Issues with Ethanol

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Hydestone

Hydestone

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Oct 25, 2008
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Lancaster, MA
I’ve heard some horror stories about carburator damage resultig from ethanol additives in gasoline. I cannot find any straight gasonline in my area, it all contains up to 10% ethanol.

How are you guys working around the probles of enthanol gumming up or “varnishing” the carb?

Do you simply run it once a month?
Empty the fuel at the end of season?
Use a stabilizer or other treatment?
 
Octane

Octane

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May 18, 2008
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422
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Southern Wisconsin
I use fuel stabilizer and if I know Im not going to use my saw for at least a month, I will drain the gas out of the tank and run the engine out of gas.
I havent really seen where ethanol gums up the carb any more than straight gas.
Ethanol does lower the octane rating a little (thats why 93 octane fuel doesnt contain ethanol), so you need to either watch your mixture screws or just run 93 octane fuel to prevent detonation, but I havent seen an issue with gumming up of the carb.
Ethanol-blended or not, unstabilized fuel still goes bad in 30 days and even stabilized fuel goes bad in 90 days.
 
Mad Professor
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
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18,241
Location
North East USA
I use fuel stabilizer and if I know Im not going to use my saw for at least a month, I will drain the gas out of the tank and run the engine out of gas.
I havent really seen where ethanol gums up the carb any more than straight gas.
Ethanol does lower the octane rating a little (thats why 93 octane fuel doesnt contain ethanol), so you need to either watch your mixture screws or just run 93 octane fuel to prevent detonation, but I havent seen an issue with gumming up of the carb.
Ethanol-blended or not, unstabilized fuel still goes bad in 30 days and even stabilized fuel goes bad in 90 days.

I mix my fuel (100LL) and store it in metal cans (1-gal coleman fuel cans). It keeps for months, not weeks. Unmixed 100LL stores for years.
 
Jonny Quest
Joined
Mar 23, 2007
Messages
788
Location
Utah (via Texas)
Ethanol does lower the octane rating a little (thats why 93 octane fuel doesnt contain ethanol), so you need to either watch your mixture screws or just run 93 octane fuel to prevent detonation, but I havent seen an issue with gumming up of the carb.

Don't think so. Pure ethanol has an octane rating of 113, compared with 107 for methanol and about 85 to 95 for gasoline.

JQ
 
Mad Professor
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
18,241
Location
North East USA
What's the going rate for 100LL these days?
The airstrip nearest to me was at $3.98 a gallon as of yesterday, I was hoping it might be under $3.

It will parallel the pump gas prices but will take longer to go up/down in price. I've not checked recently but when it bottoms out I've got a 55-gal metal drum to fill up.
 
Outlaw5.0

Outlaw5.0

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Aug 20, 2007
Messages
922
Location
Michigan
My local Stihl dealer has had more saws burn up from the new "ethanol" laced gas than he ever has compared to the "old" fuel. He loves seeing me because I'm always buying something instead having a saw fixed under warranty.
 
jhellwig

jhellwig

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. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
877
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Ottumwa, Iowa
The problems I have seen with going from regular fuel to e10 was it cleaned the junk out of the tank and usually plugged the fuel filter. It has eaten the bowl gasket out of my tractor that hasn't had the carb rebuilt for a long time. No big deal though. Just needs new gaskets.
 

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