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Car Forum / Jeep / August 2005Fuel gas tablizer & Generator maintenance
My folks have a gas powered generator that they've never used, but have on hand in case the power goes out and the basement starts to flood. I just fueled it up and added some stabilizer, as god knows how long it could be before it gets used. My question is this - how long can stabilized gas sit before it too goes bad? (And what does "bad" mean anyhow?) Thanks all. JP ******************* My Jeep is rusting. I use Sta-bil towards the end of the fall and all winter in the plastic gas cans for the mower and the snowblower. The manufacturer claims it stabilizes gasoline up to 12 months at regular concentration and 24 months at double concentration. See the link below. http://www.goldeagle.com/sta-bil/all_about_sta-bil.htm I buy it at the end of the season when the lumber yard is wanting to get rid of it and will sell it at a loss. I don't know that I would leave fuel in the generator year-round but you might check with the manufacturer on that. How long do they expect outages to last? Running 24/7 these things use a lot of fuel. In an outage lasting 4 days a 3500 watt generator will burn around 50 gallons of gasoline. > My folks have a gas powered generator that they've never used, but have > on hand in case the power goes out and the basement starts to flood. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > ******************* > My Jeep is rusting. They probably wouldn't run it 24/7. At night they'd shut it down I'm sure. We probably haven't had a 4 day outage in years. Last time it was an ice storm that wreaked havoc for weeks in some spots. Thanks for the info. JP Even with stabilizer its best to run the engine dry so that you dont get any gum and varnish drop-out in the carburator passages. If you dont want to run the engine dry then consider to put a drain cock on the carburator bowl to make it easier to remove the gasoline. A yearly maintenance of a carburator flush with isopropyl alcohol will ensure that all the gums and varnishes are gone. 24 months is about the best you can get out of stabilized gasoline, less if you have any *copper or brass* components or tubing, etc. Check the carburator and replace ALL brass/copper parts with nickle plated or stainless .... dont know what do with brass jets, except to wash out with isopropyl every so often. Stored fuels 'react' with copper and copper bearing alloys ... its a catalyst for 'drop-outs' of gum/varnish, etc. > They probably wouldn't run it 24/7. At night they'd shut it down I'm > sure. We probably haven't had a 4 day outage in years. Last time it > was an ice storm that wreaked havoc for weeks in some spots. > > Thanks for the info. > JP That is an absolutely a must for two cycle engines and their reed valve, such as a chain saw. God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O mailto:LWHughes3rd@aol.com http://www.billhughes.com/ > Even with stabilizer its best to run the engine dry so that you dont > get any gum and varnish drop-out in the carburator passages. If you [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > copper and copper bearing alloys ... its a catalyst for 'drop-outs' of > gum/varnish, etc The one lungers are pretty good about accepting most any fuel once they are running. But they can be real stinkers to get started on old fuel. My general definition of old fuel is: high performance 3 months max, automobile with FI, 6 months, older vehicles, tractors, and small engines- 12 months. Using a stabilzier will double that. Keep a can of starting ether nearby. The best bet is to figure out some sort of fuel rotation. Drain the tank on the generator, start it up and run all the fuel out of the carb. Fill a couple of 5 fallon cans with fresh fuel. Every 6 months, pour the fuel in your oldest vehicle. Better yet, pour it into the tank of the kid down the street with his old beater. Replace with fresh fuel. > My folks have a gas powered generator that they've never used, but have > on hand in case the power goes out and the basement starts to flood. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > ******************* > My Jeep is rusting. For maximum reliability, develop a schedule of running the generator for an hour once a month, or whatever other schedule you decide on. Then you know for sure that the generator will start and run. Once you develop the schedule, stick to it. Better fuels for storage considerations are propane and diesel, although diesel shouldn't be stored above ground in sub-freezing temperatures. In some climates it will gel. Other things to consider if power outages are a problem are heat and light that do not use electricity. Earle Hi Earle, I guess you never experienced the jellyfish like microorganisms that contaminate diesel that sits for any length of time like in a boat, or large truck. When disturbed by pumping agitation, this growth forms a green slime that can quickly clog fuel filters. God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O mailto:LWHughes3rd@aol.com http://www.billhughes.com/ > For maximum reliability, develop a schedule of running the generator > for an hour once a month, or whatever other schedule you decide on. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Earle Actually diesel has just as short a 'shelf life' as gasoline. Especially worse if you have any copper alloys in the delivery system. For longterm storage and reliability ... nothing beats propane http://www.bp.com.au/fuelnews/ADF1402.pdf > For maximum reliability, develop a schedule of running the generator > for an hour once a month, or whatever other schedule you decide on. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Earle |
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