AVB, just out of curiosity does the stabilizer stop the formation of water in it? I can't say I have ever seen it for sale out here, not that I have really looked.
Most common one I've seen is the little briggs sachets that do 5l of fuel for about $4. They are becoming available everywhere - mower shops, bunnings, etc. I just get 5l of fuel, use for a month or 2 and then put the remainder in the car and fill up again.
I only keep 2.5l of premix at any one time (1l 25:1, 1l 50:1 and 500ml of 40:1) - but I can understand why some people prefer to mix 5l at a time and use it over a year.
Norm, The water absorption is still there which is why it must be stored in air tight containers. Just prevents the Ethanol and fuel from degrading otherwise. The only time I have separation is when I leave the fuel sitting in an open container during humid days.
Tyler, 5L converts to 1.3 us gallons and I go through a gallon fairly quickly just doing my trim work here. I went through 2 quarts (4 tankfuls) just the last time I was using my brushcutter in my chicken pen. Considering what I was cutting that wasn't too bad but I only got half the job before it started raining every few days making it a mess to move the remains to the burn pile. I could burn where it is but I think I want to keep the barn, wood fence, and my home intact.
I usually mix two gallons at a time as I use in the shop for repairs of trimmers and chainsaws. I mixed up 2 gallons last week and I am already used half of it. Of course that was in the repairs of 4 chainsaws, 6 trimmers, and one hedger. All these had different mix ratio which is why I use a multi-mix fuel oil and have only one container to deal with. Now of course you have those older Victa engines that may still require the use of 25:1 even with the multi-mix oil as I don't know anything about them.
AVB, I just meant people with little yards that take a whole year (or more) to go through the 1.3 gal of fuel.
When you are working on them (and/or using them) nearly every day of the week, definitely makes sense to do a big batch.
I have heard (3rd hand, so truth probably distorted) about a guy doing a bonfire, went to the garage to get the fuel and the lighter. grabbed 10l fuel tank, put it down on the work bench and grabbed the lighter from the tool box. Now the story goes he put the jerry can down on the work bench, which had a nail stuck in it, which pierced the can.
He carried it to the bonfire site (not far from the garage) tipped the (now 3/4 full tank) on and around the bonfire, and lit it - and the flame ran down the line of petrol straight back into the shed.
I use Sta-bil in my Jerry cans - I have one for 25:1 mix and 1 straight unleaded petrol. I only use bp ultimate for no other reason that I�m pretty confident it has no ethanol according to the data sheets. Sta-bil is supposed to keep fuel from going off or gunning up for up to 2 years. I�ve found it very good. There is also a marine version which is supposed to remove water from fuel and prevent ethanol damage (from the website)
Hi jds303 if you are using BP ultimate then why waste money on adding the stabilizer? I can't say I have ever seen that fuel go off even after several years. I started my old Enfield up a couple of months ago, has been sitting probably 18 months with BP ultimate in it and it fired straight up, and it has a breather in the petrol tank
Hi Norm, it�s only $30 and it lasts me for about 2 years. At least then I can have confidence I won�t have any problems with the fuel I�m using. This is a good little read if you�re interested: https://www.bp.com/content/[Censored]/bp-country/en_au/media/fuel-news/petrol-life-vehicle-tanks.pdf I know it�s a BP document, so take it as you will Also, I meant gumming up in my previous post, didn�t pick up the auto correct and can�t edit now Cheers, John