Is it under the same name at WalMart? I thought it was a Yamaha product?
The price I got is from West Marine's website.
The price I got is from West Marine's website.
Help settle a Ring Free debate.
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Doc Stressor
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They don't sell Ringfree at Walmart.
I think that they are talking about Startron or StaBil.
The 32 oz bottle of Ringfree Plus goes for about $42.
It provides protection from low quality fuel and ethanol/sulfate metal corrosion. It's not magic. It's just a highly concentrated Techron formulation that lets you add less to large tank of fuel than the automotive formulations. The MSDS indicates that it contains 70% active ingredients, which has to be a lot higher concentration than found in Techron Plus.
Techron works by altering the structure of carbon or varnish deposits. This lets them be removed by the normal combustion process.
The effectiveness of Techron has been established for over 20 years and it is found in many other brands of Top Tier gasoline besides Chevron and Texaco. But not all gasolines contain Techron or its equivalent. My marina carries non-ethanol fuel of an unknown brand from a local distributor. I use Ringfree as a precaution, that's all. If I miss adding it at a fill up, I don't obsess about it. You could probably half the dose or use it every other fill up and still gain benefit.
I had a pair of '98 Honda engines that never saw Ringfree. But most every fill up was Chevron or Texaco upon the recommendation of my local Honda dealer. He showed me an engine where a valve could no longer be adjusted because of deposit buildup. It had been run on other brands of gasoline. He said that the factory had recommended Chevron to get around this type of problem. It is not exclusive to Yamahas. Neither of my Hondas ever had a problem following his advice. The 8 hp trolling motor had over 4000 hr on it when I sold the boat and it still ran like new. This is why I can say with some confidence that you probably don't benefit much from adding Ringfree is you use only good fuel.
I think that they are talking about Startron or StaBil.
The 32 oz bottle of Ringfree Plus goes for about $42.
It provides protection from low quality fuel and ethanol/sulfate metal corrosion. It's not magic. It's just a highly concentrated Techron formulation that lets you add less to large tank of fuel than the automotive formulations. The MSDS indicates that it contains 70% active ingredients, which has to be a lot higher concentration than found in Techron Plus.
Techron works by altering the structure of carbon or varnish deposits. This lets them be removed by the normal combustion process.
The effectiveness of Techron has been established for over 20 years and it is found in many other brands of Top Tier gasoline besides Chevron and Texaco. But not all gasolines contain Techron or its equivalent. My marina carries non-ethanol fuel of an unknown brand from a local distributor. I use Ringfree as a precaution, that's all. If I miss adding it at a fill up, I don't obsess about it. You could probably half the dose or use it every other fill up and still gain benefit.
I had a pair of '98 Honda engines that never saw Ringfree. But most every fill up was Chevron or Texaco upon the recommendation of my local Honda dealer. He showed me an engine where a valve could no longer be adjusted because of deposit buildup. It had been run on other brands of gasoline. He said that the factory had recommended Chevron to get around this type of problem. It is not exclusive to Yamahas. Neither of my Hondas ever had a problem following his advice. The 8 hp trolling motor had over 4000 hr on it when I sold the boat and it still ran like new. This is why I can say with some confidence that you probably don't benefit much from adding Ringfree is you use only good fuel.
Nice post, Doc. With all due respect, I can't figure out why one would buy and expensive boat with expensive engine(s) and cheap out over the cost of Ring Free. I belong to a British car forum and guys with cars worth 30 or 40 grand do the same thing. They refuse to use a additive and wonder why they need a valve job.
Doc Stressor
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The thing that few people seem to appreciate is that the standards for fuel quality in the US are low relative to the rest of the developed world. That is the real cause for needing additives. Yamaha doesn't say anything about using Ringfree in Japan or Europe.
In order to keep prices down, some blenders use the absolute minimum required additive content in their fuel. This will eventually cause problems for many marine engines where stale fuel and low operating temperatures are the norm. Yamaha can cut their costs for warranty repairs by recommending Ringfree in the US.
In order to keep prices down, some blenders use the absolute minimum required additive content in their fuel. This will eventually cause problems for many marine engines where stale fuel and low operating temperatures are the norm. Yamaha can cut their costs for warranty repairs by recommending Ringfree in the US.