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The last few years I have begun to use Stabil (red) in my small engined equipment. I have a pretty large container of it that I have had for a few years. I was just wondering, does Stabil itself have a shelf life?
Thanks,
Bruce

I have no evidence of my opinion, but stabil is basically solvents. It would not surprise me if the shelf life was 50 years. Pure gasoline probably has a shelf life of 50 years. The problem that it gives in your tank over a long period of time is that the additives evaporate out of it causing all sorts of varnish and other residues that give all the problems. Stabil, B12 and other additives change that evaporation process somehow.:laughing:

Maybe someone more chemistry savvy will come along and explain. My education is in Electrical Engineering. We learned about enough about chemistry to understand how a semiconductor works.

My $0.02,
Larry

I believe I read on a bottle of the stabil ethanol treatment some time back that it needs to be used within two years of opening. I think that was the stabil marine treatment.

ILENGINE said:

I believe I read on a bottle of the stabil ethanol treatment some time back that it needs to be used within two years of opening. I think that was the stabil marine treatment.

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HEY! That's cheatin'! Reading the instructions? What's the world coming to?:laughing:

Seriously though, thanks for pointing it out.
Larry

ILENGINE said:

I believe I read on a bottle of the stabil ethanol treatment some time back that it needs to be used within two years of opening. I think that was the stabil marine treatment.

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Yep, the same verbiage(two years after opening) is in the instructions on the recent bottle of "regular red" Sta-Bil I purchased.

Thanks for info everyone. Looks like in the future I'll be purchasing the smaller containers.
Bruce

I have about fifty of the little "sample" size packets that come in the brigs tune up kits do these go bad? Not that I ever use them

I use stabil in every thing car &truck included but I had a bottle hide from me for about 2 yrs. and it smelled and looked the same as a new bottle but I put it in my truck just to be sure.:thumbsup: I would use those little packets in a bigger engine then start putting the date on them.

exotion said:

I have about fifty of the little "sample" size packets that come in the brigs tune up kits do these go bad? Not that I ever use them

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Probably fine, since they are sealed...the warning indicates to use within 2 years "after opening".

Brucebotti said:

The last few years I have begun to use Stabil (red) in my small engined equipment. I have a pretty large container of it that I have had for a few years. I was just wondering, does Stabil itself have a shelf life?
Thanks,
Bruce

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I had a bottle of it go bad after three-four years. It had reddish-brown flakes floating in it. Afterwards I read the label and saw the manufacturer's notice about its shelf-life. I now use Sea-Foam and haven't had any problems. Plus, the Sea-Foam spray cleaner is a miracle in a can. It saved me from a carb rebuild with just one spray.

This was before Ethanol, about 10yrs ago a friend of mine bought a 93 or so Honda Magna motorcycle off of an Army guy that sold it because he is oversea alot and had no time to ride and it had sit for 5yrs in storage with a full tank and Stabil in the gas, but with the carbs drained. When we got her home, my friend put in the new battery he bought and sampled the gas and it appeared good and it was fine and he ran it out through the bike with no hiccups at all. Don't know what this ethanol stuff would do today though.