Eth in Non-Eth gas??

[CedarRiverScooter]

This year both of my lawn mowers (one 35 years old, the other 1 year old) had clogged carbs after storage. I always buy non- eth gas, which is quite a bit more expensive. I added sta-bil to fresh gas last fall & ran the carbs dry.

I am wondering if they sold me ethanol thru the non- eth gas. Not trying to start a conspiracy theory here.

I found this way to test, so I will be doing this next time I get gas. Note I haven't started my outboard yet so that could be gummed up too.

HOW TO TEST FUEL
FOR ETHANOL

On a test tube or olive bottle six or seven inches long, make a permanent line about two inches from the bottom.
Fill with water to this line, then fill the tube to the top with gasoline.
Cover the tube, agitate it, and let it stand.
The ethanol and water will mix and separate out together. If the water level appears to have increased, the fuel contains ethanol and should not be used. Ethanol percentages of less than 5% can sometimes give a reading below the line. Therefore, any deviation in the water line indicates the presence of ethanol and should serve as a basis for rejecting the fuel.

 

[maintenanceguy]

Ethanol will degrade plastic/rubber parts that aren't ethanol resistant. Since it's been part of gasoline for 20+ years, modern equipment should work fine with ethanol gas. Old, old equipment can have fuel hoses, pump diaphragms, etc damaged.

I don't believe it will contribute to clogged carbs. This is from leaving fuel in the carburetor and letting it evaporate away. A sticky varnish is left behind. To prevent this, shut off or disconnect the fuel line from the carb and run the motor until it dies. The carb will now be empty.

 

[ruffhunter]

i have to disagree you'll be fine with regular gas. My dads buddy is a husqvarna, kymco atv, simplicity dealer. He will not cover any warranty work if regular gas was used for any internal problem. Users of regular gas is the source for most internal repairs. I always run my mowers dry in the fall too. However, i use regular gas because i go through so quick, but that run dry tank gets a treatment dose.

In my atv and chainsaw i only use non ethanol.


adding ethanol serves no purpose imo. send it overseas

 

[MrGiggles]

i have to disagree you'll be fine with regular gas. My dads buddy is a husqvarna, kymco atv, simplicity dealer. He will not cover any warranty work if regular gas was used for any internal problem. Users of regular gas is the source for most internal repairs. I always run my mowers dry in the fall too. However, i use regular gas because i go through so quick, but that run dry tank gets a treatment dose.

In my atv and chainsaw i only use non ethanol.


adding ethanol serves no purpose imo. send it overseas

Ethanol does serve the purpose of reducing hydrocarbon emissions.

Guy is a crook if he's denying warranty claims when people are using fuel that meets manufacturer's specs. I'd be pissed, and the manufacturers probably wouldn't be too happy if they found out.

I've been using ethanol in everything for years.. I don't even winterize my mower, just park it. Charge the battery in the spring and it fires right up, carb has not been touched since they assembled it in 2006. Same goes for the rest of my stuff. I'm not driving 30 miles to get ethanol free.

I think ethanol is a scapegoat for neglect, leave something sitting for years, it is going to develop fuel system problems regardless of what it is filled with.

The main problem is that the EPA has tightened emissions regulations so much in recent years that OPE fuel systems are jetted borderline too lean right out of the box, as soon as they get just a little crud in them, or some fuel that isn't quite as potent as it used to be, she's dead.

As mentioned, ethanol will eat rubber parts that aren't rated for it, but it's been around long enough for that to not really be a problem anymore. It will also absorb water, but non-ethanol gas that has water in it won't burn all that well either.

 

[ClemsonAlum]

All fuel oxidizes and degrades when exposed to air, no matter what. Ethanol fuel absorbs moisture from the air, hence causing corrosion, and evaporation leaving that yellow crud.
Apparently all the gas didn't get ran out of the carbs. Fuel stabilizers don't really work. I run non ethanol in my boat and push mower with no stabilizers with no issues in storage for 6 months or less. If you don't believe me, check out Project Farm's test on youtube. A test actually using science.

-Kurt

 

[ClemsonAlum]

And I never run my carbs dry. They stay mostly full, so thar reduces the gas oxidizing and evaporating.

-Kurt

 

[KMixson]

I have two carbs for my mower. Before starting it for the first time in spring I put the carb I rebuilt after taking it off the previous spring back on it. Then I rebuild/clean out the one I took off to be ready for next spring or if the cab on it gets gummed up during the summer for some reason. It will flat out refuse to start if I didn't do that.

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

I ran the carbs dry before storage. Used sta-bil. Used non-ethanol gas, which is $.40 more per gallon.

I'm in Iowa, home of ethanol & ironically non-eth is readily available.

I have done the same procedure for 35 years & this is the 1st time I had a problem. Just guessing it was the gas I used.,

 

[C&K]

adding ethanol serves no purpose imo. send it overseas

Actually ethanol does serve a purpose. It is the oxygenate and octane-booster. They outlawed tetraethyl lead and MTBE long ago. Without ethanol in today's fuels you'd be running 6.5:1 compression on the equivalent of Coleman lantern gas and it would probably still ping. There are other additives that distributors can add to refinery gas for octane boosters, but none as cheap as ethanol, considering that just about everything else has been outlawed by federal law.

 

[turbotodd]

you can barely (if at all) find true 0% ethanol fuel

almost all "non ethanol" fuel has SOME. You never know how much unelss you get a test kit and check it yourself.

The government doesn't require fuel to be labeled "may contain ethanol" until the E content is is over 3.5% as I recall.

If it is 7% or higher, it must be labeled "up to 10% ethanol".

with that said, the ethanol "problem" is over-rated now. Almost everything gas powered that was built since about 2005 is rated for E10 and no more. That means most of your newer equipment will have E10 rated parts, lines, carbs, etc. Where the problem lies is letting it sit, and it don't matter if it's E0 or E10 or E15 or what, if you let it sit more than a couple weeks, it IS GOING TO degrade. Adding stabilizer might make it last another couple weeks. One month is about all I have ever gotten out of treated fuel; and at that point it begins to run like poo if at all in some cases. It's a larger problem with small 4 stroke outboards, as the carburetors typically have teeny tiny passages inside of them, tiny jets, small fuel lines, and the fact that most boats SIT. Those days when you could park your boat outside for a few months are gone. You have to be proactive if you own small engines in general. Proactive meaning if the fuel has been in there a while, it'd be a good idea to dump the old fuel and put fresh in. With that, adding fresh fuel on top of junk fuel doesn't make junk fuel better, so if it won't run properly, don't go throwing new fuel in there expecting it to work, because it won't.

 

[ClemsonAlum]

No, not really. Ethanol absorbs moisture from the air. Moisture then causes corrosion to all metals. Gas lasts way longer than 4 weeks buddy. Non ethanol fuel in my boat tanks and carbs sits on average 3 months every year with no issues with no stabilizer. Gas lasts about a year. Watch Project Farm's scientific test on youtube. Not your average youtuber.

-Kurt

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

Turns out that my Honda mower has an ultra-cheap carb. So that one wasn't gasoline's fault. The needle seals against the aluminum body, no brass seat at all. The std fix is to just replace carb, which can be had for about $15.