How exactly does Stabil preserve fuel ?

[wowthisexists]

In laymam's terms, is it possible to explain this?

1) What exactly happens to gas when it "goes bad"?
2) What does Stabil do to prevent this?
3) Can Stabil itself go bad if on the shelf for a few years?

 

[OneEyeJack]

Does this help?

...or this?

 

[147_Grain]

Welcome to the Forum!

Stabil slows down the separation of water in the fuel and lowers the rate of oxidation, especially from the ethanol in the gasoline. Bad gas is when the chemicals separate, resulting in poor performance. Perhaps a chemist can elaborate further on additional specifics you're looking for.

 

[Donald]

Remember there are 4 StaBil products if you could the one for diesel.

 

[fdcg27]

My experience with Stabil indicates to me that it seems to do nothing.
Between treated and untreated fuel, I can detect no difference in starting and running after storage.
It would therefore be redundant to try to explain how Stabil works.
I can't see that it does.

 

[CKN]

I have use Stabil for several winters. When I start my lawn mower in the Spring I have no issues. My friends who forget to pour it in-typically take their mowers,edgers, etc in for a Carburetor rebuild due the carb being clogged with bad fuel.

I can't explain why it works for some and seemingly not for others.....

 

[djb]

Originally Posted By: CKN
I have use Stabil for several winters. When I start my lawn mower in the Spring I have no issues. My friends who forget to pour it in-typically take their mowers,edgers, etc in for a Carburetor rebuild due the carb being clogged with bad fuel.


That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

First, you are here. On this forum. A forum for people that are a little off -- far more likely than most to take good care of their equipment. Confirming that, you are taking extra care when you put the equipment away. You probably take extra care with the fuel you buy, putting it into a clean, sealed, type-approved container. And replace the cap each time, don't let it sit in the sun, etc.

Basically, the people that use a fuel preservative are the people least likely to need it.

 

[Bluestream]

Read the post by Boomer...Search is your friend

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1724363

 

[SubLGT]

And in Boomer's words:

"Chemicals like Stabil provide a sacrificial antioxidant, usually a hindered phenol. In the presence of oxygen, the phenolic is preferentially oxidized to a quinone. This protects the fuel from reacting with oxygen UNTIL THE SACRIFICIAL COMPOUND IS CONSUMED. CO2 is not really capable of carrying out oxidation and is an inert gas so, yes, it would protect fuel from being oxidized provided that it did not slowly leak out and be repalced with air containing oxygen. However, CO2 is capable of reacting with various reagentslike strong base. so as Labman suggests, nitrogen is better and argon is the best of all."

 

[Merkava_4]

It's loaded with formaldehyde. I can smell it.

 

[MolaKule]

AS boomer said it contains anti-oxidants, metal deactivators, and corrosion inhibitors with such 'fancy' names as 2,5 dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives or Heterocyclic sulfur-nitrogen compounds in a light oil, often called a, "top" oil.