My boss and I were talking about this today because we both have generators that we bought during the Oct storm last year. I stored mine the way I’ve stored every seasonal use gasoline powered product I own:
Add stabil to gas, fill to 7/8ths to prevent condensation, change oil, fog carb, put a little fogging oil in each cyl, don’t touch again until next use.
This method has NEVER failed me in 15+ years of storing seasonal equipment, but I’ve never stored anything more than a year.
I think I’m going to drain the 5 or so gallons while I know it’s still good and dump it in the truck when it’s got 3/4ths of a tank or so to get rid of it. Then refill it, fire it up for 15-20 minutes, and then re-fog it. Maybe even change the oil for the hell of it.
With my motorcycles I always just changed the oil, filled the tank, tossed in sta-bil, ran for a few minutes to get the fuel stabilizer into the carbs, and put them away for the winter.
With my motorcycles I always just changed the oil, filled the tank, tossed in sta-bil, ran for a few minutes to get the fuel stabilizer into the carbs, and put them away for the winter.
[/quote]
Right, same here. Lawn mowers, snow blowers, motorcycles, boats (I/O and outboard) cars etc… but all those you end up using again in 6 months or so. My generator may sit there in the garage for 2 or 3 years and I’m wondering if that’s pushing my luck.
I really don’t want to be freezing my ass off on a 10 degree night when we lose power and I can’t get the generator to fire up because the gas has gone bad and fouled the carb.
Technically, if you can keep gasoline completely sealed, in a climate controlled room, with zero light, and zero condensation it has a nearly unlimited shelf life.
How long will STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer keep fuel fresh?For 12 months when mixed into fresh gasoline. Doubling the dosage will keep fuel fresh for up to 2 years.
Since I don’t think I doubled the dose I’ll probably drain it this weekend and refill.
A word to the wise, if you wana keep fuel in a vehicle for longer than 6 months, the best thing to do is use aviation gasoline. AVGAS is built to a VERY high grade, and a friend of mine that work for a refinery says that if normal gas is the equal to being mass produced, then avgas is equal to a hand made precision piece. It can last YEARS with no breakdown, because its not formulated with all the additives. Just an idea, it reduces the need to drain, and adds insurance just incase you forget to drain. Just an idea.
leaded is good for small engines, many people add lead it to small engine fuel. And true, octane can effect Hp, but what like .00001 hp lost on that little guy. I bet the little bit of varnish build up from letting regular gas sit in the carb bowl took that and some more from you already.
i dont worry about regular gas so much as the mixture stuff. if you let that sit especially in a very small engine like a chainsaw or leaf blower, it can really screw things up. but in any case, id say why not drain/refill every 6 months? if you’re just gonna dump it in your truck then why not? not like you’re just throwing away 5 gallons of gas, and its cheap insurance that way too. better safe than sorry