additives, one or all

Sta Bil ethanol treatment,Yamaha Ring free, Sea foam, Are they all the same so any one is all you need or should you combine them??. Daily use, not long term storage. Thanks

Re: additives, one or all

The Stabil or Seafoam are fuel Stabilizers to prevent fuel from degrading during any storage from a week or two, to a month or more. Use one or the other of them. I use some of it all the time, but more when I'm pulling the boat out of the water and don't plan to run it for a while, and the gas just laying there in the tank. The Ringfree is for carbon prevention and removal from piston rings, grooves, ports, etc., and I use it all the time, especially since my motor is an older 2 stroke type. Use a Stabilizer like Stabil or Seafoam, Ringfree, and a fuel/water separator type filter and you've eliminated most fuel related problems. My motor is a 1999 and never had any problems or issues with it, carbs never been cleaned, runs like brand new! Good Luck!

Re: additives, one or all

You do not need any additives for daily use. Use of them only serves to enrich the manufacturers.

Decarbonizing(Sea Foam, Ring Free) can be done once/year or once every few years, depending on the hours you put on the motor. The stabilizer is probably overkill for winter storage, but it is cheap insurance.

Re: additives, one or all

Chris1956 said:

You do not need any additives for daily use. Use of them only serves to enrich the manufacturers.

Decarbonizing(Sea Foam, Ring Free) can be done once/year or once every few years, depending on the hours you put on the motor. The stabilizer is probably overkill for winter storage, but it is cheap insurance.

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my boats are in a slip all season and the unused gas ...E10.... sits in the tanks . we head up every few weeks and my concern is the gasleft sitting, sucking up moisture. Its a peace of mind thing

Re: additives, one or all

ralph, because your boat sits, you need to treat the gas. The main reason you don't treat it in cars is that you use it all up in 30 days, thus Chris's exceptional condition of "daily use." Most boaters don't.

You hear all kinds of stuff, but I was told that Ringfree is similar to seafoam, and not the same as stabil/startron, the former being for the engine and the latter for the tank. I use ringfree and startron religiouslty on my yamaha; startron or similar on an old OMC. But for the old OMC I am now using ethanol free gas, and I don't run that boat that often. The yamaha I run every 2 weeks in the winter, just to run it, and at least weekly in the spring summer fall.

Re: additives, one or all

A little misinformation here. Any fuel system needs a "periodic" treatment to keep that system clean. It doesn't matter if you run E-10 or regular gasoline. If fuel systems didn't get dirty why is it that when switching to E-10 do carbs, filters, and injectors get clogged with debris? It is because the E-10 is an excellent fuel system cleaner and it cleaned up the gunk left by the great standard gasoline used in the previous life. So fuel systems need a fuel "system" treatment, not just a "fuel" treatment. This is what distinguishes the various products. SeaFoam does both jobs very well and it is also an excellent decarb agent. So make sure you understand what the products are for and what you are trying to accomplish. If you use a product like SeaFoam, it is the only one you need. If the product is specifically to protect the fuel from degradation, then you also need a product like SeaFoam. Since E-10 tends to absorb moisture, you need to protect against that unless you use the fuel quickly. Use a product that does that.

Re: additives, one or all

Look at www. fuel-test .com They have very interesting information on that web.

Re: additives, one or all

Check out: Marine Fuel Additives for lots of information regarding the various products, their ingredients and their uses. My experience with the Stabil and Ringfree has been very positive, and the cost of the additives is cheap compared to plugged up carbs/fuel systems. Read up on this and make your own decisions, Good Luck!

Re: additives, one or all

robert graham said:

Check out: Marine Fuel Additives for lots of information regarding the various products, their ingredients and their uses. My experience with the Stabil and Ringfree has been very positive, and the cost of the additives is cheap compared to plugged up carbs/fuel systems. Read up on this and make your own decisions, Good Luck!

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One thing with stabilizers is how long does a specific brand work. Some are only good for 3 months. So if you live in a cold area and store your boat some time in Sept and launch again maybe April (7 months), Is your stabilizer really doing anything????? So where I'm going is read the fine print of the particular product. I personally like seafoam.

Re: additives, one or all

If your fuel stabilizer only works for 3 months, throw it out and get something that works for a year.

I still do not think stabilizers are necessary during the boating season. Even untreated E10 fuel is good for a month or more, and if you do not use your boat at least once/month, you have other problems...

Re: additives, one or all

Chris1956 said:

If your fuel stabilizer only works for 3 months, throw it out and get something that works for a year.

I still do not think stabilizers are necessary during the boating season. Even untreated E10 fuel is good for a month or more, and if you do not use your boat at least once/month, you have other problems...

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You may be right about not using stabilizers during the boating season, but I always just add a few ounces when I fill up "just to be on the safe side"...Whatever works for you...Good Luck!