2+4 Fuel conditioner

[Spaniard_King]

Hmmm bit confused.. WTF is goin on here????

[boney-leg]

Sorry about that folks but the site crashed on me there and I'm stuffed if I can work out why the title and not the message got through :-X :-X Take two ...

Evinrude put this product out but I can't find out any details about it from their site. Can anyone tell me what is in the stuff and more importantly - will it affect a fibreglass tank??

[Spaniard_King]

boney,

It's a fuel conditioner, not sure if it will affect glass tanks or not. It is designed to lengthen the life of fuel. Is this your intended use as I would not recommend using it. Better off just keeping the tank low and topping up with premium unleaded when you are going to use it.

[boney-leg]

Spaniard - I live in a remote location and fuel quality is suspect at times. It isn't old fuel I'm worried about but don't want jets gumming up from some of the crap fuel we get. Motor has just started to develop idling problems and I'm leaning towards fuel as the problem.

[KGW3]

Fuel Conditioner (stabiliser) is a product that is designed to extend fuel life by creating a surface layer when stored and prevents gum and other nastys from forming on the surface. Quicksilver, Petrolpower and now Evinrude among others are available. The Yanks swear by the stuff, and I always use it ( Chemtec Petrolpower), as I am not a frequent boater and it sits for months at at time. Never had any problems using it and you only need 100ml per 1000 litres.

[bigbrian47]

been using lucas conditioner for years
no problems with premixed fuel sitting for extended periods
cheers brian

[cormorant]

Yanks love it but mostly for winterising their boats and tanks in low temps. Not sure how it performs in high temps or where there is a big day / night temp variation which would create a convection current in the tank. If Iwas going to ry a product pick one recomended by an aussie fuel manufacturer and confirm it is good for 2 stroke mix.

[KGW3]

Cormorant
The stuff I use is Aussie made (Chemtech Petrol power) available from Whitworths and some Supercheap stores. It is highly praised by marine engineers and I can tell you that is does no harm to 2 strokes, as I have used it in every tank for 6 years. My motors always perform well. Can't do links here, but look up Chemtech on google and you can decide from what it claims.

[boney-leg]

Anybody know if it reacts with fibreglass tanks??



Here's your chemtech link ... http://www.apchem.com.au/Downloads/CPD/Chemtech%20Petrol%20Power%20FandB%20Flyer.pdf

[KGW3]

I would doubt it, as it only floats on the surface and consists of mainly liquid hydrocarbon along with toluene, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, and mineral oil . Another manufacturer is Fuel set by liquideng

[winston]

My understanding is that fuel conditioner is predomonately propan-2-ol (old name isopropyl alcohol), its main function is to allow water to mix with fuel and thus remove it .This is possible as propan-2-ol is soluble in both petrol and water and as you know water and petrol and water are insoluble in each other. Works a bit like metho but much better. The surface layer comment sound very dodgy especially when fuel is shaken in rough water.

[boney-leg]

So if ethanol reacts with the resin in fibreglass tanks then other alcohol blends are no good either ... including isopropyl alcohol??

I read a speil on conditioners that talked about it bonding to the petrol molecules which sounds abit different from the layer on top theory.

[FNQCairns]

Yeah, they all work by creating a surface layer as a barrier against the vapor pressure difference between the fuel and the environment, thats why if the boat is moved after adding and it breaks the barrier, it is game over, I am not real comfortable with the chemicals used so I don't touch the stuff.

cheers fnq

[KGW3]

It is designed to extend the life of fuel whilst stored. When the boat is moved and then stored again it returns to the surface. The best way to minimise water and gum is a water seperator and use your fuel with 8 weeks max. Fuel stabiliser is for when you MUST store fuel.

[boney-leg]

I understand the fuel life part of the product and as I live on an island I don't have problems with old fuel as such ... always burning fuel at least 3 times a week. I picked up on the blurb about cleaning jets and lines etc. I run a water seperator but on my last motor I still had carbie problems. Maybe the fuel was old from the pump but it is more likely it is conteminated and I'd like a product that can get rid of that foreign build up. Maybe this is just a dream we all have ...