We pulled this from the archived postings in fall 2008. Stabil versus Mercury or Johnson/Evinrude Products #10 (11/05/08 09:19) Great question, Mike. I guess I should explain my reasons for making such a statement and I apologize for not doing so. Weve had problems with customers using Stabil in their fuel rather than Mercury or Johnson/Evinrude products. (Let me clarify this by saying that this was not Marine Stabil and maybe that product is better but I speaking just of the general Stabil product.) Heres the deal: Stabil is a catch-all product. It is designed for everything – cars, trucks, vans, etc. For this reason, Stabil is fine for sterndrives. Stabil is not a good product for anything where the fuel and oil mixes – speaking mainly of the carb outboard engines on the market. The problem with Stabil is usually not in the fuel tanks but in the carbs. You have oil and fuel in the carb and when the fuel evaporates during storage there is oil left in the carb that turns to gunk and the carbs will have to be cleaned in the spring. Mercury and Johnson/Evinrude products are designed specifically for outboards – they are not a catch-all. They are meant for engines where the oil and fuel mixes, though when added you still need to run the engine long enough to get the stabilizer into the carb… dont just pour it in the fuel tank and walk away. The product also works well on direct fuel injected engines and helps to keep the fuel injectors from gunking up as well. If you are running a Mercury, it is wise to use the product they designed for that motor to use when in storage rather than a catch-all product that is not designed for the same applications as the Mercury product. Again, Im not as familiar with the Marine Stabil and maybe that product has been approved for such uses. I cannot recommend it however because I have not used it. Ive got a long enough track record with the Mercury stabilizer and the Johnson/Evinrude 2+4 Fuel Condition (which is also a stabilizer) to say with confidence that they are both great products. I hope this helps clairfy my response. Let me know if you have any more questions. Andy
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