who has best gas

[bucketmouth64]

I was wondering who has the "best gas" to put in a vehicle. Aren't they all the same other than the additives they put in? You have the national companies advertise they have stp, invigorate, blue planet, detergent gas and so on. Then you have the independents that have the mid grades at regular octane prices and their own additives. I've read some don't use certain brands because the brand causes performance issues in engines. Do some really have watered down gas? Who has the quality gas?

[knoppers]

I know the gas out there now, has soo much gunk in it, its bad on many things. I read a article in a snowmobile mag that said we should put stabil in our gas, since the gas is soo bad. I know I had fuel gauge problems in my truck, I took it into the dealer, and they told me that the gas gunks up the the system, and told me to put in a bottle of techron, but at 12 bucks a bottle, it can get expensive. that fixed the problem, and I never had to add anymore, this truck was only 2 years old. I have seen the shell commercials, saying that they put things in the gas that helps reduce the gunk, but I have no idea were any shell gas stations are around here.

[Wildabeast]

Except for the odd shipment of out-of-area product (mostly occurs in the summer when demand is highest) your station is supplied with gas from a nearby refinery with an additive package speced by the affiliated company (shell, marathon, etc) or the jobber.

[Dellfin]

A lesson I recently learned from my snowmobile repair shop, after a recent $129 carb clean, is that ethanol is one of the culprits wreaking havoc on our sleds, 4 wheelers, and boats that sit without use for long periods. Another is the corrosion preventative that the refineries add to the mixture to keep their pipelines from rusting out. I understand that one of the few things we can do is to use non-oxygenated (non ethanol) fuels in the machines that aren't used on a regular basis. It's when the fuel in these tanks have a chance to break down and separate that leaves the gunk in the tanks, carbs, and gas lines.

I was referred to the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) web site where they have a listing of all gas stations that sell ethanol free fuel. The list is updated 4x per year and there are many more stations than I thought. It's located under the "Features" tab.

I'll be buying fuel for my toys at one of these in the future...can't hurt.

[Jeremy airjer W]

A lesson I recently learned from my snowmobile repair shop, after a recent $129 carb clean, is that ethanol is one of the culprits wreaking havoc on our sleds, 4 wheelers, and boats that sit without use for long periods.

If you know there going to sit than add seafoam to the fuel and save yourself the $129. You can buy an awful lot of seafoam for that!

[LwnmwnMan2]

Except for the odd shipment of out-of-area product (mostly occurs in the summer when demand is highest) your station is supplied with gas from a nearby refinery with an additive package speced by the affiliated company (shell, marathon, etc) or the jobber.

This is the correct answer.

It's basically all the same gas with each companies different additive (maybe).

My dad hauled gas for Holiday for years (20+). Some days/nights they would haul out of their own tanks, but if the gas from Koch or Ashland was cheaper, they'd be sent over there to haul out of the refinery.

Ashland and Super America are / were the same company.

If I didn't have school, I'd ride along and we'd be loading at Rack 1, Super America truck in Rack 2 and independent operator hauling for small town gas station in Rack 3.

The only ones that were different are BP, their tank farm is in Roseville. Although, I'm sure the same thing happened there. If BP could get gas cheaper from Koch and / or Ashland than what they paid to put the gas in their own tanks, I'm sure they'd be heading down to Rosemount as well.

And yes, I realize that Ashland is in Saint Paul Park, not quite Rosemount.

[CJH]

Lawnman hit it right on the head. There are only so many suppliers in the TC's (three that I know of - Rosemont, St Paul Park, and the pipeline in Roseville). How many gas stations are there? Do the math........

[harvey lee]

Originally Posted By: Dellfin

A lesson I recently learned from my snowmobile repair shop, after a recent $129 carb clean, is that ethanol is one of the culprits wreaking havoc on our sleds, 4 wheelers, and boats that sit without use for long periods.

If you know there going to sit than add seafoam to the fuel and save yourself the $129. You can buy an awful lot of seafoam for that!

I ride my 4 wheeler only in the fall during archery and gun season. I use to also use it for ice fishing but no more.

This last fall I had some issues with the carb and took it into the dealer for a check up and repair.

Long story short, water in fuel and who knows how and they also stated that I cannot let it sit for 5 months at a time and not expect to have issues with todays fuel.

$750.00-don't ask me how water got into the fuel as I have no answer for that. Never sat in the rain and is shedded all the time.

I now put av gas in the tank for over these long periods and things are better.

Crappy gas today and thats it.

[backlash 1]

Harvey

Did I read that right- $750. for a carb rebuild on a 4-wheeler ?

[Black_Bay]

Do a search for Top Tier Detergent Gasoline.

[bucketmouth64]

So it basically comes down to what you are sold on as to what additive is in the gas that works for your vehicle.

[knoppers]

I know in my boat, which has a built in 40 gallon tank, the water sinks to the bottom of the tank, when the tank gets low, the motor runs bad. I was told its the water that accumilates(spelling) in the tank over time. I have tryed putting in isopropel in my tanks, which is supposed to evaporate the water, but with no luck. I have heard to put in stabilizer, I will try this in every tank from now on.I beleive stabile makes a product formulated for todays worthless gas, I will have to try it.

[Scott K]

If you are using gas with ethanol in it, you shouldnt need to add any isopropel. Since isopropel is just ethanol. I would make sure the hose in your tank isnt sucking air when it gets low.

[JollyT]

I think most of the problems people are having with water is due to the fact that alcohol is hygroscopic. In cars and trucks this doesn't matter much because all modern fuel systems are sealed. But, with boats and small engines there is air exchange through the vent holes. The alcohol pulls moisture out of the air until the alcohol cannot hold any more and separates out of the gas. Then you have a diluted alcohol water mix on the bottom of the tank. As I say, this doesn't happen with the sealed fuel systems in vehicles, just the old style vented systems.

[vister]

all small engines should run premium only, with absolutely zero ethanol. ethanol is alcohol which dries thing out. and we all know them ice augers, atvs, and snowmobile engines are way more fussy than our everyday drivers. ethanol use in two strokes usually calls for increased jet sizes. or, just run premium. they are designed for it anyways.

[Bandit155]

I had a rough idling ATV and the dealer told me to put in some Mercury engine cleaner (used for Mercury outboards). A 12 oz. bottle is good for 72 gals. of gas, so I put in less than 1 oz. in the full 6+ gal. ATV gas tank. Ran it around for a while and it cleared right up, and yes I run non-oxygenated gas in all my small engines because I also had to replace a carb because of using gas w/ethanol a few years ago. I haul fuel and we use the same trailers to haul gas, clear and red diesel, and jet fuel so it really doesn't get cleaned out between loads even though we drain it down the best we can.