Gas Stabilizer

[Bob, Sharon & Buster]

Does anyone add a gas stabilizer when parked for extended time? Do you try to keep the fuel tank full?

[Bob, Sharon & Buster]

Does anyone add a gas stabilizer when parked for extended time? Do you try to keep the fuel tank full?

[53 Merc]

If by an extended time you mean less than a month, you will not notice the effects of a fuel stabilizer. If you mean a month or more, certainly a fuel stabilizer will benefit your fuel due to the volatility of today's gasolines.
It is important to add the stabilizer during tank fill and then drive enough to ensure stabilizer throughout the system.

All fuel tanks expected to be unused for more than a week should be kept full to reduce condensation. It's the temperature swings and the humidity in the air that condense the vapor to water. Water leads to rust and failed tanks, as well as other problems.
Good luck
Ken

[John Harrelson]

Our company has several gas trucks and over a dozen diesel engine trucks, from the standard pickup trucks to the big reefer and tanker trucks.

Plus, we have 15 Honda 6500 model generators.

After wildland fire season is over each year (normally by end of October) the trucks and generators sit all winter long until the following June 1st.

We have never put any type of fuel treatment in the trucks or generators.
We have never had any problems with them starting and running.

So I know from personal experience that neither gas nor diesel will be harmed if left sitting for 6 to 8 months..

However I have never kept any type fuel for more than a couple of years, so I can't say how it will fare for that long of a time.

So if it makes you feel good to spend money for those fuel additives, then .. please feel free to do so...
as for me, I spend my money on more important things like, ice cream, movies, fuzzy dice for the windshield....

this is of course, just my opinion as always,

John

[CyberVet65]

Fuel stabilizer is mostly to prevent varnish build up in fuel jets and carb parts on a gas engine.
Fuel stabilizer in a diesel engine will prevent diesel "algae" from forming in the tank. This can and will cause serious problems with the injectors.
Often stabilizer is required in areas with significant humidity and temp variations.
When I lived in Virginia all the farmers that I knew used a diesel fuel stabilizer. It seems that an algae forms in diesel fuel if left setting in a high humdity area.
Living in Utah I have found fuel stabilizers work well in my ATV's that I put up over the winter. Also in my snowthrower that I put up in the Spring.
Chet

[Gary RVRoamer]

The Petroleum Industry Council says petroleum fuels are good for a minimum of six months without any deterioration, so storage for periods shorter than that should require no "stabilizers" at all.

All fuels, however, can suffer from contamination while in the tank. Leaving aside the obvious issue of dirty or rusty tanks, for gasolines the primary source of contamination is water vapor, which condenses on the sides of the tank and collects in the bottom. The main preventative is keeping the tank as full as possible to elimnate the condensation. The main fix, short of removing and draining the tank, is a "dry gas" additive, which aborbs water from the fuel. Fuel line antifreeze is also a "dry gas".

Diesels suffer from water contamination too, probably even more so than gasoline. That's why diesels have water separators in the fuel line. But diesel also suffers from algae growth in the fuel itself. Warm, humid weather is most conducive to algae growth, but it can happen under most any conditions. Use a diesel algaecide if the fuel will remain in the tank longer than a few months. Some diesel owners use algaecide regularly, since the very large tanks on some motorhomes may not get filled all that often. Chances are you would not encounter a diesel algae problem, but if you did it can make an awful mess of your fuel system and may require expensive cleaning/repairs.