My car will be stored 6 months of the year here in Canada. Up until my last fill up I was still able to get some non-ethanol premium, but it appears now it is basically impossible to come by in my area.

From what I gather it's less than ideal to store this stuff for long periods, but not sure there is much of a choice. As I understand it, on account of the 10% ethanol content I'm forced to take now fuel stabilizer is not enough to thwart the potential concerns. There are products from Startron and K100 that supposedly help deal with the problem when storing? But some info out there suggests it is basically snake oil and doesn't really do anything.

Even worse, I've come across some info out there suggesting that this 10% ethanol content may actually be worse for the environment than just having regular non-ethanol gas...Wouldn't surprise me.

In any case, curious to hear what the thoughts of others are on this stuff, what your plans are for storage in this regard, etc...

 

I use STA-BIL 360. Supposedly it is made for use with fuels that contains Ethanol.

https://www.goldeagle.com/product/st...60-protection/

 

Yeah, okay, pretty sure I had come across that as well in some shoot outs against the K100 and Star tron product.

So you are storing for similar periods of time and having no issues? Seems to be one of those topics that is hard to pin down good information for.

I've never really had to consider this issue, as I always have only had daily use vehicles up until now.

Appreciate your feedback.

 

My car will be stored in a climate controlled environment. I have the impression that this makes it less of a concern if the environment is heated, but I figured as a precaution I will still go through the hoops of using a product that claims to deal with the ethanol issue beyond just basic stabilization.

Again, there are lots of suggestions out there this stuff is just snake oil, but if it's all the same I'll put everything on my side....Snake oil or not ;-)

 

Basically I avoid road salt. In my area that can be anywhere from November - April. However the last few years the winters have not been that bad. I have had the car out a few times between those periods when the roads were clear. Otherwise it is stored.

I also use Stabil in my snowblower as it can sit during the winter months for extended periods when there is no snow. I have not had any issues.

 

Apparently 15% ethanol could become a new norm in the not so distant future, so these kinds of considerations may become even more important. Perhaps even for regular use outside of storage.

Stabile seems to promote the idea of using this for every fill up. Can see why they do from a business standpoint, but seems perhaps excessive for 10% ethanol.

 

You don't need much of it. One ounce treats five gallons of gas.

 

Just move to Vancouver (or Vancouver Island) and you'll be able to take her out almost every day.

Problem solved

 

Good tip. Thanks LOL

Cheers

 

We have 10% ethanol in all our gas where I live. I store the car from Nov/Dec through Mar/Apr depending on weather so usually 4-5 months of storage and I've never used any treatment and never had an issue.

 

You will not have a problem if you use Stabil or similar.
You should fill the tank. That minimizes the air in contact with fuel.
Worse thing is a nearly empty tank.
Over inflate tires to 50psi to minimize flat spots.
Leave the trickle charger connected.
If possible in the storage environment, leave the driver's window down, and car unlocked.
Then if there is a power problem, you will still be able to access the cabin and the hood to charge the battery.
Put cover on car and kiss it goodbye!!

 

Why leave window down?

 

In case it gets locked accidentally!!
Belt and braces!!
My friend had to have his stored Porsche towed to the dealership when unable to open it with dead battery.
Not taken any chances since.

 

The best thing is to leave the tank full to minimize condensation…and to leave the car on a CTEK (or similar) maintainer if you have access to a power outlet. That way you can lock the car with no worries. Or, yes, move to Vancouver Island so you can use the car year round 🙂

 

Hi DMeister,

The last time I was at my local Shell station (a couple days ago), the 91 Octane pump had a sticker on it that says it contains zero ethanol. I'm hoping that doesn't change when they all switch over to "winter gas".

 

Interesting. I was under the impression that all Shell gas was already 10% ethanol. I guess I’ll have to check.

Probably will switch soon. I read it’s being forced everywhere in Ontario.

 

What I read was that there's a proposed law change to include increasing amounts of ethanol over several years, to a final maximum of 15%. But at this moment (as far as I could find) it remains a proposal, not regulation, in Ontario.

 

If I was paranoid (??) I would guess the idea is to take the majority of older ICE vehicles off the road by only allowing fuel they can not use.
All part of the liberal push to battery cars.

 

We are fortunate to have a gas chain, KwikTrip that offers 91 no ethanol. I have (almost) NEVER put ethanol in anything I drive. The few times it has happened, I put in the least needed and then filled up with the 91. We also found that using it in our small engine/lawn/garden equipment made a big difference in those puny carburetors. One product I like is Sea Foam. comes in a can and generally available at farm stores. A tad of that and some carb cleaner in the Lawn/garden items keeps them ready to start. I store the F in heated garage with some amount of gas in it, not filled. The E is 'winterized' with SeaFoam in the gas, stuffed in a CarCoon, (battery disconnected) and put in our storage garage.

 

I thought I remembered reading that these F-types are good to handle up to 10% as officially stated in the documentation for it? Beyond that? Not sure.

That would be interesting if they would do that. Wow, that would be incredibly annoying, but not shocking.