Argo gas

[guyfox]

Just curious. Read on here a few times that the Argo conquest FD620 do not like stale gas. Just how long would you consider to long? 2 months to long or are we talking about 6-8 months?

[Toys4Me]

If the gas is stored with something like seafoam then a year isn't even that bad. The issue isn't usually stale gas its buildup in the card, fuel lines, and fuel pump.

[Rock Doctor]

I can't really give you an age....... but if I suspected that gas is over about 6 months, I will add some 2st or ATF oil to the gas. The problem with old gas is that it does not lubricate the Valve Stems, which causes them to stick in the guides, which causes the Pushrods to bend. When this starts to happen, you will have symptoms similar to water in the gas (Coughing, sputtering, stalling, ect).
If you do have this issue, you can pop the Valve covers off, and work the stuck valve up/down (Wood Hammer handle works well) with a little penitrating oil (Kroil, Break Free, PB Blaster, ect)

RD

[Dozerlarry]

Marvel Mystery Oil works well on stuck valves too.

[thorn]

When I bought my 2004 Conquest a couple of years ago it only had 20 hrs on it. It had obviously been sitting a while. It had all the problems associated with "stale" gas. The fuel pump was not working correctly, the anti back fire selenoid was stuck forward and restricting the gas flow through the main jet.

I rebuilt the carb, replaced the fuel pump, selenoid, fuel line (Ethenol rated), and it runs great. I use Marine Stabil in all of my machines, which has an Ethenol treatment in it and obviously stabilizes the fuel. As far as a time frame, the Stabil is good for up to 2 years (?) if used correctly. Without treating the fuel there are probably a lot of different factors that come into play that would determine when the gas would go bad.

I suggest that anyone that buys a Conquest perform the steps I did and drain the gas out of the tank and keep Stabil in the gas. You will save yourself a lot of head aches in the long run. The Kawi 620 is a great motor and capable of humming for a lot of hours if you give it a little TLC.

[glen1971]

I can't really give you an age....... but if I suspected that gas is over about 6 months, I will add some 2st or ATF oil to the gas. RD

Do you know if there are any side effects to adding ATF for EFI engines? I had a friend of mine tell me they used to always add it to every jerry can on the farm for all the small engines (lawn mower, generator, etc)....