Fuel

[tgzzzz]

Seafoam been around since 1942 i believe..

Me too! Coincidence?

 

[Fourester]

I have a 10 year old Hustler Raptor that gets regular use April thru mid-December. It has only seen 89 or 93 octane pure gas, even though it says it can take 10% ethanol. Yes, easily $1 more per gallon, but I only use about 6 gallons a month, so it is worth it. I use stabilizer in the winter. I also use non-ethanol in my 6 year old generator that only gets cranked and run for 10 minutes every month. I use stabilizer in there year around and drain and refill the fuel every year. I also use it in my 7 year old Stihl weed eater. Get your non-ethanol at a marina or near a boat ramp. Boaters use it, so it is probably fresher. We also have alot of old people here, hence many pro and side hustle lawn care companies that use it.

 

[Fourester]

"Putting corn likker into our gas tanks is truly one of the dumbest things our national government has ever come up with." Consider that it might not be dumb. It might be corruption. What if it is a way to launder taxpayer money? Cargill likes the program so much they give a lot of taxpayer sourced money to both parties in DC. Also, I measured the ethanol content (it is 0-10%) in the gasoline (it is not hard to do) for my car for a while and determined that it would reduce my mpg by up to 20% (My Corolla would drop from 40 mpg to 32 mpg hwy). If I know that, the EPA knows that.

If you think that is bad, try the 88 stuff. I tried one tank in my F-150 on a road trip. Mileage dropped from 24 to about 17 on the HWY. I did a cost comparison analysis. Definitely not worth using the 88, plus none of the 8 stations (6 locally owned) in our county carry it.

 

[joea99]

Life is short. You should absolutely use non-ethanol in your small engines and avoid all the maintenance problems that the U.S. government has foisted upon you by insisting that alcohol be added to gasoline. They are not your friend, and they are not here to help you!

Not to turn this into a "political" argument, but you might want to take a look at this, and other sources that explain how ethanol became "mandated".

The "US Government" did not come up with the idea on it's own, it was hand fed to Lawmakers along with "too much money" by those with an interest in finding a use for their "waste product". Most write ups ignore the efforts of non Government entities to promote ethanol in gasoline.

An Ethanol Timeline: How We Got Here

Since 1826, ethanol has been of interest to entrepreneurs and agriculturists as a possible alternate fuel.

clf.jhsph.edu

 

[Air4Dave]

I only use ethanol free gasoline for all of my small engines. It cost more per gallon but I think (I do not have hard data) that the lifecycle cost for the use of the equipment is less. Further, the engines always start an run good even if that have been sitting for a few months. Ethanol can damage a two cycle engine as the ethanol can separate out (phase separation) and you will seriously damage the engine. On the four cycle engines, I have replaced carburetors after years of use of ethanol gasoline but the engines run for years with no issues if I only use ethanol free gasoline. I also treat all of my small engine ethanol free gasoline with Schaeffer Oil Neutra™ Fuel Stabilizer (https://www.schaefferoil.com/neutra.html). There may be other additives from Schaeffer's or others that work, too.

Bottom line: I only use ethanol free gasoline treated with Schaeffer's Neutra Fuel Stabilizer and I have nearly zero engine fuel related issues on multiple engine types and brands. I go through a lot of gasoline in the summer on the ranch. My experience with this is over many years.

Being a former Chevron (Standard Oil of Ca, back in the day) employee for 27 years, I fully agree with Rifraph48. I use 91 octane, ethanol free for ALL my small engines - from my riding mower to my 1942 Power Trim edger! For example, my edger I hadn't started for 3 years!...yes! The other day I needed it for a neighbor and went out to dust it off and it fired right up! I use no additives, other than a fuel stabilizer, and all my equipment fires right up, run smoothly, and I have full power.
So, in answer to Tbone above, while using regular gasoline as some suggest, I feel the extra money spent - what...$5 on 5 gallons of fuel that will last you through how many fillups on your equipment - is well worth the fact that my engines run smoother, and have, IMO, a longer shelf life than chancing on engine failure sooner than later. The extra money for premium fuel is also because the additive package in premium fuel is about 10x more than regular fuels - even midgrade - and that equates to better longevity of the rings, carb seals and carbonization.

 

[Old Gweilo]

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!

For the past decade I've been a complete devotee to 0E fuels, using it in everything I own that burns gas. Seasonal equipment gets stored with full tanks and a few oz of Sea Foam and for 10 years none of it has resisted starting right up, even in one case, after sitting nearly 2 years. In my Province all fuel with a 93 octane rating is now 0E so its easy to come by. I know opinions will vary with regard to this topic but put me down for 0E fuel all day long. "We do have really cold winters and condensate + Ethanol = frozen fuel lines; corroded tanks too" - so there's that and I doubt this would be a concern for you.

 

[g-man57]

Forgive my typos/spelling. They always show up AFTER posting regardless of my proofreading!

Your browser should have a spell checker. Find out how to activate it. Or use something like tinySpell - that's what I use. Everything I type, regardless of where, is checked. Misspelled words appear in red. Click on the red word and the correct spelling appears for you to select.

 

[dadoftim]

It is never a problem ....till it is, then it's a big repair bill. Put those pennies saved away for the day will come when your wallet will open and dollars will come pouring out. Just say'n

 

[rhiebert]

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!

Ethanol in gasoline will create water in the fuel which means there's potential for premature wear among other issues. My suggestion is to use a quality gasoline additive. In my case I use about an ounce per ten gallons every second or third tank-full.

 

[pastor99]

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!

I cringe every time I pay the extra. I smile every time my equipment starts without fail, even when it's been sitting awhile.