How will the new 15% ethanol gasoline affect our Craftsman mowers and lawn tractors?
- Thread starter Cusser
- Start date
Auto Doc's
Lawn Addict
It is not advised to use anything but E10 or non-ethanol in small engine equipment. E15 will create excess cylinder temperatures that will eventually lead to engine failures. Along with that it will use more fuel than usual.
sgkent
Lawn Addict
Ethanol is a molecule that has hydrogen, carbon and carries an oxygen molecule. Octane carries only hydrogen and carbon. It has many more of both compared to ethanol. As a result, ethanol burns leaner, faster and produces less power. It results in a 12% faster rise in combustion pressures, and less burn duration time. That is more like you pushing your grandchild on a swing with anger than a loving push when compared to pushing a piston. In my opinion, it is all about certain people making money and not things running and lasting as efficiently as they could. The National Academy of Sciences in a 2024 study determined that ethanol laced fuels are far worse on the environment than E-0 fuels. More CO2 emissions too. Worse, ethanol is hygroscophic, and pulls H2O from the air. That introduces water to the fuel and causes corrosion. Some unscrupulous business people can add it before they sell the fuel because it dilutes in the ethanol without being visible (until it reaches saturation). To my knowledge there is no standard that limits the percentage of water in the ethanol, and that changes MPG when you are being sold water instead of fuel. Think about it. In a 10,000 gallon highway tanker of E10 gasoline, someone could drain off 40 gallons of fuel, add back 40 gallons of clear water, and that water would not be visible because ethanol will hold up to 5 - 6% water. That 40 gallons at $4 - $5 a gallon per load ... . Do the math. E-15 only makes all this worse but who cares. The American people will slop up to the trough just about anything they are told if, "But, it saves the planet," is added to the sentence. They will let all levels of their government dictate this.
StarTech
Lawn Royalty
Most carburetor engines are not setup for E15 but fuel injected should be able to adjust the mixtures and burn more fuel. Also the rubber parts in the carburetors are not design to handle E15, they barely handle E10.
It like a surging off load engine polluted more but the EPA don't care because they are only looking at the loaded engine specs. It like the customer that had surging off load Kohler engine. Once I resolved the lean burn issue he now says the mower has more power to cut and uses about the same amount of fuel.
It like a surging off load engine polluted more but the EPA don't care because they are only looking at the loaded engine specs. It like the customer that had surging off load Kohler engine. Once I resolved the lean burn issue he now says the mower has more power to cut and uses about the same amount of fuel.
Tiger Small Engine
Lawn Addict
Don’t use it period.
Mic Garlick
Member
Ethanol dries out seals , the only test is take the seal weight to 4 decimal point, soak it for 24 hours and reweigh, there should be no discernible weight loss or deformation . best to avoid---Mic
BackyardBrian
Active Member
Honestly, E15 is something I'd avoid with older Craftsman equipment if you can help it. Most of these small engines were built for E10 max, and bumping up to 15% ethanol can cause real headaches like carb issues.