ethanol damage solutions

slomo said:
Never seen it and highly doubt it was from E-10. Could be wrong though. Happens about daily LOL.
Click to expand...
I have never seen this either. I have seen plenty of carbs that are gummed up or full of dried whitish stuff. I have been looking into what to do and some have posted on other tractor forums that E15 can dissolve this stuff created from E10. I am not sure if they are reffering to the same substance I have. It is hard to tell. I do not know if this is some wives tale or if their is any truth to it.

Where I live only E10 is available at gas stations. I have never in a decade or more seen E0 at the pump. I have never seen E15. So my conclusion is, it must be E10. Unless the gas was transported from hundreds of miles away where another type of gas may be sold. This is a mystery. I have never seen anything exactly like this.
 
nbpt100 said:
I have never seen this either. I have seen plenty of carbs that are gummed up or full of dried whitish stuff. I have been looking into what to do and some have posted on other tractor forums that E15 can dissolve this stuff created from E10. I am not sure if they are reffering to the same substance I have. It is hard to tell. I do not know if this is some wives tale or if their is any truth to it.

Where I live only E10 is available at gas stations. I have never in a decade or more seen E0 at the pump. I have never seen E15. So my conclusion is, it must be E10. Unless the gas was transported from hundreds of miles away where another type of gas may be sold. This is a mystery. I have never seen anything exactly like this.
Click to expand...
That "whitish stuff" is mostly cast aluminum deteriorating from Ethanol fuel exposure. Ethanol fuel is hygroscopic because it draws in moisture from the air. Aluminum is a self-sacrificial metal that forms a white coating when exposed to moisture unless it has a high Nickel content. Carburetors have very little Nickel blended with the aluminum when cast.

Some of this stuff is also specialty additives that are blended in the fuel during the refining process.

The stuff you are showing was not created by E10 or any other fuel, it was carried by it when pumped from a bad ground storage tank with sealer that has been added as I have explained already. It could have also came from a contaminated tanker load that was off loaded at an unsuspecting station.

You would have to actually locate the fuel tanker depot supplier or a refinery level technician before you might get lucky enough to find someone who knows what this stuff is. Most will play ignorant until it gets bad enough to end up in court.

Ground tank contamination is real but kept well hidden. Rural areas usually suffer the most.
 
Auto Doc's said:
That "whitish stuff" is mostly cast aluminum deteriorating from Ethanol fuel exposure. Ethanol fuel is hygroscopic because it draws in moisture from the air. Aluminum is a self-sacrificial metal that forms a white coating when exposed to moisture unless it has a high Nickel content. Carburetors have very little Nickel blended with the aluminum when cast.

Some of this stuff is also specialty additives that are blended in the fuel during the refining process.

The stuff you are showing was not created by E10 or any other fuel, it was carried by it when pumped from a bad ground storage tank with sealer that has been added as I have explained already. It could have also came from a contaminated tanker load that was off loaded at an unsuspecting station.

You would have to actually locate the fuel tanker depot supplier or a refinery level technician before you might get lucky enough to find someone who knows what this stuff is. Most will play ignorant until it gets bad enough to end up in court.

Ground tank contamination is real but kept well hidden. Rural areas usually suffer the most.
Click to expand...
Ethanol is blamed for many fuel related issues in small engines. In reality, poor storage of fuel and putting up equipment long term with no use in between improperly , is the actual problem. I see lots of water in fuel from customers that say they use ethanol free fuel.

I buy carburetor cleaner by the case and use it daily. Regardless of brand, carburetor cleaner is essentially acetone, with other chemicals. Couldn’t do my job without it.
 
Last edited:
Tiger Small Engine said:
I buy carburetor cleaner by the case and use it daily. Regardless of brand, carburetor cleaner is essentially acetone, with other chemicals. Couldn’t do my job without it.
Click to expand...
Hmmm I haven't had any carb cleaner in the shop in over 12 yrs. Matter of fact I gave away my last can of Berryman 11 yrs ago; never opened it. Yet I still clean carbs weekly. I got more two cubes to do today.
 
I find brake cleaner works pretty good and is usually cheaper than Carb cleaner but not always. Either Carb or Brake cleaner does not attack the ethanol+water related debris very well. Soaking in Kroil or WD-40 from a few minutes to over night. A final clean up with the brake or carb cleaner seems to be the process I use if I do not go to the Ultra sonic cleaner.

Yea, water in the gas is just bad. Does not matter how fancy of a machine you have. E0 gas is better , but, if there is water in the tank it almost does not matter. Time to dump it or get the K100 out.

Back to the original topic. I seemed to be able to clean it out with straight Super Clean soaking for about 7 hours and then multiple flushes (5 or more, I did not count) with high pressure water and compressed air. What ever that stuff was, it was the obvious reason the owner gave up on this mower.
 
Last edited:
I think someone spiked that fuel before or after you got the unit. Check your enemies list and try to get it analyzed. New tank is the best way. Fuel lines too.
 
Over the years and trying every imaginable solvent I have come to the conclusion that the best way to clean a tank is to leave it the sun to dry, then blow it out with compressed air.
 
Earlier Auto Docs mentioned Star Tron. It saved me several times from the same problem- gel.
I used to get that gel like gunk in my plastic Honda fuel tank and it could be seen in the bottom of the gas cans.

What I Did To Clean The Tanks & Filters:
I'd empty the vessels, but leave just enough to be sure the evil in-tank filter is covered. Then I would add about triple the amount of Star Tron for the volume of fuel and leave it for a day or two.

The Star Tron dissolved the gel and floating sheets of gel.
Next, the mix would get put in a container & taken to the hazardous waste facility nearby.

A mechanic once told me that baking yeast will do the same job. It must be the enzymes eating the goo.

Since I started only buying fuel from stations with new tanks (and Top Tier labeled), I've not had the problem. (I do use Star Tron in my gas cans and ensure I use the fuel within a year.)

Hope This Helps,
Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top