxon or shell for example, they can and may add soem of their own crap to it. They may add more/different to the higher octanes just to make it different and more expensive. Bottom line, there is nothing to regulate that ALL "premium" pumped into your tank, is all the same. So no, premium cannot be a blanket substitute for a marine additive.

I use the blue in the shop for boats as well as use it in ever can of gas for my lawn equipment. I dont think its needed every fill up for an engine thats used regularly, but it will not hurt to use it. I strongly recommend it for layup.   

You are spot on with the consistency.  Not only does it change with brands of fuel, but what part of the country you live in makes a huge difference as well.  The epa has many “zones” that they  require different additive packages to be used.  It’s crazy stuff!

[InfinitySurf 302]

@ReSession Your box is full (or is at least saying it cannot receive messages), was gonna ask you a question about the Shred Stixx board....wasnt sure how else to get you a message. Wondering length and year of board...and where it would ship from? Thanks

[ReSession 165]

Dang, sorry about that - maybe I need to pay my dues? It's 4'9" and I'm in Burlington, VT - 05408 is the zip I'd ship from!