mustang guy Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 It's spring, and once again I am having to clean carbs and tanks. If you don't know, with ethanol in gas, water gets drawn out of the air and contaminates your gas tanks and carbs with water, rust and sludge. It also dissolves and dry rots rubber and some other materials. There is absolutely no virtue to it. In any event, I think it would be nice to have a reminder next fall for everybody to drain tanks and carbs at the end of the season. It isn't a bad idea without the ethanol, but with it, it is a necessity unless you like taking carbs apart. The easiest way is to not fill the machine up when you are done, and let it run until it dies. If you have a carb with a drain bolt, you can drain what's left that way. There are fuel additives, but I haven't had much luck with them. Mini rant: I hate ethanol, and wish they would finally stop adding it to fuel. Production of this stuff creates a larger carbon footprint than gasoline. It's dumb. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Also inefficient but unfortunately all politically motivated. Better than leaded gas i guess. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Find a source of gasoline without ethanol? You can Google. Briggs & Stratton sells some too. WMcD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 E85 (if measured as 85%) is a great power producer at some where around 110 octane rating parable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I agree with you 100% Brother in law just took an outboard in and was told by the mechanic to not run ethanol in the motor at all and he received a 600 bill too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) PREMIUM gas has no ethanol in these parts and small engines love it! Now that is good to know! I use the expensive little cans of ethanol-free pre-mix gas for my chain saws, but that's about it. For winter I just dump all the gas out of lawn mowers and such. Gas just doesn't keep fresh over time like it used to. Edited March 31, 2016 by wvu80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Throw some Sta Bil in it in the fall or run it dry prior to putting it up. Problem solved. Non ethanol gas around here is pretty rare. I think you can only get it at one of the marinas and it's not cost effective to buy it there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I use standard regular gas with E10 in both cars (1993-2014) and the lawn mower (10 years old) and never drain or clean anything and everything works just fine. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 PREMIUM gas has no ethanol in these parts and small engines love it! It has it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 PREMIUM gas has no ethanol in these parts and small engines love it! Now that is good to know! I use the expensive little bottles of ethanol-free pre-mix gas for my chain saws, but that's about it. For winter I just dump all the gas out of lawn mowers and such. Gas just doesn't keep fresh over time like it used to. My buddy stored his Corvette for 4 years without changing the gas and it started up just fine. I have used four year old gas in the mower and chainsaw and they worked just fine. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeskizzle Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Thankfully, I've got about 4 or 5 gas stations in my area that have at least one ethanol free pump of all grades. All of my small equipment gets ethanol free 89 and starts and runs just fine. I've never drained any of my small equipment over the winter and so far (knock on wood) have had zero issues with restarts...mower going on 10 years works just fine. Edit - Yes ethanol sucks and I'd be thrilled to see it go away...or at least stop being subsidized. Edited March 31, 2016 by homeskizzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Schu, E85 is terribly inefficient compared to gasoline, costs much more to produce, and so it costs more to consumers. I don't want to pay more money per gallon to get less mileage per gallon. That is has a higher octane rating is true. You can increase your jet size or your injector size and run drip gas in anything, but it does run hotter. JJK, I wonder why you and your friend haven't had issues. Do you buy your gas from a branded station? The reason I ask is that branded stations, not convenience stores, sell fuel with more additives. That is much better gas than you get at Kroger, gomart, and the like. I was told that all refineries add ethanol to gas, and that you can't get gas without it. I have also been told that airport gas does not have ethanol for obvious reasons (water in gas miles above Earth <> safe). Consequentially the only way to really know if there is ethanol in the gas it to test it. Here is how: In a beaker with a 4 oz line, pour exacly 16oz of gasoline. Now pour pour precisely 4 oz of tap water up to the 20oz mark. Shake well. Let settle. If the water is above the 4oz line, you have ethanol in your gas. Leaded gas is idiotic and was killing the planet. With ethanol's higher carbon footprint, it is accelerating the planets death too. It's just plain dumb. Send the corn to the starving children instead of burning it. Edited March 31, 2016 by mustang guy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 JJK, I wonder why you and your friend haven't had issues. I was wondering the same thing. I wouldn't argue with him as he has first hand experience but around here that stuff turns to varnish and collects water after a year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I have about 10 handhelds and run regular ethanol gas with sta-bil added to every 5 gallon jug I have. No problems at all other than a fuel pickup every 5 years or so and some I have never replaced. I have one little Stihl trimmer I bought in '97 and it still kicking with only one pickup replaced I think. I fill all my tanks completely at the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 My stihl and my shindawa equipment had to have hoses replaced in the past because they were rotten from the fuel. I suppose I should use sta bil even in the summer. I have it laying everywhere, but I'm not that good about using it. In short, perhaps additives could be the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Schu, E85 is terribly inefficient compared to gasoline, costs much more to produce, and so it costs more to consumers. I don't want to pay more money per gallon to get less mileage per gallon. That is has a higher octane rating is true. You can increase your jet size or your injector size and run drip gas in anything, but it does run hotter. JJK, I wonder why you and your friend haven't had issues. Do you buy your gas from a branded station? The reason I ask is that branded stations, not convenience stores, sell fuel with more additives. That is much better gas than you get at Kroger, gomart, and the like. I was told that all refineries add ethanol to gas, and that you can't get gas without it. I have also been told that airport gas does not have ethanol for obvious reasons (water in gas miles above Earth <> safe). Consequentially the only way to really know if there is ethanol in the gas it to test it. Here is how: In a beaker with a 4 oz line, pour exacly 16oz of gasoline. Now pour pour precisely 4 oz of tap water up to the 20oz mark. Shake well. Let settle. If the water is above the 4oz line, you have ethanol in your gas. Leaded gas is idiotic and was killing the planet. With ethanol's higher carbon footprint, it is accelerating the planets death too. It's just plain dumb. Send the corn to the starving children instead of burning it. I use Marathon gas with E10. They say E15 is the bad one. Well anyway it says E10 on the pump. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Find a source of gasoline without ethanol? You can Google. Briggs & Stratton sells some too. WMcD There scarce as hens teeth. I knew of 1 in Tulsa, and have gone to several stations in my area, some not so close, that were reported to carry ethanol free gasoline, but such was not the case. I have yet to find a source within 75 miles of me. For my bass boat, which sits un-used, un-started for 5 to 6 months during cold weather Oct. through Mar., I use Sta-Bil gasoline addative just before I park the boat for the winter. Been doing this since 2008, no problems what so ever. And YES, ethanol sucks, there is nothing remotely good about having it in your gasoline. Lead on the other hand was an excellent additive, great for the engine, just not good at all for the environment. Edited March 31, 2016 by Gilbert 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Sta-Bil works great for me. I never drain anything and haven't for years. I keep it in my gas all summer long even when it is probably not going to sit for more than a month. Anything that needs a gas oil mix I use Tru Fuel and do not have any problems anymore with those little 2 cycle engines getting clogged. Tru Fuel also has a 4 cycle version that I use for my generator. It is expensive so I only use 1 can in the tank. I drain the gas and refill with just a single can to keep things from drying out. Burning food as fuel is bullshit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Sta-Bil works great for me. I never drain anything and haven't for years. I keep it in my gas all summer long even when it is probably not going to sit for more than a month. Anything that needs a gas oil mix I use Tru Fuel and do not have any problems anymore with those little 2 cycle engines getting clogged. Tru Fuel also has a 4 cycle version that I use for my generator. It is expensive so I only use 1 can in the tank. I drain the gas and refill with just a single can to keep things from drying out. Burning food as fuel is bullshit! I use it on a regular basis too, but not in my Stihl equipment, but it's all running Stihl oil, which I was told by my dealer, already has stabilizer in it and I've never had a problem with any of the gear and never drain it over the winter. On my gas equipment, like the mower and pressure washer I've only done the Sta-Bil when getting ready for winter and run both of them for 10-15 minutes and top them off and never had a problem with either. Just fired up the mower on Sunday for the first cut and started right up and ran fine so 7 years on that mower doing the same thing with zero issues. Burning food as fuel being BS is putting it lightly but the real question is..................................how do we collectively stop it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Burning food as fuel being BS is putting it lightly but the real question is..................................how do we collectively stop it? A good place to start would be killing off the "Ethanol Lobbyist" who are coddling your states fed. representatives. Edited March 31, 2016 by Gilbert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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