Gasoline / ethanol treatments worth testing

[thinwater]

I'm winding up for an up-date on gasoline additive testing. I will, of course, run untreated gas, Biobor EB, and Stabil 360 Marine as a baseline. In the past we have tested:

• Startron
• Seafoam
• Valvtect
• Merc
• CRC
• Power Research

Additives that I have not tested before, but will this time, include:

• Lucas SafeGaurd
• Yamaha Ringfree
• Evirude BRP 2 + 4

Obviously, Amazon is full of no-names I'm not going to waste my time on. The tests cost money (lab and field).

[rslifkin]

Along the same lines as Seafoam, I wonder what effect Marvel Mystery Oil would have? I doubt it would do anything for preserving gas, but I'm curious if the extra oil and supposed cleaning ability would do anything for keeping carbs clean, not-sticky, and happy.

In general I'm curious to see what results come out of this testing.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Along the same lines as Seafoam, I wonder what effect Marvel Mystery Oil would have? I doubt it would do anything for preserving gas, but I'm curious if the extra oil and supposed cleaning ability would do anything for keeping carbs clean, not-sticky, and happy.

In general I'm curious to see what results come out of this testing.

We tested MMO. No effect. We also tested several 2-stroke oils re. ethanol corrosion. It helped, but not as much as the better additives. Seafoam was actually one of the most effective additives. PRG, PRI, original Stabil (360 Marine is much better around salt and is very good), and Startron not so much.


BTW, this is all E10 testing.



Since I started testing and using one of the best additives (there are several very good ones) in 2012, I have not worked on a carb (except one-time on several new-to-me motors I got cheap because they wouldn't run), and I have 6 motors.
* keep the gas dry
* use a good additive

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by thinwater

We tested MMO. No effect. We also tested several 2-stroke oils re. ethanol corrosion. It helped, but not as much as the better additives.

Good to know. I'll say from anecdotal experience that the blue Stabil 360 Marine seems to work well. I cracked open the Quadrajets off the boat engines this winter and both looked spotless inside despite seeing both E10 and E0 gas over the last 12+ years since either carb had been opened up. And I've never had a carb gum up in any equipment with the blue Stabil in the gas, even burning 18 month old gas.

[thinwater]

Stabil refomulated for ethanol + seawater exposure ~ 2014, creating Stabil 360 Marine. It is much different from the red Stabil. Much better for boaters.

[Kettlewell]

How about Techron Marine Fuel Stabilizer and Ethanol Treatment? They use PEA in their automotive product and in my experience is about the only gasoline treatment that does anything for a car. It really does seem to clean the fuel system. I believe the marine product also uses it. https://www.chevronlubricants.com/en...on-marine.html

I have also had great results with Sta-Bil 360 Marine. It goes into every tank of gas I purchase for my outboards, my motorcycle, and my snowblower and I have never had carburetor problems since using it. I routinely store gas over the winter and it works perfectly the next year.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

How about Techron Marine Fuel Stabilizer and Ethanol Treatment? They use PEA in their automotive product and in my experience is about the only gasoline treatment that does anything for a car. It really does seem to clean the fuel system. I believe the marine product also uses it. https://www.chevronlubricants.com/en...on-marine.html

I have also had great results with Sta-Bil 360 Marine. It goes into every tank of gas I purchase for my outboards, my motorcycle, and my snowblower and I have never had carburetor problems since using it. I routinely store gas over the winter and it works perfectly the next year.

Techron has done very well several times, solid product. No need to re-test.

[Kettlewell]

Techron has done very well several times, solid product. No need to re-test.

Have you tested the marine version of Techron?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Have you tested the marine version of Techron?

Yes. Very good.

[CaptTom]

Thanks for bringing some real-world testing data into this market! It's so hard to tell whether any "snake oil" additives are really doing anything.

I hadn't heard of using SeaFoam as a gasoline additive for long-term storage of small gasoline engines. Ethanol-free fuel isn't sold around here, except in small cans.

Since I always have some SeaFoam on hand, it would be great if I could use that instead of StaBil for off-season storage of things like outboards, lawn tractors and such. So far I've had good luck with StaBil, so I wouldn't want to switch unless SeaFoam was at least as good for this use.

[Kettlewell]

Is there a link to the latest Practical Sailor findings on these treatments? I can find a bunch of older articles, but none that mentions Techron Marine, for example. Not interested in old formulations either. What are the best currently available products?