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The last thing I want to start is another debate on the subject of Ethanol so for those of you that have no problems with it's use please stop reading and click the back button. For those of you who, like me, want nothing to do with the vile swill in your small engines, read on. This is not my idea but something I picked up on the net several years ago and has served me well. The closest gas station that sells E0 is 70 miles from me so for the 10 to 15 gallons I use in a season it's worth it to remove the ethanol myself.

The drain tube is made from 3/4" clear tubing, a 1/2" ball valve and 2 hose clamps.

Starting with an empty 5 gallon gas can, I add 64oz of distilled water and head to the gas station to fill it the rest of the way with 91 octane gas (4.5 gallons). 10% ethanol will increase the octane value by 2 so starting with 91 octane will yeild 89 octane when the ethanol is removed. It takes no time for the ethanol to absorb the water so by the time I get home (about 5 minutes) it's ready to be drained off.




Here's my old Gott gas can turned upside down on my B&D workmate with the spout set at the lowest point. Water is heavier than gas so it will quickly settle to the lowest point (the spout) where it can be drained.



Hose assembly clamped to the spout. The bubbles seen inside the tube are water/ethanol droplets heading south. This picture was taken near the end of the procedure so the droplets are smaller and there are less of them.



It's easy to see in this pic how fast the water/ethanol settles to the bottom of the hose.



Here's what I drain it into to see how much ethanol is actually removed from the gas. This batch had 8% ethanol.



Near the end of the draining, you can clearly see where the swill ends and pure gas begins.



I usually drain off a few ounces of gas at the end to make sure there's not a drop of the swill left in the tube.

I love it. Thanks for posting.

The problem you have is the gasoline left behind has lost a lot of its octane value because the ethanol will strip out valuable fuel components when removed.

Adding water to gasoline just to remove the ethanol isn't a good idea. I could see it doing far more harm than good. It's not like you can add an octane booster because you don't know what octane you have left to start with or what other additive you possibly have altered changed or removed.

The thing I see that has a better chance of happening is someone getting hurt. Gas is something that shouldn't be messed around with, it's to dangerous. If ethanol is a concern to you they make plenty of additives that are supposed to take care of that issue and are safer to deal with.

I have to agree with ric on this.

This is just not worth it

Just use a good fuel stabilizer like Ethanol Shield. This fights the ethanol issues so that it will not hurt anything. It does work. Message me and i will send you a sample.

Mike_Goad said:

Just use a good fuel stabilizer like Ethanol Shield. This fights the ethanol issues so that it will not hurt anything. It does work. Message me and i will send you a sample.

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Ethanol Shield is just one of many stabilizers available on the market that you can get that work very well if you have issues with ethanol. Nice thing is you can buy stabilizers most any place that sells gas, so it's convenient.

Sorry guys, no snake oil for me and I've tried them all. I've been removing ethanol from my gasoline for years now and have ZERO issues, unlike the problems I had with additives. I was hoping this would not become a debate but be useful for those who know the facts about ethanol problems with small engines.

funflyer said:

Sorry guys, no snake oil for me and I've tried them all. I've been removing ethanol from my gasoline for years now and have ZERO issues, unlike the problems I had with additives. I was hoping this would not become a debate but be useful for those who know the facts about ethanol problems with small engines.

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I will agree with the members that conclude it could be dangerous ...... however if you prefer your method , by all means , continue with common sense ( which it appears you are blessed with ) and ignore the nay-sayers , HELL , driving to the store is dangerous !! GREAT pics !! PLAY SAFE !!
Boobala :thumbsup:

Also added a link that may be useful ......http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=AZ

Hey, I'm all for keeping us safe from ourselves so just in case someone doesn't know the dangers of gasoline, here you go.

http://www.nfpa.org/safety-informat...propane/gasoline-at-home/gasoline-safety-tips

Boobala said:

I will agree with the members that conclude it could be dangerous ...... however if you prefer your method , by all means , continue with common sense ( which it appears you are blessed with ) and ignore the nay-sayers , HELL , driving to the store is dangerous !! GREAT pics !! PLAY SAFE !!
Boobala :thumbsup:

Also added a link that may be useful ......http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=AZ

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Thanks for that link. I found a Chevron station not far from me that sells non-ethanol gas.

About the risk... I hope that whoever does this is extra careful (including not doing it in your house or any other occupied building).

I have found that MOST marina's sell NON-Ethanol gas if you ask ....... ( because most outboard engines were 2 strokes and that helped prevent fuel issues ) being in Florida ....I'm surrounded by oceans and lakes , therefore, many marinas ! ALWAYS be careful with handling Gas , we tend to get very complacent these days....
I've seen people smoking while refueling at a gas station !!! .......... Boobala .......:thumbsup:

Boobala said:

I have found that MOST marina's sell NON-Ethanol gas if you ask ....... ( because most outboard engines were 2 strokes and that helped prevent fuel issues ) being in Florida ....I'm surrounded by oceans and lakes , therefore, many marinas ! ALWAYS be careful with handling Gas , we tend to get very complacent these days....
I've seen people smoking while refueling at a gas station !!! .......... Boobala .......:thumbsup:

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Your Non Ethanol gas at marinas is coming to an end. I just looked at an article in B.A.S.S Times that most of the marinas are starting to having problems getting the Non ethanol stuff and it's becoming an issue. The guys running the big four stroke engines don't seem to be having the problems which the two stroke guys are having. At least that's that is the claim.