I am considering using this product for winter and summer use in my fuel tank.My dealer recommends this product. The problem seems to arise in many areas where more than 10% ethanol is added to the gas! Yamaha has done a lot of testing of the amount of ethanol in fuels purchased at gas stations and has found ( i am told ) that some stations were as high as 30% ethanol! This can cause major problems for vehicles not made to handle that concentration. Any body have experience with this product?
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any experience with StarTron enzyme fuel treatment?
- Thread starter cdweyna
- Start date
Artiee
R1200RT
I picked some up about 2 months ago and so far I'm optimistic about it.
When I first bought my RT, there weren't many gas stations with E10 and I was routinely achieving 50-55 mpg. When E10 took over all the stations I saw that drop to 45-48 mpg. Since I've been using StarTron I've seen it go back up to 50-53 mpg.
The 8oz bottle says it treats 48 gallons which means one bottle will cover around 10-12 fill-ups. At around $7.00 per bottle, that adds only 60-70 cents per tank.
My only complaint is, when adding around 4 gallons to my tank (the usual point when I fill up), I only need to add about 2/3 of an ounce of StarTron, but just end up having to eyeball it.
So far my opinion is it appears to help.
When I first bought my RT, there weren't many gas stations with E10 and I was routinely achieving 50-55 mpg. When E10 took over all the stations I saw that drop to 45-48 mpg. Since I've been using StarTron I've seen it go back up to 50-53 mpg.
The 8oz bottle says it treats 48 gallons which means one bottle will cover around 10-12 fill-ups. At around $7.00 per bottle, that adds only 60-70 cents per tank.
My only complaint is, when adding around 4 gallons to my tank (the usual point when I fill up), I only need to add about 2/3 of an ounce of StarTron, but just end up having to eyeball it.
So far my opinion is it appears to help.
dwestly
New member
My dealer supplied it for the K-bike engine stalling issue after they cleaned out my K13GT throttle bodies of the gunk left by the ethanol. Says BMW recommends a fuel additive as the interim fix until they can get a permanent one. StarTron is evidently heavily used by the marine industry, which has been seriously hit by the ethanol gunk deposit problem. You can get it at any marine supply store. So far it has prevented a repeat of the stalling. Seems like good stuff...
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Artiee
R1200RT
http://mystarbrite.com/startron//content/view/12/34/lang,en/
One additional note to my earlier comments....
The fuel strip in my fuel tank had just begun to act up (a known issue which sometimes occurs overtime). Since I started using StarTron, I've not had a repeat of the faulty fuel gauge readings.
As described, this product will prevent phase separation of the ethanol and water combination. Since ethanol attracts moisture any condensation or absorption of the moisture from the air will overcome the weak suspension of gas and ethanol. This forms a ethanol water combination that falls to the bottom of the tank called phase separation. This stuff will gunk up everything. star tron is supposed to prevent the water and ethanol from combining, and therefore preserves the octane rating of the fuel. It lets the water settle to the bottom of the tank as it would with pure gas and gets drawn in with gas and burned. My dealer recommends it because of problems he encountered first with snowmobiles. Says it really works! I just got some today at Wall mart.
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so now we have star-tron
Sea Foam
Techtron
Marvel Mystery Oil
Stai-bil
RX-P
many other less widely used.
No real way for me to test any of them, real world driving is too variable.
I use techtron in the gas before an oil change, sometimes.
I use seafoam or the mercury Marine stuff to clean carbon, sucked in thru the vacuum fittings, before an oil change sometimes. This did seem to help. Seem is not a scientific, and not reliable.
I use stabil in gas I keep for things like the boat or generator, and in moms van that gets driven 3000 miles a year. I do not know if it works, I have not had any bad gas, other than in barn finds. I have stored gas up to 2 years with and without the stuff. It is cheap though.
I have used RX-P. No real improvement in Motorcycle. I used it in my van, and got 1 mpg improvement, then my fuel pump failed. Related, I will never know. Not using it now, that fuel pump was "fun" and expensive to replace. Of course it died on a full tank.
now, is there any independent scientific tests that show any of these work? That is other than making money for the "inventor".
Rod
Sea Foam
Techtron
Marvel Mystery Oil
Stai-bil
RX-P
many other less widely used.
No real way for me to test any of them, real world driving is too variable.
I use techtron in the gas before an oil change, sometimes.
I use seafoam or the mercury Marine stuff to clean carbon, sucked in thru the vacuum fittings, before an oil change sometimes. This did seem to help. Seem is not a scientific, and not reliable.
I use stabil in gas I keep for things like the boat or generator, and in moms van that gets driven 3000 miles a year. I do not know if it works, I have not had any bad gas, other than in barn finds. I have stored gas up to 2 years with and without the stuff. It is cheap though.
I have used RX-P. No real improvement in Motorcycle. I used it in my van, and got 1 mpg improvement, then my fuel pump failed. Related, I will never know. Not using it now, that fuel pump was "fun" and expensive to replace. Of course it died on a full tank.
now, is there any independent scientific tests that show any of these work? That is other than making money for the "inventor".
Rod
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beemeup
2009 R1200RT
Fitch Catalyst
I've used the Fitch Catalyst in my BMW R1200C for 3 years and it does exactly
what it says it will do. It keeps my fuel stable over long periods of time and actually increases the octane. You put them in the tank and that's it, you're done.
I stored my "C" with no stabil in the tank over 3 winters and the gas was perfect each spring. I recently traded her in on a new R1200RT and I added the Fitch Catalyst to the tank last weekend. Check it out:
http://www.fitchfuelcatalyst.com/
Don
I've used the Fitch Catalyst in my BMW R1200C for 3 years and it does exactly
what it says it will do. It keeps my fuel stable over long periods of time and actually increases the octane. You put them in the tank and that's it, you're done.
I stored my "C" with no stabil in the tank over 3 winters and the gas was perfect each spring. I recently traded her in on a new R1200RT and I added the Fitch Catalyst to the tank last weekend. Check it out:
http://www.fitchfuelcatalyst.com/
Don
mpmarty
New member
I don't buy E10 for my RT. I buy 92Octane unleaded without the booze. I do however use StaBil fuel treatment when laying up for the winter months and make sure the tank is full also. I treat the tank before the final fill up and ride it home to circulate the stuff.
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The introduction of ethanol blended fuels has been felt the most by the marine industry. Although good results have been realized with this product I don't believe any product currently available will prevent "Phase Separation". This product may allow your motor to deal with it better but if enough water is present problems will happen.
From the Mercury Marine Web Site, Info on Ethanol
http://www.mercurymarine.com/serviceandwarranty/outboardfaqs/ethanol.php#16
Are there any additives that can allow the phase-separated mixture to remix when added to the fuel tank?
No, the only way to avoid further problems is to remove the water, dispose of the depleted fuel, clean the tank and start with a fresh, dry load of fuel.
Is an additive available that can prevent phase separation?
There is no practical additive that can prevent phase separation from occurring. The only practical solution is to keep water from accumulating in the tank in the first place.
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
MPMarty..
Where are you buying this vintage gasoline? (I haven't seen no-ethanol fuel anywhere on the east coast or mid-west..) Is this at an airport (apparently av-fuel doesn't have methanol in it..)?
The way the law is written - it's not necessary for every pump at a station to have the 10% sticker on it, as long as one pump has it.
PGlaves
#13338
We traveled in about 30 states this summer. And encountered a lot of ethanol. But not everywhere. The great plains cornbelt states are the worst, but in some states like Iowa it is not in every grade. Iowa for example subsidizes the user by having a lower tax on fuel with ethanol. So at many stations the "mid-grade" is 5 or 10 cents cheaper than "regular" because mid-grade has ethanol and regular does not. We encountered several stations with signs - Real Gas - No Ethanol In our Gas - etc.
Ethanol is most widely used (and required) in those areas where air quality fails to meet Federal air quality standards due to ozone or other contaminants from combustion which are higher than standards allow. Then the state or metropolitan air quality plan takes the easy way out and mandates ethanol and in some places those goofy hose hoods designed to wash your fuel tank with gasoline - absolutely defeating their intent to capture gasoline fumes.
Now some farm state politicians want to increase the ethanol content to 15% across the board. I have no way of knowing how this will all play out over the years - but am certain that history will record it as a huge boondoggle. Follow the money folks, as ADM gets rich and our engines get ruined.
Ethanol is most widely used (and required) in those areas where air quality fails to meet Federal air quality standards due to ozone or other contaminants from combustion which are higher than standards allow. Then the state or metropolitan air quality plan takes the easy way out and mandates ethanol and in some places those goofy hose hoods designed to wash your fuel tank with gasoline - absolutely defeating their intent to capture gasoline fumes.
Now some farm state politicians want to increase the ethanol content to 15% across the board. I have no way of knowing how this will all play out over the years - but am certain that history will record it as a huge boondoggle. Follow the money folks, as ADM gets rich and our engines get ruined.
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
snip some good stuff..
If it sounds too good to be true.. and many of these do. Well.. remember PT Barnum.
Techron has been tested by BMW and recommended by BMW for cleaning carbon from the intake tract. It does this quite well (I was one of those who had problems with their BMW cage engine back in the 1980's, and Techron cleaned it up.)
Sea-Foam fans claim too many uses for me to believe it's good for all of them. Sorta like Dr. Quack's Magic Elixer.. If it sounds too good to be true..
Sta-bil is recommended by many manufacturers for vehicles being stored. That's really the only thing I've seen it recommended for. I *think* it works - but then again, I'm running my snow-blower on 3 year old non-treated gas.. and it still starts and runs. I do run the carb dry after using it every time - which I think is the trick. Never used Sta-bil. I do get a tad suspicious when I see on their website: http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/stabil/default.aspx "STA-BIL is recommended to be used AT EVERY FILL UP in all vehicles and equipment to protect against corrosion caused by todayÔÇÖs Ethanol-blended fuels." (I guess that's finding a silver cloud in the ethanol storm..)
When I look at a website and see pseudo-science, or claims of many wonderful things happening if you just use OUR STUFF REGULARLY - it reminds me of the guy at the old county fair who had the V8 engine setup on his old Mercury, and he'd add the magic in-line ignition booster coil.. and the engine would start running wonderfully smooth, even as he disconnected ignition wires from the plugs. Magic. It's usually a trick, smoke and mirrors.. and IMHO that's what most additives are. Magic.
You'll see people saying "I used XYZ and things worked WONDERFULLY!" - they did, but chances are excellent that not using XYZ things would still have worked wonderfully. It's easy and a human trait to believe the magic worked.. but remember the smoke and mirrors.
YMMV - expecially if you use an emzyme fuel treatment.
W
warredon
Guest
It's funny you should mention that Don, I remember seeing that demonstration back in the late 50's or very early 60's when I was living in Indiana. I believe it was also at one of the local fairs. If I remember correctly it was about the size of a K bike fuel filter or maybe a little smaller. I still think about that once in awhile because I think they took a few dollars of my dad's hard earned money.
deilenberger
A bozo on the bus
I think I still have one somewhere.. didn't pay for it, found it in a friends garage - abandoned, so I adopted it.
mpmarty
New member
Don we have some independent gas stations here in Oregon that cater to the racing crowd. 102 Octane leaded is available too. A bit spendy at $5.75 a gallon though. My 92 Octane unleaded alcohol free runs about three cents more a gallon than Chevron 92 and is well worth it. That said, I have to go to the station in my pickup truck and get the gas in five gallon jerry cans. They can't legally pump it into a street licensed vehicle.
