Sudden start problem

Buying pre-mix 'fuel' is like buying water. Why? Why pay $20/gallon when you can buy ethanol-free gas for $4/gallon and mix in a $2 bottle of 2-cycle oil? I saw a 2-gallon can of a popular brand of pre-mix gas at Walmart a few days ago for almost $40. That would last me about a week as much as I go through. Not even close to practical. In my opinion, of course.
 
Why all this concern over non-alcohol fuel. I have been using 10% alcohol fuel ever since it came out. Never had a problem. The alcohol will absorb any moisture or water and solves that problem. I mean gas line anti-freeze is alcohol. The Briggs and Stratton manual says 10% alcohol gasoline is acceptable. However, I couldn't use 91 octane 10% alcohol gasoline in my airplane because the alcohol dissolved the carb gaskets and caused leaks. But I did use 91 octane non-alcohol auto gasoline in my airplane and it ran fine. I did have to get an FAA approved Supplemental Type Certificate to use the auto gasoline legally, but the modification consisted of two decals near the wing tank gas caps. The Lycoming -0320- E2D was designed for 80-87 octane aviation gasoline that is no longer available. To test gasoline for 10% alcohol get a small glass bottle with a lid. Mark the jar in 10% increments. Put in water up to the 10% line and fill with the gasoline to 100%. Put on the cap and shake vigorously. Let the jar stand for 5 minutes or so until it settles. If you just get the 10% water back, the gas has no alcohol, but if the water line is up to 20%, you had 10% alcohol gasoline. Just a little chemistry test.
 
Hello rhkraft.

Ethanol absorbs moisture from the humidity in the air, and that moisture never goes away, it collects over time and increases. Aside from that the actual gasoline breaks down and oxidizes with time. Hot weather just speeds up the process.

Many carburetors on small engine equipment are still made of (low grade/low Nickle) aluminum and usually have steel fuel bowls. Aluminum is a self- sacrificial metal that breaks down and develops a white powdered coating oxidation when exposed to moisture. Naturally the steel bowl breaks down as well.

Small engine equipment usually has a very rough life because it is left sitting with fuel in it for very long periods of time.

There is no real issue using the E-10 or E-15 fuels as long as it is frequently used and not left sitting. It is developed for high turnover.

Non-Ethanol fuel just extends the amount of time the fuel can sit unused; it simply breaks down much slower over time.

No one can truly predict when they will last use their small engine equipment, but it will be much more reliable if they empty the tanks and run them dry when the cold weather finally comes. The recovered fuel can simply be put to good use in their daily driver.

How many people will actually do that though? Not very many, so the cycle of neglect continues season after season.

Of course, the manufacturers who make the small engine equipment will not tell customers about this because it will threaten their future sales.

Any machine, regardless of brand becomes a throw away if it is taken for granted and neglected. Some just suffer more abuse than others.
 
I do use 'manufactured' fuel in small engines that get little use. My Toro/Suzuki 2-stk gets it as I use in only for a small portion of my yard. Pressure washer, small trim mower, chains saw. I don't use the chain saw like I did when I was younger. A friend recently bought a $1700 Stihl. He said that Stihl and some other manufacturers extend their warranty by 2 years if you use 'fuel'. They, Stihl, must think it's good for small engines.

Expensive? Relatively - but I bet I spend less that $20/year to use it.
 
g-man57 said:
I do use 'manufactured' fuel in small engines that get little use. My Toro/Suzuki 2-stk gets it as I use in only for a small portion of my yard. Pressure washer, small trim mower, chains saw. I don't use the chain saw like I did when I was younger. A friend recently bought a $1700 Stihl. He said that Stihl and some other manufacturers extend their warranty by 2 years if you use 'fuel'. They, Stihl, must think it's good for small engines.

Expensive? Relatively - but I bet I spend less that $20/year to use it.
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Good pre-mix oil such as Stihl synthetic (gray bottle) is more like $5 bucks per 2.5 gallon bottle, not $2 dollars.

Ethanol is hygroscipc (meaning it attracts water). All I run is 10% ethanol in all my equipment. Small engines will not tolerate 15% ethanol. Most people think ethanol is evil and continues to be a hot topic of debate. Funny how I never experience fuel related issues running it and am a small engine repair shop owner/operator.

Engineered or canned pre-mix 2-stroke fuel is not only expensive, it is not ideal for engines. See YouTube videos and forums for details.
 
Tiger Small Engine said:
Good pre-mix oil such as Stihl synthetic (gray bottle) is more like $5 bucks per 2.5 gallon bottle, not $2 dollars.

Ethanol is hygroscipc (meaning it attracts water). All I run is 10% ethanol in all my equipment. Small engines will not tolerate 15% ethanol. Most people think ethanol is evil and continues to be a hot topic of debate. Funny how I never experience fuel related issues running it and am a small engine repair shop owner/operator.

Engineered or canned pre-mix 2-stroke fuel is not only expensive, it is not ideal for engines. See YouTube videos and forums for details.
Click to expand...
So synthetic fuel is 'not ideal for engines'. But synthetic pre-mix oil is? Did I get that right? Hmmm.

As for 10% ethanol, in a small car (I've had Civics and Corollas), I got 10% less mileage with E10 than gasoline. My math tells me that I then burn just as much dyno with E10 as with gas. I have yet to find an authentic, close loop, test of e10 vs. gasoline. I wrote to Iowa State - a noted Land Grant school to see if they had run such a test. No reply. The silence was telling.
 
Update on repairs. I changed the entire fuel pump section with one I had on a parts carburetor and the fuel still isn't flowing. Before I open the carburetor and possibly open a new can of worms, haha, I want to change all my fuel line and the filter again to insure that isn't the problem. Does this mower use 1/4 inch or 5/16 inch line? Right now it has 5/16 line on it?
 
While working on the fuel problem, I took the engine side covers off and cleaned the finned cylinder areas. Both side covers had silver sections attached that curved under the cylinders. They were both loaded with dirt and grease, I'm sure that blocks air flow and cooling to the cylinders. I got them cleaned up good and reinstalled. What is the purpose of these shrouds?
 
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