I stopped to gas up my boat and I was talking to my wife and I told her we were going to put Stabil in the tank when we got home. The guy at the next pump said he worked for a local boat shop I knew (was wearing the shirt also) and said they got a bulletin from Yamaha that stated Yamaha would deny all warranty claims if Stabil was found in the gas.
Went over to a Yamaha outboard owner’s forum http://www.yamahaoutboardparts.com and
did a search and nothing mentioned about this issue. You hear stories from time to time like this and they are usually false. Yamaha like to push their Ring Free which is good stuff but rather pricey. I know many folks who use Stabil blue, Star Tron and Seafoam (my favorite) with good results meaning nothing has happened and engines running fine.
Chris V, what is the issue with Stabil Red and ethanol? I use stabil blue in the boats, but red in the lawnmower, blower, chainsaw, power washer, etc. I am careful about ethanol in the boats, but not so much in the lawn equipment.
Unless you’re letting the gas sit in your tank for more than a couple of months you don’t need the red Stabil as it is only a stabilizer. However, you do need to use the blue Stabil or Startron or some other form of ethanol treatment with every refueling with ethanol gas. I’ve tried pretty much all of them and have settled on Sea Foam for a stabilizer and cleaner and the Startron for ethanol treatment. They both go in with every gallon and when I last changed my fuel/ water filter I didn’t have a single drop of water in it.
what if i put startron in non-ethonal gas? I fill up now with non-ethonal, but will put both sea foam and startron in it. i do that in case there really is ethonal in the fuel i get even though it says not.
My mechanic said Seafoam to keep it clean and StarTtron for ethanol. Been using both together for more than a year now (after having all 3 carbs rebuilt). No problems thus far.