Great ethanol warning

[cfauvel]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how much difference running pure unleaded makes in my car. Since I found that we actually have at least one place in town that sells pure unleaded I'm going to run it exclusively for a while.

Ethanol has about 10% less energy, so theoretically you'd get about 10% more in MPG if running pure gas...but if you get 15mpg...would you really notice if you got 16mpg? you'd have to be very specific in your testing to be sure that you are actually getting 10% better mpg

 

[cfauvel]

Point 3 is false by omission. Ethanol is not corrosive by itself. The water and other contaminates combine to form a mild acid which is corrosive. Ethanol has a lower combustion temp than straight gas so actually burns cooler. The issue with ethanol causing overheating and engine damage is caused by the extra oxygen contained in the ethanol combined with having an uncontained burn as compared to gas which causes 2 strokes to run leaner which causes more heat, but the other side of the coin is ethanol doesn't mix well with 2 stroke oil so can potentially cause a straight gas effect. 2 strokes can be designed to operate on E85 or even E100 without ill effects if they are tuned for it. A few years back Makita was testing a system that changed the carb setting and timing to allow their 2 stroke products to operate on E85.

I read somewhere that there are MANY added things to the various blends of mixed gas...
The researcher found that for lowest octane rating E10 the mfg added different additives (solvents and stuff) than from Premium E10....E10 Premium behaved better and had less corrosive additives

I'm confused as to why THEY didn't go with Butanol which has more power and none of the problems of Ethanol. Butanol can be made from grasses which grows MUCH faster than corn, can be made from grass clippings (think golf courses, or residential lawn clippings).

Maddening

 

[cfauvel]

Carb removed from a 5hp Briggs on a generator on a camper trailer. Generator was rarely used. This is what ethanol will do.

I've seen exactly this in every IC engine I had before we were able to get e0 in my area....none of my lawn equipment, generator, boat will have e10....my cars run e10 as they get used a lot.

 

[Beesnweeds]

I LOVE ethanol !!! A guy down the road was rolling his quad to the end of the driveway with a for sale sign on it. I immediately pulled over and asked him what was wrong. He said it needed a new carb and probably engine work because it will not start. I opened the gas cap and instantly knew the problem. He had $900 on it and I offered $500 because the engine was bad . He took it. A $50 Shindy carb rebuild kit and a couple gallons of non ethanol and the thing is a beast!! I run non ethanol in everything.

 

[dad7432]

Yep. That's it in a nutshell. I've never had problems with any of my OPE, but then I always prep them for storage each year. Seafoam might not be the absolute best fuel stabilizer, but it has always worked well for me. I know that STA-BIL works well for a lot of people and there are a few more good winter prep additives. The most important thing is to at least do something instead of just pushing the equipment in a shed and closing the door. I keep a battery tender on my lawn tractor and keep it in the garage where the temp never gets below about 45 degrees. I fire it up and run it at least once a month. It's usually more often that that since I need to move things around every once in a while.

I was guilty of NOT prepping that Troy-Bilt tiller for storage and I ended up having to buy a new carb before I could sell it. Nobody's fault but my own. I'm having some REALLY interesting chats with people selling used equipment online. They pretty much brag that whatever piece of equipment they have was only used for one or two seasons and then has been sitting in storage for two or three years. Their asking prices are WAY out of line and when I try to tell them what it will probably cost to get it ready for use to sell, they get offended and SWEAR it was running perfectly when they put it in storage a few years ago, so there just CAN'T be too much wrong with it.

In fact, I just had a final exchange with a guy. 3 months ago I saw he had a Troy-Bilt mower for sale. In the description it stated that it was NOT running and PROBABLY only needed the carb cleaned. The asking price was $75. When I first contacted him over three months ago, I offered $50. He was offended and told me it cost $300 when new. I explained that if the mower was running and nothing was missing or broken, he might expect to get $75 to $100, but since it didn't even start, it wasn't worth more than $50. He got really nasty with me. I left it alone. Then, a month ago I happened to see he still had it. I again contacted him and offered the same $50. His reply was kind of nasty, but he was still refusing. Yesterday I got a message from him stating he was willing to take $70 for it now. Yeah, $70 instead of $75, like that was a real incentive for me to jump on it. I replied that I had picked up a few mowers and would now only offer him $40. You should have seen THAT reply, LOL! There is no telling what might be wrong with the thing.

Maybe I'm out of line, but a NON-RUNNING mower can't be worth over $30 or $40. So many of the ones advertised online say that the mower is not running, but it was 2 years ago, or three years, or more, when they parked it in the shed. How in the world they expect to get $75, $100, or even more is beyond me. LOL! A non-running, straight push mower that hasn't run in three or more years is a problem waiting to be discovered. OK. call me cynical. LOL!

These are the mowers one finds left at the end of the driveway every monday morning. Or left at the shop after their owner gets their (pre-paid) estimate for repairs. If getting a cheap walk behind costs $300.00+ at the Big Box, who's paying for a big repair on a old mower?

 

[biggertv]

Ethanol causes problems in Carburetor Engines. In Fuel Injection Engines there is no place for gas to pool and cause problems. Otherwise we'd have stalled cars all over the roads.

 

[toolboxhero]

All small engines built after 2009 are designed to run on E10 (10% or less) ethanol fuel. Use a fuel stabilizer when storing the engine for more than a few months. The best way is to use the fuel stabilizer in the tank and then run the engine completely out of fuel. (The fuel stabilizer will coat the internal parts and keep the aluminum from oxidizing)
If your engine is 2007 or older you should run non-ethanol fuel. (E10 can burn the valves)
If your engine is a 1978 or older you should run non-ethanol fuel and add a lead additive (unless the valves have been replaced with hardened valves)
Small engines with EFI use a sealed fuel system so a fuel stabilizer is not needed but I still recommend using it for long-term storage.
If your car is 2001 or newer it is designed to run on E15 fuel. Running straight gas may increase the fuel mileage a small amount. The EFI automatically adjusts the fuel mixture. If your car has a yellow gas cap or a flex-fuel badge on the rear it's also designed to run on E85.
Ethanol absorbs moisture so if you store your equipment in a controlled humidity environment you won't have any issues. If you store your fuel in an approved, sealed container you won't have any issues (though I still add Seafoam in the winter)
If you have old fuel just put it in your vehicle - it doesn't care and the EFI will automatically adjust.

 

[ljms]

I know I'm not the smartest person out there. But I've been listening to these conversations for years now, and it takes me back to the years before leaded gasoline was banned, and all the horror stories that were predicted then. Well I'm still running my 1964 MF35 and I haven't burned up my valves or any part of the engine due to lack of lead lubrication. Yes, I have seen carbs that sat for a year or more with crystals in the float bowl, but any of my engines, small or large have not had those problems. Another thing I have noticed is that here in northwest Pa. where dry gas was a must have on hand product, is very rare if even available any more. Hmm, what were the main ingredients in dry gas? Ethanol and Isopropyl. Just saying. This is my own personal opinion, but ethanol gas has been around for sometime now, isn't it time the manufacturers adapt their products? One of the main complaints I had heard when this all started back a few years ago was the ethanol ruined the gaskets in the carbs. Well make the gaskets of better material, don't just complain as some CEOs have done.

 

[dad7432]

Ethanol causes problems in Carburetor Engines. In Fuel Injection Engines there is no place for gas to pool and cause problems. Otherwise we'd have stalled cars all over the roads.

My marina's mechanic would disagree. Strongly. He's repaired plenty of fuel injected inboard and outboard engines and drained plenty of trailer boat fuel tanks that were filled with phase separated E-10 gas. He does this even on boats with fuel/water separators where the separator has failed. All because of water saturated gas and phase separation. Because the water sits at the bottom of the tank with the fuel inlet, water gets sucked up the engine's fuel system first, which gets trashed.

 

[Racer X]

My mower runs on diesel.

No ethanol problems for me.