Use of fuel stabilizers in HMVs

[david moore]

Presumably, stabiliser helps stop the gas going bad - but does nothing to stop the perils of ethanol/water?
Will switching to hi-test for my MB jeep hasten valve problems? Maybe only ca. 200 miles per year makes that not an issue?

David

[chris vickery]

David

Your valve problems have more to do with the fact that you are running unleaded fuel in an engine designed for leaded fuel.
Optionally, the use of hardened valve seats allow for the use of modern unleaded fuel.
You can purchase a lead aditive for old engines to help with the old style valve seats. Some guys run AV Gas which is actually leaded but not technically legal to run in on road vehicles...
For a couple hundred miles per year I would not worry about it.

[Perry Kitson]

I think the use of high octane fuel will eliminate the ethanol problem. Most fuel companies post the ethanol content on the pumps. Regular fuel (87 octane) usually contains 10% ethanol, mid grade (89 octane) around 5% ethanol and the premium (91 octane) is usually ethanol free. I have been told ethanol actually lowers the octane rating of fuel it's added to, increasing fuel consumption.

Perry

[chris vickery]

The only issues I can see using 20l fuel cans as an auxillary tank are:
1) it is not the engineered system designed fir said vehicle so technically not legal or MTO/ Transport Canada approved
2) leaving a fuel system completely drained creates it own problems due to condensation forming in steel fuel lines as well as the drying out of fuel pump diaphrams and rubber components

[Jon Skagfeld]

Chris: Reference our recent telecon...

That web-site cites CTC 91 octane as being ethanol free.

Well, I went to our local CTC gas pumps and the pump just showed the decal "May contain up to 10% ethanol". It didn't discriminate between octanes; the decal covered all three.

I went into the kiosk and asked "Does your 91 octane have ethanol?'

Answer: As of 01 March 2015, yes.

So it looks like Shell V Power might be the only choice left, as if that's a choice!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi All

Sorry to hear that ethanol fuel has now become widespread in Canada, he have been suffering with the stuff in the US for years.

My observations on fuel stabilizers:

• They sort of work, the US gas goes flat very fast with or without stabilizer additive.
• Stabilizer does seem to help with the water absorption and separation
• Power loss and fuel economy from gas going flat is very marked, I've done engine test stand test with stale (3 months old) and fresh gas engine running on fresh gas all warmed up and running on fresh gas, switch tanks to stale gas as the fuel in the system is used up and the stale gas hits the carb, RPMs drop and the engine takes on a unhealthy note.
• When running 3 month old gas in the generator there is marked drop in max power out put of the generator and how much load it will carry, but what is even more marked is the drop in fuel economy which drops by 30%. Burn through the stuff in the tank and refill with fresh gas and generator carries more load and fuel economy is back. Power loss with the generator is significant enough that now I have 3 sealed five gallon cans which I keep full. But once a month in the winter I dump the all in our regular cars and refill with fresh.

For year prior to the change in fuel each fall I would fill all the tanks on the trucks before parking them for the winter. Then if we had extended power outage I had 84 gallons of fuel on hand. No power outage would just use up the fuel in the trucks in the spring. Came the fuel change and the trucks run like crap in the spring. As a rule of thumb now if any of the antiques start running crappy I drain the fuel (use in regular car) and refill the tank with fresh fuel before even thinking about looking for a cause of the running crappy.


Yes, I use Stabil Marine in the trucks and in the fuel cans.



Cheers Phil

[Bob Carriere]

First of all we are sold on removeable 5 gal. outboard motor tanks for safety. As we are still finishing work on the trucks and need to do some welding the tank can come off so easily. Also if closed tight and being plastic we do not seem to be having stale gas problems or separation within the gas tank as reported on US Chev forums.

I do keep extra Hi test gas in similar 5 gal. Specter containers with no makor problems.... container are full to the top and sealed tight. I do rotate the fuel in the lawn mower tractor and for paint gun cleaning but a lot of my gas is over 3 months old at time.

Hi test is more expensive short term but does run better in the truck and in the chain saw, mower, slurry pump, pressure washer, etc.

In fact I do not even bother with fuel additive except for the full tank of the electric generator to insure quick start in an emergency .

Cheers