2000 Yamaha 115 Outboard fuel stabilizer

[99yam40]

sounds like way too many vehicles and other motors to run each often
Yes draining all fuel out of tanks,carbs, and lines is the best way to set them away, but some can be a pain to do that to.
Keep full and treated along with run often so the fuel does not evaporate out of carbs and other places is what I try to do.
A lot of the motors that I open up from other people have water in the tanks and carbs.
Best to keep small tanks of fresh fuel not large ones and keep then inside out of the rain along with the motorized equipment

[DennisG01]

Sorry, Sta-bil, never used Star-Tron (brain fart)

Maybe it's those extra years you have on me...

Interesting. Red Stabil is, of course, a stabilizer. But it does nothing when it comes to the ethanol problems. I wonder if using it with e-gas somehow actually hastened things along in such a short period of time? I'm not sure how - but just guessing on that, though.

[99yam40]

Maybe it's those extra years you have on me...

Interesting. Red Stabil is, of course, a stabilizer. But it does nothing when it comes to the ethanol problems. I wonder if using it with e-gas somehow actually hastened things along in such a short period of time? I'm not sure how - but just guessing on that, though.

I think I read the Red has ethanol in it, so just adds to more problems with E gas
the blue is for marine and does not have ethanol in it. But I have not looked at the lables

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I know what I used (Stabil) was NOT for marine use, just for around the garage..


*On my previous boat, (prior to 1997, a 140 Evinrude looper, V4), the carbs clogged up on me. Cleaned them out (wasn't familiar with fuel stabilizer back then) engine ran fine.

A week later, they gummed up AGAIN!. Cleaned again and asked the marina what to do?

They recommended Gas-Shok which I purchased and used. NEVER had to pull those carbs again. I still use Gas-shok in all my stored fuel.

The boat gets the K-100 (more so to keep any water in the fuel issues at bay) and RF only...

[DennisG01]

I think I read the Red has ethanol in it, so just adds to more problems with E gas
the blue is for marine and does not have ethanol in it. But I have not looked at the lables

I just looked at G o l d Eagles website (manufacturer of StaBil). It "says" it will still stabilize fuel with ethanol in it. It still won't address the problems that ethanol causes, only keep the fuel fresh. But, I assume that means it doesn't have ethanol in it?

K100... Startron... Marine Stabil... essentially these are the same type of product. I suppose it just comes down to which product a person prefers.

K100, according to their literature and videos, does a better job than the other two (although I think they only tested the old, "red" Stabil, not the newer, "marine" formula). K100 did do an interesting video on phase separation, but it is a little over the top with the ratio of water to gas to additive and not really a "real world" scenario so in real-world use it may not matter which product is used (again, though, NOT red Stabil). They also talked about how K100 can reverse phase separation, but it requires an equal amount of additive as there is water. Again, might be impractical in the real world since it may take an awful lot of product and how would one know how much water is in the tank? Probably simpler to just siphon it out.

In reality, the K100 or Startron or Marine Stabil will all keep the water from collecting. The video shows the Startron allowing the water to collect, but only after the sample is sitting, in a lab, undisturbed. Once the sample is moved around, as it would in a boat, it would break down the water into small enough particles that it can burned without harm to the engine.

Note that none of what I'm saying here is that K100 does not do what it is supposed to do. I've never used it and I won't discredit it. Aside from this thread, I've heard from others that they've been using it successfully. My only point is that K100 might be using a little deceptive advertising to show their product as superior to something like Startron, when in real-world use, Startron (or others) would still do the job they are advertised to do.

I think most agree on the RingFreePlus, too. I recently pulled my O2 sensor, after three years of use (didn't realize it was important to pull and clean every year on this engine). It was extremely clean. When I explained this to a local Yamaha tech, he said "You must be using RingFree, otherwise we typically see them getting gunky after just 40 hours".

Main point... these (proper ones for the proper scenario) additives are a good thing. Using them can ONLY help. Pick your favorite, spend a few extra cents per gallon and chalk it up to preventative maintenance to keep the fuel system healthy.

As a side note, I've switched over the diesel formula for Startron as it's the same formula, just twice as concentrated. It costs roughly 20% more per bottle, but instead of a ratio of 1 ounce to 16 gallons of gas, you can use it at 1 ounce to 32 gallons. So much cheaper in actual use.

W o w.. didn't realize I was going to type so much when I started!

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I first learned about K100 at my motorcycle shop. They had maybe 5 or 6
small bottles of different products of each product.

All the bottles were filled with an ounce of fuel, an ounce of each product and an ounce of water.

You could SEE the phase separation in ALL but the K100. Shake them up, all but K100 would separate. The K100 stayed mixed. (its still there, just staying mixed so it'll burn off with the fuel). Look at the video on their site, where they mix the different products, its literally in black and white..

I'm sure you've seen my transom fuel filter(see thru). Since going to Non ethanol and K100, I don't get ANY water in the separator, NONE.

About a year and a half ago, I was having some top end RPM issues (turned out to be the spark plugs). As the fuel was well over 2 years old, (60 gallon built in tank-original 1997, never pulled) I decided to drain it fully.

Sucked it bone dry thru the transom filter, NO VISIBLE WATER and the fuel still smelled fresh. I used it the mower, my neighbor used it in his SUV and Suzuki 140 OB, NO issues..

One thing I'd like to add, the K100 has raised its prices substantially..(2-3 times).. I do have 4 quarts in the closet so I'm good for quite awhile..

[DennisG01]

I've had the same good experiences over the past x-number of years with the Startron. Anytime I've pulled fuel it's been super clean and absolutely zero issues with any small engines, too. I've had some cases where a certain engine or jerry can has sat for an extended period of time, too.

I'm not opposed to moving to a different product, though. Especially if it's proven to be a more effective product. For me, though, I'd rather find some independent reviews/experiments done to prove it, though. I don't mean "you" or "your experiences" as those are "independent", I mean reviews/experiments other than the K100's experiments.

It's hard (I suppose for anyone) to switch products when we've got something that has been working well for us, you know? But again, none of this is to say that the K100 is not a good product - I don't doubt that it is at all.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If it works for you, keep using it!

I just posted on another thread, being in SW Florida, it doesn't get much more humid than down here.

If your out west, condensation is likely less of an issue especially if the tank isn't kept full of fuel.

I'll throw some K100 in my Four Runner (2001, 17,000 original miles) every once in awhile just in case there is some water build up but ALWAYS use Gas-Shok (stabilizer) as I don't drive it often , (usually riding the motorcycle)

[DennisG01]

I just posted on another thread, being in SW Florida, it doesn't get much more humid than down here.

No arguments there!!!

[99yam40]

I first learned about K100 at my motorcycle shop. They had maybe 5 or 6
small bottles of different products of each product.

All the bottles were filled with an ounce of fuel, an ounce of each product and an ounce of water.

You could SEE the phase separation in ALL but the K100. Shake them up, all but K100 would separate. The K100 stayed mixed. (its still there, just staying mixed so it'll burn off with the fuel). Look at the video on their site, where they mix the different products, its literally in black and white..

Real world no one would have equal portions of water ,treatment, and gas in their tank/system.

think of how much water would one ounce of treatment take care of in a tank.

I would also wonder what the octane rating of the fuel would be once the water was introduced along with the treatment at the rate listed on the labels.

In the end it all comes down to how good we feel about putting the treatment of our choice in the tank.
Wish we all had a choice of non ethanol around

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Real world no one would have equal portions of water ,treatment, and gas in their tank/system.

think of how much water would one ounce of treatment take care of in a tank.

I would also wonder what the octane rating of the fuel would be once the water was introduced along with the treatment at the rate listed on the labels.

In the end it all comes down to how good we feel about putting the treatment of our choice in the tank.
Wish we all had a choice of non ethanol around

The 1 oz to 1 oz display, etc is just that, a display. Its my understanding should you have more water in your tank, you'd need more K100..

From their main site:
Prevents Phase Separation in Ethanol Blended Gasoline
Eliminates water and all water related problems
Stabilizes fuel for up to two years, and keeps it fresh
Increases Octane/Cetane ratings 1 1⁄2 to 2 points
Replaces lost lubricity in LSD, ULSD and K-1 winter blends
Cleans engines and fuel systems for better mileage, easier starts, smoother idle, more power and better acceleration
Reduces black smoke, unburned hydrocarbons, CO and particulate emissions
Reduces maintenance costs and down time and extends engine life


G & MG Initial Use, MG Storage Ongoing Treatment
Treatment Ratios: 1:150 1:300
Small Qty Treatment 8 oz. Bottle 10 caps/gal 5 caps/gal.
Small Qty Treatment 32 oz. Bottle 8 caps/gal. 4 caps/gal.
8 oz. Bottle Treatment 8 gallons 16 gallons
32 oz. Bottle Treatment 32 gallons 64 gallons

And I agree 100%, loose this Ethanol crap, period..

[scofflaw]

Most people in the US don't even get the non-eth option. Soo what we do is use some common sense, like only put as much gas in your tank that you will burn off in a reasonable amount of time. Even when I have the non-eth option, I choose to save the buck a gallon difference and use the E-10. This isn't rocket science and like R bolt says... stupidly simple. Keep them engines runnin

[pstephens46]

Sure, and vote for Hillary Nixon and in 4 years we will have E40!

[scofflaw]

One of the up sides of the e-10, it will absorb a certain amount of water which will burn off. Rarely do e-10 motors have water issues. Phase separation is an entirely different problem but can be avoided easily enough.