RJ_RS_SS_350

Well, it's been 2 1/2 years for this tank of gas, I've stabilized it twice. But yeah, I'm glad I changed it. Adding to the problem is this special blend of gas we have here in California. It eats up certain types of rubber. My dad had to change out the priming bulb on his weedeater every season due to rot, even though he ran it out of fuel after each season.

Bob109

If I read this right he was close,, about 2 1/2 years before he pumped 1/2 out,, I would got all I could out and refilled with fresh stabilizer, hope ya have no problems next year??? Ya I wouldn't leave it empty, stabalizer should be good for the trimmer over winter even with the cali gas.

Grizzly old man

I know a lot of folks that use fuel stabilizer.

I have never used fuel stabilizer except in my Ski Doo. When the snow melted that year I put in Sta-bil fuel stabilizer and left the sled sit all summer. In the fall when snow fell again I figured I'd just get the sled out and go.

There was some kind of whitish goop in the tank and the fresh fuel could not flow. I built a fire in the garage and took the tank off the sled and hung it upside down to get the crap out.

I am not sure if it was lining the tank or just the Sta-bil and gas mix or what but whatever it was it burned well. Gave off a plastic smell when it did and quite a bit of smoke.

Never used Sta-bil again and never had problems with the sled when I did break it out for the season.

In the summer of 2004 I went to the local gas station and filled my MGB, was planning on taking my daughter for a spin. We didn't get out of the gas station before I had a small electrical fire. The starter had stuck and burned up a bunch of the wiring, I have never fixed it.

I have been using the gas I put in the tank since then, mostly in yard equipment but I did put 2 gallons in our Sonic last summer and it seemed to burn fine.

843de

A lot of "Bad Gas" problems arise just from your location, RJ being in California where they muck with the formulation of Pump Gas on a whim, is known for crappy fuel that "goes off" quickly.

Here in the South, as Don mentioned, we don't suffer from as much Federal/State mandated fuel blending, so gas in a sealed container will last a good while.

The biggest issue is the chemical components seperating, or in the case of Ethanol Blends, their Hygroscopic qualities which suck moisture from the air.

I still go to a neighboring County to buy "Pure Gas" from one particular Shell® station, they refuse to sell the 10% Ethanol Blend fuel, despite the State leaning on them more every year.

RJ_RS_SS_350

5.25 oz. Lucas deep clean fuel system cleaner, 1/2 bottle of Seafoam, and about 1 oz. of StarTron, in a full tank of gas. Idled for about 40 minutes. Then 2K RPM for a minute, then 3K RPM for a minute. I'll run it a little more tomorrow. It ran really good, smooth.

I agree Bob, I think I got it just in time, glad I didn't wait til summer. But this Cali gas is bad. My dad mowed my yard last year while I was gone for the summer, but he forgot to run it til empty. I had(relatively) a lot of work to get it started the next season, even with the stabilizer in.

I took the HHR to fill the gas cans. I rarely have the DIC set to anything but coolant temp. Well this time it was set to avg mpg. As I drove away, the mpg was at 10 and dropping fast. I didn't know why, until I looked in the side mirror and saw my gas door open and the cap dangling. There's a first time for everything. Filling the cans distracted me from the routine of filling the car up!