Fuel

[jcworks]

Is it really worth the extra price (Over a dollar a gallon extra) to get ethanol free fuel for mowers? I have a 18 hp Briggs & Stratton engine engine on my riding mower, I have a small small push mower and I have a 2-cycle weedeater. I’m in south Alabama, 65 miles from the coast. The past several years, I’ve cranked up the weedeater during the off growing season just to polish up what I may not have weed-eated earlier – just to run it for a little bit. I may or may not do that for the push mower. The riding mower is used to drag limbs to a burn pile so it gets cranked every so often in the ‘cold’ season. We’re not long out of growing season and we don’t have really cold winters.
I’m just wondering if there’s something I can do different or is there just no reason for the non-ethynol fuel at my location.
I appreciate your thoughts and time!

TLoyd, I'm in north central Alabama. I have no disagreements with the supporters of ethanol-free. However, I've just been using the regular 87 octane for years with no problem. But, with small stuff like chain saws, weed eaters, etc I just pour back the excess gas into the gas can when I'm finished and run the engine till it runs out of fuel. Those items are not regularly used - especially the chain saw. As for my riding mower I have not done that. Its a 23hp Kawasaki, and I just go out every couple of months in the winter and crank it up and run it a while. Its 11 years old and I've never had an issue with it because of ethanol. Small engine mechanics will tell you otherwise because of their experience working on engines. That's understandable, you can't tell what other people with problems have done. Summary: I run the small engines carburetor dry when they sit up for months and not let the gasoline with ethanol sit there in the carb.

 

[jcworks]

The great ethanol vs non-ethanol debate rages on!!!!

Just like oil, oil filters, spark plugs use what gas makes you happy. I have about 30 things with gas engines that all run regular pump gas and i have stored regular gas in cans for over a year. Never had an issue. I guess i am just luckier than most.

Though many mechanics will tout their experiences, I haven't had any bad experience with ethanol in my ZTR, chain saw , or weedeater. But I drain the saw and weeder after use due to the lack of use of those.

 

[GrumpyCat]

You should gladly pay $10/gallon extra for ethanol-free. Plus use every single stabilizing product, "ethanol neutralizer", etc, liberally! Nothing is too good for your little engine!

Or, you could just use common sense and only keep fresh 87 AKI E10 from a high volume gas stations on hand a month or so before using.

Ethanol doesn't hurt modern engines. However ethanol carries water in solution in the gasoline and this water in contact with carburetor and fuel injection parts does the damage. No additive "eliminates" ethanol, they only increase the ability to carry water in solution, to "get rid of the water" by carrying it through the engine.

 

[brucelud]

Absolutely! You can pay the extra dollar a gallon for several years and still be ahead of the price for a gummed up carburetor, buying stabil, transporting your mower to a shop and waiting for it to be fixed, and on and on. With non-ethanol gas, you can keep it and not have to worry about it.

 

[Smithsonite]

Over 14 years of repairing small engines, I've found you can get away with using pump gas (E10) if you use the equipment often. If it sits for months, that's when problems start. I've also found draining a diaphragm carburetor of fuel ends up causing more issues than it helps. You're actually better off leaving even E10 in a diaphragm carb. If it has a float bowl, you absolutely MUST drain it.

Since I started running E0 in all my handheld and standby 4-stroke equipment up here in MA (where you can't even pump E0 outside of an airfield or oceanside marina), I haven't had any issues since.

 

[Old Gweilo]

You should gladly pay $10/gallon extra for ethanol-free. Plus use every single stabilizing product, "ethanol neutralizer", etc, liberally! Nothing is too good for your little engine!

Or, you could just use common sense and only keep fresh 87 AKI E10 from a high volume gas stations on hand a month or so before using.

Ethanol doesn't hurt modern engines. However ethanol carries water in solution in the gasoline and this water in contact with carburetor and fuel injection parts does the damage. No additive "eliminates" ethanol, they only increase the ability to carry water in solution, to "get rid of the water" by carrying it through the engine.

This is my understanding too. The grain alcohol in E10 isn't directly the problem. It is the affinity between grain alcohol and water which is the problem as it causes the water to separate out of the E10 fuel and combine with the grain alcohol in a distinct layer at the bottom of the tank. The alcohol / water layer is the problem. Somewhat oddly it is another type of alcohol, (isopropyl alcohol), which is a solution to the separation problem. Being a hydrocarbon derivative, isopropyl alcohol binds with both the water and the gas, keeping everything in solution till it can be burned off.

Clearly then, water is the main problem so if you can ensure no water, (generally by way of condensation), gets into the fuel there should be no issues. If water does enter the fuel then E10 exacerbates the problems it causes. As others have already pointed out, a buck a gallon is peanuts to pay in order to avoid the separation issue. Stabilizers do work. Thats just science. You can't avoid water or E10 completely as traces of both will be found in whatever pump fuel you buy. By avoiding E10 and using a stabilizer on occasion you improve your odds against fuel related problems. If you do neither and still have no problems you're simply beating the odds. Whatever works.

 

[marinusdees]

Not sure anyone mentioned damage to soft parts. Your engines may run on ethanol laced fuels, but as long as you are running it it is doing damage to your fuel lines, o-rings, seals and diaphragms. All soft parts. Ever wonder why your fuel lines on your line trimmer can snap like a stick? Or a diaphragm that has no flex at all? For many years now I have used nothing but rec-fuel and Seafoam and recommend the same to all my customers.

 

[Smithsonite]

If you are near or in a state that sells E0 at the pump, that's the way to go. It's high $4 a gallon around here in NY, NH, VT, and ME.

 

[Old Gweilo]

Lots of Opinion Forums and websites dump on SeaFoam as an outboard motor product but its worked for me in everything and as its "mainly" nothing but "pale oil", an upper cylinder lubricant, and isopropyl alcohol, you don't need to be a mad scientist to get the mix ratios correct. Anything between a couple of oz to 5-6 oz per 5 gal can works fine. I personally only go to 5-6 oz / 5 gal can for winter storage. Throughout the season a couple of oz now and then to deal with the trace E10 I pick up at the pumps seems to keep me out of trouble. Nothing wrong with just playing the odds either if that works for you. Whatever works.

 

[RevB]

Is it really worth the extra price (Over a dollar a gallon extra) to get ethanol free fuel for mowers? I have a 18 hp Briggs & Stratton engine engine on my riding mower, I have a small small push mower and I have a 2-cycle weedeater. I’m in south Alabama, 65 miles from the coast. The past several years, I’ve cranked up the weedeater during the off growing season just to polish up what I may not have weed-eated earlier – just to run it for a little bit. I may or may not do that for the push mower. The riding mower is used to drag limbs to a burn pile so it gets cranked every so often in the ‘cold’ season. We’re not long out of growing season and we don’t have really cold winters.
I’m just wondering if there’s something I can do different or is there just no reason for the non-ethynol fuel at my location.
I appreciate your thoughts and time!

No.