Not to start an argument.....

[Tiger Small Engine]

Start Stron is supposed to make it where the water will burn out with the fuel.... I'm going to test that next to see if this gas will actually run and see if I notice a performance decrease.

Heet is what I use if a tiny bit of water is in the fuel. Seafoam makes you feel good but does very little. I run 87 octane with 10% ethanol and never have fuel issues with my equipment. Everyone “swears by” their own experience and methods and it is an ongoing topic of discussion.

 

[slomo]

It's about the "type" of can the fuel was in. Much as I hate to say but the new plastic "safety" cans are better than the old vented style. These new cans keep the fuel fresher. That and I use Sta-Bil so I don't have to recall how old it was.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I have a gallon of sta bil marine. I put it in customer equip but I never use it in my own stuff. It makes them feel better.

 

[TonyPrin]

... stirred both jars after adding water, set for 1 hour. Phase separation has occurred on the left, on the right.. I see no phase separation...

Not sure, but I believe the test is flawed in several aspects. Phase separation occurs when gasoline becomes saturated with water, which forces the water and gasoline to separate. While it's likely an eye dropper in a cup of water would lead to saturation, it's not certain.

Beyond that, it takes a while for the water to attach to the gasoline. While stirring helps the process, it could still take days for saturation to actually occur. So, it's possible the water seen in the jar could just be unabsorbed water settling. For example, if you add chocolate syrup to milk and stir you may find some syrup at the bottom of the glass. That's just because the syrup didn't mix properly not that it mixed and separated.

I don't believe Star Tron claims to remove water.

 

[slomo]

Youtube Farmer Tech or what ever his screen name is tested (Heet) alcohol and many others on removing water. Moral of that story was save your money cause nothing removed the water. They are to disperse the water and allow it to put up into carbs for example and burn off.

Use a new can, no E-10 and for me, stabilizer. Never had an issue since.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I have lawnboy S21ZPM that is 30+ years old. It is a trim mower now so it only sees a few tanks of gas a year. At the end of the season I turn off the gas valve and run the cab dry. In the spring I turn the valve on and star the mower. Gas in it could be 6 to 8 months old and has oil in it. Mower starts every year. I park my 36HP ferris Z and put a battery tender on it for the winter and do nothing with the E10 regular fuel. Never have a problem starting in the spring. I buy gas 35 gallons at a time in 5 gallon cans. Have had a few get lost in the shuffle and sit for over a year in the barn. Put it in equipment and it ran fine.
When folks bring stuff to the shop and the carb is a snotty mess and the say it only sat for a couple months it is a little hard to believe.

I have also seen an old vented metal 5 gal can set in a humid summer and collect enough water in a few days that it filled a large float bowl on a tractor with water .

I just finished a fuel pump job on a Honda TRX420. That had set for about a year (according to the customer). The gas valve was completely clogged. Even using the ultrasonic on it for at least 2hours (using Awesome), I still couldn't get it unclogged. The fuel pump was clogged. Luckily the injectors were free enough to still let gas through.
When pumping out the gas, it started out brownish orange. Then turned almost black by the time I got to the bottom of the tank.

My guess is it's set for probably close to 2 years.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Not sure but this might be a fuel problemView attachment 69307

A little WD 40 and some steel wool and it'll polish right up. Be good as new.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Did a test recently. I have a 5 gallon can that is appropriately dosed with StarTron.
Which is in the jar on the right.
Jar on the left is straight pump gas.
Both jars filled filled up to 1 cup mark, and I added a eye droppers worth of water, so each jar has the exact same amount of water in it, stirred both jars after adding water, set for 1 hour. Phase separation has occurred on the left, on the right.. I see no phase seperation...which is one of start trons claims, it changes the surface tension between the water and fuel.. My next test is to put the startron/fuel/water mix into 4 cycle blower that I occasionally use and see if it will actually Run it...

Not being able to see the water, makes me think the StarTron helped to mix the water and gas. Which would still allow the water to burn with the fuel (somewhat), instead of the water sitting at the bottom of the fuel bowl.

I'm never understood why a carburetor wouldn't simply suck up the water and send it into the venturi. Eliminating it by sucking into the head. If there's only a little water, seems that once the gas starts getting moved though the carb and into the head, it would ignite and start running normally.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Fun fact. This past winter I forgot a plastic coffee can with about an inch of ice melter in it sitting in the barn. Found it yesterday. It is almost completely full of water it has pulled out of the air. Probably about a quart.

 

[ILENGINE]

Not being able to see the water, makes me think the StarTron helped to mix the water and gas. Which would still allow the water to burn with the fuel (somewhat), instead of the water sitting at the bottom of the fuel bowl.

I'm never understood why a carburetor wouldn't simply suck up the water and send it into the venturi. Eliminating it by sucking into the head. If there's only a little water, seems that once the gas starts getting moved though the carb and into the head, it would ignite and start running normally.

Maybe it would make more sense if you think about the spark as a heat source. The gas is ignited by that heat source. Water is a coolant. So the water cools the spark aka heat source below the temperature required to ignite the gas. Therefore the gas doesn't ignite therefore no run. Also if the spark plug gets wet with water and water is conductive of electricity it grounds out the spark.