Using Ethanol Fuel
- Thread starter Boobala
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Mad Mackie
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I would be very happy to only travel 30 miles to get ethanol free gasoline!!!!
If you ever experience Phase Separation from water contamination in an ethanol blend, you will experience first hand the evils of ethanol. And it only takes 1% water to do it. Don't want to bore you with several details but I must share this. Have an 89 Isuzu Trooper. Began running rough and shutting down. Suspected bad fuel. Pulled the pump from top of tank. That left between a 3-4" opening. Couldn't really tell much. Drain the tank. Peering through the larger opening, the tank looked coated with a light gray paint that had not been mixed well. Flushed it with a garden hose. And then my ethanol lesson began. The tank was 21-22 years old and should show it. The inside of the tank looked like highly polished stainless or chrome. I then began learning about the highly corrosive acid created by phase separation. Rubber fuel line joints eaten internally. Other crap as well. I spent a good bit of cash on unbiased chemical analysis of several samples I had captured when drain the tank. Fortunately for me, I had filled 10 pint jars before discarding the remainder. Here's something interesting. I had converted the trooper from fuelie to a weber carb. Took the carb apart and it was coated with a slime. Carb cleaner, brake cleaner, gunk, etc; nothing would touch it. I had thought about when I flushed the tank with water. I have a dedicated pump sprayer in my shop with only water. Hit the carb with water and it flushed right out of there. Same thing with intake. Strange stuff. Every 2-cycle device I have had in the last several years has been seriously impacted with ethanol. Some I would put carb kits in 3-4 times over a few months then just end up tossing them. Began using non-ethanol (4 miles from house) about 4-5 years ago and everything is just fine.
chobbs1957
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Always fill the tank full of gas before parking equipment, greatly reducing the chance for condensation. Same thing applies to storage containers. Another strategy I have read about that makes sense.
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Very true. Ethanol has a very short shelf life and most of the problems occur when a motorized whatever spends more time sitting than running. Another thing I learned is with 2 cycle stuff. The ethanol will literally separate the oil in your mix from the moving parts. The 2 cycle industry states that synthetic 2 cycle oil will not allow that to happen.
Here's a couple of pics of the phase separated ethanol from my trooper. Distinct layers of gas, unknown acidic chemical, greatly diluted (very low octane) ethanol. The gray matter looks exactly like that gray colored blown insulation including texture when viewing in real life. Shake the jar and it returns to the layered state in less than 60 seconds. Initially, this really impacted the marine industry and they are mostly to thank for having come up with additives to prevent and control the effects of ethanol.
From TORO webpage: Fuel facts...
Fuel deteriorates over time. Deterioration begins with the most volatile compounds evaporating. Once evaporation reaches a certain point it will be hard/impossible to start the machine. As more compounds evaporate, the fuel will form brown gummy deposits in the system. Given enough time the gummy deposits will become a hard varnish. Gummy deposits and varnish can plug passages in the carburetor preventing the engine from running or causing the engine to run poorly (surging, lack of power, stalls, etc.). Deposits can also cause the carburetor to leak fuel if they prevent the float needle from sealing properly.
Most fuel stabilizers form a layer over the top of the gasoline and greatly reduce the rate the fuel's volatile compounds evaporate. They also prevent the absorption of moisture by the fuel. If fuel stabilizer is added to gasoline the day the gasoline is purchased, the fuel will stay fresh longer.
Gasoline with no ethanol will greatly reduce the amount of moisture the gasoline can absorb from the atmosphere. Many areas of the country have ethanol-free gas available, and finding it is easy. Search for "ethanol free gasoline" on the Internet.
Fuel deteriorates over time. Deterioration begins with the most volatile compounds evaporating. Once evaporation reaches a certain point it will be hard/impossible to start the machine. As more compounds evaporate, the fuel will form brown gummy deposits in the system. Given enough time the gummy deposits will become a hard varnish. Gummy deposits and varnish can plug passages in the carburetor preventing the engine from running or causing the engine to run poorly (surging, lack of power, stalls, etc.). Deposits can also cause the carburetor to leak fuel if they prevent the float needle from sealing properly.
Most fuel stabilizers form a layer over the top of the gasoline and greatly reduce the rate the fuel's volatile compounds evaporate. They also prevent the absorption of moisture by the fuel. If fuel stabilizer is added to gasoline the day the gasoline is purchased, the fuel will stay fresh longer.
Gasoline with no ethanol will greatly reduce the amount of moisture the gasoline can absorb from the atmosphere. Many areas of the country have ethanol-free gas available, and finding it is easy. Search for "ethanol free gasoline" on the Internet.