Ringfree / Techron Prices

hotajax

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What's an average price to pay for a quart of Yamaha Ring Free? If Ring Free is Techron in another package, I found it for just around $50 for 120 oz. This was at the autobarn, and they will ship it.
 

Daman858

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12 oz bottle goes for about $10. A quart is somewhere around $34-$35. I only have seen it in gallon sizes not 120 oz as you listed. A gallon goes for $85 to $90 most places so if you found a 120 oz size for $50, buy a couple!

Takes one oz per 10 gallons or 15 gallons, depending on what edition of the label you have. It's relation to the Chevron product is not known to me. There is a definite problem with carbon buildup on engines that run 4000 rpms and higher for extended time so a little Ring Free is a good investment for some peace of mind.
 

engineersx2

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ring free

ok, this may be a stupid question, but I have to ask. I was lucky enough to purchase a 2008 gulfstream with twin 150's a few weeks back (have gotten it wet yet or filled it with fuel, I guess that is the unlucky part).

The motors came with the Yamaha 6 year YES warranty. From what I can find, the use of ring free or other fuel additives is NOT a condition that must be met in order to meet the conditions of the warranty.

With that in mind, and if I plan to keep the boat/motors for less than 6 years, can anyone think of a reason to spend the extra $ to purchase these additives?
 

Parthery

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Ring Free and Techron are similar, but not exactly the same.

Ring Free is one oz. for 10 gallons, so that 32 oz. bottle for $35 or so will treat about 320 gallons.

If I recall, the 12 oz techron bottles (at $8 apiece or so at Costco) treat up to 20 gallons. You would need about $128 worth of Techron to equal the same amount of Ring Free.

Over the last 10 years or so, I have religiously used two products in every tankful of fuel that goes into the boat. PRI-G and Ring Free. To me, its cheap insurance. I've never had a clogged fuel filter, or any other fuel related problem during that time, regardless of where and when I have purchased fuel.

You might check with Andy at Shipyard Island Marina. (http://www.shipyardisland.com) He has about the best prices around on all things Yamaha, plus he is a great source of information...
 

BobP

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That's an interesting point from engineersx2. He didn't say if he cares less if a major engine failure occurs and it is smack in the middle of the season ? Guess how friendly and inviting the Yamaha dealer will be then, who sold you the engines?

People have been led to believe their 4 stroke outboards don't need fuel system cleaners, as many don't bother using in their cars. He probably would not have asked if it was a 2 stroke, yet the Yamaha manual wording is identical for 4 or 2 stokes, identical. He may not even own the boat for as many years as the engine is warrantied, so what's the point?

So why is the Yamaha recommendation on Ringfree for 4 strokes identical to 2 strokes? Seems to me they know something about their 4 strokes they didn't tell the consumers who bought them, who had good reason to presume otherwise.
 

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Parthery said:
Ring Free and Techron are similar, but not exactly the same.

Ring Free is one oz. for 10 gallons, so that 32 oz. bottle for $35 or so will treat about 320 gallons.

If I recall, the 12 oz techron bottles (at $8 apiece or so at Costco) treat up to 20 gallons. You would need about $128 worth of Techron to equal the same amount of Ring Free.

Over the last 10 years or so, I have religiously used two products in every tankful of fuel that goes into the boat. PRI-G and Ring Free. To me, its cheap insurance. I've never had a clogged fuel filter, or any other fuel related problem during that time, regardless of where and when I have purchased fuel.

You might check with Andy at Shipyard Island Marina. (http://www.shipyardisland.com) He has about the best prices around on all things Yamaha, plus he is a great source of information...
Parthery,
I am not familiar with Pri-G. What is it? A fuel stabilizer? Where can I get it and how much is it? Thanks
 

engineersx2

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In response to BobP: after I posted my comments about why the need to use fuel additives, I was thinking that many may question why someone would not treat their motors right. I am one that changes the oil in their land vehicles every 3 to 4k miles and was certainly not trying not to follow reasonable maintenance requirements.

as for other motors that I own, I have to admit, I only put in fuel injector cleaner in my Tahoe when it had about 50k miles on it and started to make noise. I put a few containers of fuel injector cleaner in it and it stopped the vibration.

I do care about the motors having major engine failure and using fuel additives is what it takes to stop that, I will certainly do so. I just have to question what some seem to be a religious use of such products in order to keep their motors running right.

I plan on taking delivery of my Gulfstream in early April and will ask my dealer (Norfolk Marine, in Va. ) what they recommend. My post was only meant to question if such products were really needed, and if so, why don't they make it mandatory to be in compliance with the YES warranty.

My previous grady white was a 1995 208 with a 150 evenrude 2 stoke. I did not use any fuel additives with that motor and it worked great for 5+years until it caught fire with about 500 other boats in the Lynnhaven Marine Boatel fire in Va. Beack back in early 2000.

When I pick up the boat, I will certainly read over the owners manual very closely and perhaps will learn more about fuel additives. Up until now, I was under the impression that such products were optional and not required in order to comply with the manufacture warranty requirements.

I searched the Yamaha web site and could not find anywhere that the use of the additive was a condition of warranty. If that is the case, then why use it... if it really works why dont they push it or require it to be used in order to comply with their warranty?

I am not against using the product if it is a necessity, but for me if the use of this product is a MUST, then Yamaha and my dealer should be making it clear to me that it is a no brainer to use this product

if Yamaha knows something that they are not telling the consumers who bought their product.. then shame on them. I will certainly bring this issue up to Norfolk Marine when I pick up the Gulfstrean in early April

I just wish I had included a full take of fuel (with appropriate additives) in the purchase price.


Ric, from Suffolk VA
 

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Do a search here and on THT, there's lots of info on the additives and where they come from. It has been purported that RingFree is not identical to Techron, that it was developed from it to meet the demands Yamaha had with their fuel injected two-strokes.

I'm a 'religeous use' type myself, but not necessarily oem. I find it interesting that Amsoil does not recommend their fuel conditioner for two-stroke engines. I have no idea why.

Fuel in the marine environment needs all the help it can get. One of the marine fuel purveyors out here is actually advertising their differences from hiway gas. Maybe just to justify the additional cost to get it at the dock.
 

capt chris

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engineersx2 said:
In response to BobP: after I posted my comments about why the need to use fuel additives, I was thinking that many may question why someone would not treat their motors right. I am one that changes the oil in their land vehicles every 3 to 4k miles and was certainly not trying not to follow reasonable maintenance requirements.

as for other motors that I own, I have to admit, I only put in fuel injector cleaner in my Tahoe when it had about 50k miles on it and started to make noise. I put a few containers of fuel injector cleaner in it and it stopped the vibration.

I do care about the motors having major engine failure and using fuel additives is what it takes to stop that, I will certainly do so. I just have to question what some seem to be a religious use of such products in order to keep their motors running right.

I plan on taking delivery of my Gulfstream in early April and will ask my dealer (Norfolk Marine, in Va. ) what they recommend. My post was only meant to question if such products were really needed, and if so, why don't they make it mandatory to be in compliance with the YES warranty.

My previous grady white was a 1995 208 with a 150 evenrude 2 stoke. I did not use any fuel additives with that motor and it worked great for 5+years until it caught fire with about 500 other boats in the Lynnhaven Marine Boatel fire in Va. Beack back in early 2000.

When I pick up the boat, I will certainly read over the owners manual very closely and perhaps will learn more about fuel additives. Up until now, I was under the impression that such products were optional and not required in order to comply with the manufacture warranty requirements.

I searched the Yamaha web site and could not find anywhere that the use of the additive was a condition of warranty. If that is the case, then why use it... if it really works why dont they push it or require it to be used in order to comply with their warranty?

I am not against using the product if it is a necessity, but for me if the use of this product is a MUST, then Yamaha and my dealer should be making it clear to me that it is a no brainer to use this product

if Yamaha knows something that they are not telling the consumers who bought their product.. then shame on them. I will certainly bring this issue up to Norfolk Marine when I pick up the Gulfstrean in early April

I just wish I had included a full take of fuel (with appropriate additives) in the purchase price.


Ric, from Suffolk VA
Ric,
With respect to ring free, may I humbly suggest you may be a little penny wise and pound foolish. If you talk to Yamaha cust. service in Kennesaw, they will tell you that they recommend ring free for all their motors. I also believe you will see the same recommendation in the owner's manual. You are right when you say it is not a warranty requirement but why push your luck. If you've got the wherewith all to buy a Gulfstream what's a few dollars spent on Ring Free especially if it could prevent problems down the line?
 

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Good discussion.
Engineersx2 - don't take it the wrong way, I was baiting everyone else to jump in.

Yamaha is a company who designs and manufactures quality equipment. If I did, I would make recommendations as to assure the best performance and life from my motors, not knowing how any particular customer is going to use his.
Beyond superior design and quality in production, how a customer uses the motor is a significant factor remaining. Yamaha has to be concerned with the competition, should Yamaha mandate cleaner when the others don't and what negantive canotations come of it.

I happen to believe but can't back it up yet fully, the fuel management systems in cars is way more sophisticated than F outboards, with compromises made to space limits not so with cars. Due to this, there will be operating modes not best addressed and produce fouled plugs, carbon buildup, and whatever else, in those modes specifically. Also, my Yamaha guy says on Fs, fuel injectors have been a weak point (relative to injectors on HPDIs), I suspect the fuel cleaners may be helping the F injectors stay healthy.

If an F injector fails at high loads and RPMs it starves that cylinder at the worse time of top head lube the gas provides, one will wish again for the days of carbs, where no such failure can occur or it's subsequent damage. That reminds me, if ever you are blasting along and sense any loss of power at all on any engine, pull the throttles back as fast as possible - it's the first step, only you can make if you care in saving the engine.

Yamaha mechanics are directed to dictate what the owners manual recommends, full time use of Ringfree (cleaner) and their own fuel conditioner in Fs and HPDIs. If you use them or not, care about avoiding a major engine failure or not, Yamaha takes care of failed motors under warranty.
 

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PRI-G is a fuel stabilizer....similar to Sta-Bil but more concentrated and therefore a bottle goes further.

You can buy it at Boaters World or West....a 16 oz bottle treats 256 gallons and goes for $22 or so.
 

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BobP and capt. Chris, thanks for your comments and input.

Today my wife and I went to Norfolk Marine to put our hand on our Gulfstream. It has been an odd experience to purchase a boat in Jan. and just let it sit with the dealer until the weather warms up, but we are not planning on trailering the GW and will keep it in a boatel, so we are very eager for the warm weather to get her (that and we save the cost of paying ~$300 /month storage fee to keep it in the boatel).

Our plan is to take delivery the first week in April. It was great to hear our salesman say that the number one objective in selling GW's was to make sure that when someone takes delivery that they are 100% satisified with the boat. I felt even better about purchasing the GW after this visit.

I had the opportunity to talk with a mechanic at Norfolk Marine about the Ring free issue. He said that he would strongly recommend using the product but would recommend using about 1/2 of the recommended consentration. I restated, what most have said here on this web site and he agreed with the comments. So, after all is said and done, I will be using ring free (and fuel stabalizer)!

I appreciate the comments about penny wise and pound foulish and even more appreciate this web site and the comments from GW owners.

looking foward to posting a photo of our Gulfstream on this web site. Thx again for all the comments and advise.

Ric, from Suffok VA
 

BobP

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Recommending half the dosage to F owners may quell complaints like "this is a 4 stroke - I thought only 2 strokes need that stuff, that's why I bought a 4 stroke" on and on.

Ironically there is more components to keep clean in the fuel passes of Fs than 2 strokes.

1. One 32 oz container is good for 320 gals. 320 gals of gas up here is well over $1200. The Ringfree 32 oz. is about $37. Saving 19 bucks is saving 19 bucks, sure it means something.
Now how do we get a break on gas so we can get real savings without giving anything up at all ?

2. With No. 1 above nickel and dime-ing, no other reason seems to matter, and I can add more, like the $30K value of your engines.

My four containers of Ringfree for the season have already been bought.
 

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Ric,
Congratulations on your new Gulfstream. I know how you feel. I have a new Tournamnet 225 waiting to be picked up @ Beaver Park in Lorain, OH. My problem is they are 350 miles away and I can't even go look at it in the meantime. We've got our first snow of the winter this weekend, approx 10-14 inches so I've really got cabin fever. Hopefully I 'll pick the boat up sometime in the next month.
What engine set up did you get on your Gulfstream? Have you seen any w/ the single 350?
I guess for now I'll just have to be satisfied with setting the clocks ahead one hour tonight for daylight saving time and knowing we're that much closer to spring. Don't forget to post some pictures of your new GW!