No Ethanol vs Ethanol Gas

[Gord Baker]

If you fill several 5 gal cans of fuel at the lowest price you can find and they are tightly sealed, no problem.
It is the moisture in the Air in partially filled tanks that offers the Ethanol moisture.
The fuel will normally last 30 days with no degradation.
I use Premium Ethanol Free in Ontario in my XLR. I always run small HP engines dry at season end and then drain the carb bowl which is very important.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I've been meaning to ask you guys what you think about Sta-Bil's 360 Protection. It's Ethanol treatment as well as stabilizer.

New York elephant repellant is the term that comes to mind
The story is the same as fuel breakdown it is dependent on so many different climatic conditions it is impossible to make a blanket appraisal.
They are needed for some thing like 5% of the country.
At best they will do no harm if used in the concentrations prescribed on the cans other than lighten your wallet .

Scam is not quite the right word because in the 5 % of places they are needed they work quite well
Over marketed on par with WD 40 in order to convince the 95 % who don't need it to believe that they do thus sell a lot more product would be more like it .
As for the you tube video, regardless of the fact I agree with his conclusions, it is not proof of anything other than the fact he has little understanding of fuel physics & chemistry

I will use a for instance here.
Customer who hangs his line trimmers on hooks on the side of a steel yard shed , next to them is the two walk behinds and in the middle is the ride on .
It is a std 8' x 10' garden shed on concrete tiles ( to avoid planning laws ) .
The ride on & one of the walk behinds that is nearer the door never have any problems
The walk behind in the corner & the stuff hanging on the wall all suffer from fuel going off chronically
So he is now using Stabil for the walk behinds & tipping the trimmers out & running them dry
So the difference between needing Stabil & not needing it can be as little as a couple of feet away from a wall in an 8 x 10 shed .
I did try to fit taps to the walk behinds but the mowers are too compact & thus cumbersome to use the taps

 

[lbrac]

I have read that 2 cycle oil tends to stabilize gasohol and have had no problems w/ 2-stroke engines. I had filled a couple of outboard tanks and added oil in anticipation of using my boat, which didn't happen, so after about 6 or 7 years I used the fuel in trimmers, chain saw, etc. w/o any problem. The boat tanks were sealed and kept in the boat under cover. But I have had gasohol treated w/ Stabil go bad in 2 pickup tanks and one car tank from sitting too long (2 to 3 years). The FI fuel pumps were ruined. Many years ago, I would occasionally get a slug of water w/ straight gas in my car from a gas station. There was no ethanol to absorb the water, and it would settle to the bottom of the tank and get pumped to the carb bowl. I had to remove the top of the carb, and absorb the water w/ a paper towel to get the car to run again. Gas stations sometimes don't properly replace the tank covers after measuring the level of water and fuel in the tank, causing rain to get into the fuel. The water is supposed to be pumped out of the tanks when it is detected.

I was a fuels specialist in the Air Force. In Alaska, 50,000 gallon underground jet fuel tanks, that had fuel drawn from them and were refilled daily, would condense 5 gallons or more of water each that would have to be pumped out of the bottom of the tank sump each day. But full million gallon above ground reserve tanks, that didn't have fuel removed, would collect only a gallon or less of water per month.

 

[oneoldsap]

I know what is said about everyone's opinions ! Is it really worth the 85 cent extra cost over 93 octane gas to no ethanol gas? I will refilling at least 1 time every month.

I mow commercially , and use Regular 87 Octane gas in all my equipment . The last few tankfulls in the fall get treated with Sea Foam , and I store them for the winter with Sea Foam treated fuel in them , and they start right up in the Spring , and run just fine . I do however use 93 Non-Ethanol in my 2-stroke outboard motors . Also treated with Sea Foam .

 

[fescue]

I deliver fuel to stations. Can not speak to CA Reformulation laws. What I do know is here in Indiana you will notice a change in MPG when the summer blend comes in. This can take anywhere from 2 to 10 days depending on the volume of gas in the tanks at the loading terminal. Also can vary by your branded gas stations also. We move upwards of 350000 gallons of regular a day of 1 brand and 17000 gallons of another. So it takes longer for the lower volume brands to switch over. Granted other companies pull out if those terminals also.

About what month do you think the summer blends are fully in the tanks of medium to high use stations? I can never tell when the summer blends actually begin. I live in eastern KS. Thanks.

 

[7997T]

About what month do you think the summer blends are fully in the tanks of medium to high use stations? I can never tell when the summer blends actually begin. I live in eastern KS. Thanks.

Here in Northern Indiana we made the switch a few weeks ago. Most station would be the same week. Your really low volume stations probably 2 weeks. Although alot of them run bottom of the tanks. So the change over could be fast. I see most places we go to buying 93 octane to 87 octane as a 1 to 7.5 ratio.

 

[catman606]

In my Stihl chainsaw and weedeatet, non-ethanol definitely runs better. Engines just rev up much quicker and more crisp sounding. I used to do a lot of drag racing and I ran av gas in them. The guy at the airport told me it was at least a 100 octane, this was back in the 80's. Well, if I was at work and my wife decided to mow the grass, she would use my av gas in the mower! She'd just tell me that it run's so much better. Never had the first problem out of that old Craftsman, kept it for over 20 years until the deck was beyond patching.

My present Craftsman runs fine on the E10, although I have replaced the engine. I'm going to buy a new JD X350 this summer at some point, been busy getting my garden ready, grandson playing baseball and just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'd like to run it on the non-ethanol, but with the prices, I don't know. Thanks Brandon!!!

 

[Ron3]

I use regular pump gas in everthing. 36hp zero turn, lo-boy tractor, 3 chainsaws, 2 string trimmers, hedge trimmer, blower, lawn boy mower, pole saw, 2 generators. Snowblower, Chipper, edger with no problems. I do run everthing dry at the end of its season. Ethanol gas runs fine it just doesn't store well.

Yea me too

 

[Graeden]

New York elephant repellant is the term that comes to mind
The story is the same as fuel breakdown it is dependent on so many different climatic conditions it is impossible to make a blanket appraisal.
They are needed for some thing like 5% of the country.
At best they will do no harm if used in the concentrations prescribed on the cans other than lighten your wallet .

Scam is not quite the right word because in the 5 % of places they are needed they work quite well
Over marketed on par with WD 40 in order to convince the 95 % who don't need it to believe that they do thus sell a lot more product would be more like it .
As for the you tube video, regardless of the fact I agree with his conclusions, it is not proof of anything other than the fact he has little understanding of fuel physics & chemistry

I will use a for instance here.
Customer who hangs his line trimmers on hooks on the side of a steel yard shed , next to them is the two walk behinds and in the middle is the ride on .
It is a std 8' x 10' garden shed on concrete tiles ( to avoid planning laws ) .
The ride on & one of the walk behinds that is nearer the door never have any problems
The walk behind in the corner & the stuff hanging on the wall all suffer from fuel going off chronically
So he is now using Stabil for the walk behinds & tipping the trimmers out & running them dry
So the difference between needing Stabil & not needing it can be as little as a couple of feet away from a wall in an 8 x 10 shed .
I did try to fit taps to the walk behinds but the mowers are too compact & thus cumbersome to use the taps

You do not need to have a full understanding of fuel physics to know that it is well documented that ethanol containing fuel absorbs moisture. I’ve repaired & replaced many carbs due to the use of ethanol fuel, both with & without some brand name of stabilizer used. Your example with the shed is as anecdotal as Ryan’s conclusion, however I refuse to lighten my wallet using a product that does not do as advertised. If people feel all warm & fuzzy by using SeaFoam, Sta-Bil, Lucas, or any other stabilizer, then they should continue to use them. Myself, I’ll save myself from the headaches these products cause.