Damn this gas today..

[Flathead Youngin']

Me too! ...hate the stuff!

At the end of the season, run it dry or empty out what is left. Then, buy you some Stihl gas in a can that has no ethanol in it and, according to the label, it has a shelf life of 2 years. Pour about a 1/2 cup of it in and start it. Let it run through the carb...I use the 2 cycle mix too, the lube can't hurt anything except maybe foul a plug sooner but you'll thin out the ratio when you pull it out and mix straight gas in with it the next season.

This has been my process for the last couple of years.....

edit: here's a pic of the can....

 

[StingRay]

Motomix is expensive...............and worth EVERY penny. I haven't had a problem with my chainsaws and weed whackers since I started using it. A liittle bigger stuff like lawn mowers I seem to be good with no ethanol premium and fuel preservative. I frequently run a bit of Seafoam through most stuff too.

 

[JoeMA]

Can not get pure gas around me either. I use Star Tron in the gas. Instead on draining the gas, I keep the tank full and run the equipment once every month or two. So far, so good.

 

[BleedingBlue]

How much seafoam do you guys run through your small engines? Just bought a used snowblower and want to add it to the fuel


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[K13]

I have a theory on this - my childhood best friend still lives in Eastern WA, where they get their gas from the refineries in eastern Montana. He does the same as you and has never had any problems.

Here in the greater Seattle area, our gas comes from a refinery up in Anacortes about an hour north of Seattle. I don't know what they are adding to it besides the alcohol, but it smells to me like paint thinner when I'm filling up. It doesn't last very long - I've had pump gas go bad in my lawn mowers several times over the summer (most people don't water their lawns here so the lawns go dormant July - September), before I started using alcohol-free.

Also, another factor may be the humidity level - in Eastern WA the humidity level is pretty low, while it's much higher in Western WA. The higher humidity is going to affect E10 more.

So these factors may account for why some people have more problems running E10 than others.

May be true about the humidity as I buy cheapest gas, I have never put stabalizer in, I never run my tank dry and my lawn mower can easily sit for 7 months without being used and starts right up every year no issues. But it is dry here over the winter. I also had my snow blower sit for over 18 months without being used (had a winter without enough snow to justify using it) and it started right up when I went to use it with no issues. Both my mower and snow blower have been used like this for over 10 years without any issues.

 

[Showkey]

How much seafoam do you guys run through your small engines? Just bought a used snowblower and want to add it to the fuel


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Seafoam.......( again) is naphtha , pale oil and IPA ( alcohol).......Which of these things are really needed in the small engine?

Seafoam is about $70 per gallon.......it should work miracles ?????

 

[kmacht]

Worked great on my tractor. The engine was running like **** and before I rebuilt the carb so I decided to try a can of seafoam. Engine was running like new by the time I finished the next mowing of the lawn. Not sure why or how it works but it does.

Keith

 

[BleedingBlue]

Seafoam.......( again) is naphtha , pale oil and IPA ( alcohol).......Which of these things are really needed in the small engine?

Seafoam is about $70 per gallon.......it should work miracles ?????

I dont intend to use it as a fuel stabilizer, but to clean out the carb.


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[G-ManBart]

Almost, but not quite.

Southbound Southfield Road, where it crosses I-94 and expressway ends.....on the right is a station with ethanol free premium.

Bill

I've used a lot of ethanol free fuel from them. The Sunoco truck stop on I275 in New Boston also carries ethanol free now.

www.puregas.org

 

[Todd.Brock]

Me too! ...hate the stuff!

At the end of the season, run it dry or empty out what is left. Then, buy you some Stihl gas in a can that has no ethanol in it and, according to the label, it has a shelf life of 2 years. Pour about a 1/2 cup of it in and start it. Let it run through the carb...I use the 2 cycle mix too, the lube can't hurt anything except maybe foul a plug sooner but you'll thin out the ratio when you pull it out and mix straight gas in with it the next season.

This has been my process for the last couple of years.....

edit: here's a pic of the can....

I switched to moto mix last year. I barely used a gallon all season for blower and trimmer until leaf season. So for 22 bucks a year in fuel- I'll do it. I learned a lesson last fall that I forgot this year. BR600 blowers have a big fuel tank and they burn a lot of fuel. I went through almost a gallon of motomix this fall. I need to use regular fuel when I am running through it. It's nice having it on the shelf and it's too easy to grab.

 

[dacuda]

I've been putting av gas or vp racing fuel in my generator,motorcycle and hot rod while in storage.they can sit for months and still fire up.

 

[MikeF2316]

I have a 20 liter gas can that I use for my lawn mower and snow blower, the only gas tools I have. I've been putting in Honda branded fuel stabilizer that I get from my motorcycle dealer. I figure Honda wouldn't put their name on it if it wasn't any good. In 20 years, I've never touched the carb on my lawnmower, 15 years on the snow blower. I don't run them dry at the end of the season, I just put them away until they're needed again.

Late in the riding season I start to add some to the tank of the motorcycle, so if it sits a long time, there's stabilized fuel in the carbs. 24 years, 160,000 km and I've also never touched the carbs. And it's not even a Honda! My new bike is coming up to it's first winter, but it's fuel injected. I'll still give it a little Honda fuel stabilizer, it's not an Honda either!

 

[LS6 Tommy]

First, "rubber" has not been used in any fuel components since WWII ! Everything is HYpalon or Viton or some other synthetic rubber. All of these can easily handle extended exposure to E10.

WHere I live it is almost impossible to find "pure" gasoline. I have been running it for years in all of my outdoor equipment with no issues.

Regardless of what the "rubber" in the fuel lines is made out of, the ethanol degrades it unless it's a fuel line originally designed for ethanol. If you have been running pump gas for years without issues it's because you have been lucky. It's a proven fact at this point...

Tommy

 

[HOTFR8]

Any one tried Fuel Set ?

http://www.liquideng.com.au/

http://www.liquideng.com.au/fuelset.html

 

[maxpower_hd]

I have a weed wacker now that isn't running. It ran last month but of course now that I need it it won't run. I haven't taken it apart yet but I am confident that it is either a fuel line or the carb gummed up. I had stabil in the gas too but it doesn't really work on the ethanol from what I read, just the gas.

We do have some pure gas but it is a long ways away. I do plan on getting some the next time I am up that neck of the woods. But in the meantime I think I might try some of the Stihl gas in a can like Flathead recommended. It's a lot easier to change or clean a plug than to replace lines and clean carbs. I'm definitely getting some for the weed wacker and the leaf blower at a minimum.

 

[G-ManBart]

I've been putting av gas or vp racing fuel in my generator,motorcycle and hot rod while in storage.they can sit for months and still fire up.

Most airports won't sell Avgas without an actual aircraft tail number to go along with it because it's illegal to put Avgas into road cars or motorcycles....no road taxes were paid on it.

 

[ChaseDE]

I run whatever gas, ethanol ****, whatever is cheap in a troy-bilt pony, briggs push mower and weed whacker no problem. the tractors carb is a little leaky from use over the years so i put a little shutoff valve in the line before the carb. I shut the valve and run it dry for storage.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I buy the Stihl fuel in the can for my Weed Eater and chainsaw. I don't have a problem leaving fuel in the tank for the dormant period. One thing I would not do is run a 2 stroke dry. You aren't getting any lubrication from fuel vapours.

 

[toyotadriver]

I run ethanol gas in everything. Have for years. Not one single problem with fuel systems. I store it in well sealed cans too for a long time and have no issues.The horrors of ethanol is mostly an internet legend spread by people who don't know any better.

 

[dadsEH]

I run ethanol gas in everything. Have for years. Not one single problem with fuel systems. I store it in well sealed cans too for a long time and have no issues.The horrors of ethanol is mostly an internet legend spread by people who don't know any better.

I'm smellin what you stepped in TD.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I run ethanol gas in everything. Have for years. Not one single problem with fuel systems. I store it in well sealed cans too for a long time and have no issues.The horrors of ethanol is mostly an internet legend spread by people who don't know any better.

I respectfully disagree...

I see the effect myself first hand and have seen the changes over the last 35+ years of working on my own stuff. No internet needed.

 

[laser3kw]

I run ethanol gas in everything. Have for years. Not one single problem with fuel systems. I store it in well sealed cans too for a long time and have no issues.The horrors of ethanol is mostly an internet legend spread by people who don't know any better.

I have repaired small engines for a living and still do as a hobby. I have not experienced the magnitude of horrors that is perpetrated on "pump gas / gasohol".
Do I see an occasional corroded carb? Yes! Do I see every carb / fuel system corroded? No. I see more debris (dirt, grass clippings etc.) in the fuel system than I see evidence of "ethanol corrosion" that is widely reported.

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I always run out my small engines and have never had a problem. *knock on wood*

Lesson learned.

 

[maxpower_hd]

Most of the issues I see in my stuff isn't corrosion, although I am working on a motorcycle now with corrosion in the tank and carb. Most of what I experience is the fuel turning bad in a very short time and looking cloudy and having a sort of bacteria growing in it that clogs things up. I never had that issue in short term storage of yard equipment before ethanol came into the picture. Years of storage gas would go bad but not months.

I have also seen the rubber get gummed up a lot faster than it used to. Again it would be years before fuel lines would go bad. Not just one or two years.

 

[StingRay]

I run ethanol gas in everything. Have for years. Not one single problem with fuel systems. I store it in well sealed cans too for a long time and have no issues.The horrors of ethanol is mostly an internet legend spread by people who don't know any better.

I'm going to respectfully disagree too. The smaller the engine the worse the problem. I cant leave ethanol fuel with or without preservative in any of my smallest engines even for a few weeks without a problem. Motomix I can leave in for a year and they will start like I filled them yesterday. A little bigger stuff need ethanol free premium and stabilizer. Winter gas is the worst as it is not the same as summer gas and the volatiles will burn off much faster. For example storing your seldom used snow blower indoors or running gas purchased in the winter in a not heavily used summer piece of equipment.

As for Sea Foam comment I read a ways back I am not a snake oil kind of guy. The countless testimonials I have read convinced me there must be something to it. I have used it to get small engines running that nothing short of a carb overhaul was going to get running. I have had engines (particularly snow blowers) that were on the edge because of fuel failure that Sea Foam completely cleared up. It works for me and saves me time and money. If it didn't the first can would have ended up in the trash. I have since purchased and used dozens more and recommend it frequently.

 

[toyotadriver]

I have repaired small engines for a living and still do as a hobby. I have not experienced the magnitude of horrors that is perpetrated on "pump gas / gasohol".
Do I see an occasional corroded carb? Yes! Do I see every carb / fuel system corroded? No. I see more debris (dirt, grass clippings etc.) in the fuel system than I see evidence of "ethanol corrosion" that is widely reported.

I was a small engine mechanic 25 years ago. Ethanol wasn't in fuel then where I worked. Gas still went bad then. I've seen carbs so corroded that they couldn't be cleaned. I've seen gas lines rotted. And, this wasn't ethanol.

Ethanol is accused of a lot of things it doesn't do.

For those of you who use seafoam....you do realize you are putting alcohol in your gas right? Seafoam does have sone cleaning benefits but the specific chemical that does the cleaning is.....the alcohol. Alcohol is a good cleaner. It's also a solvent which is why it does have some limited benefits for cleaning a fuel system. Here's a shocker....Ethanol in gas also has cleaning benefits for your fuel system.

I run only ethanol gas in my equipment and vehicles. It routinely sits for months and up to a couple years in some of my stuff. I have chainsaws, a weedeater, several mowers, a couple generators, a motorcycle, and a boat. All get ethanol gas. None have ethanol problems like reported on the internet.

 

[redmondjp]

Congratulations to all of you that have no problems running E10 pump gas!

My 25' roll of 5/16" fuel line, with about 5' left on it, after I purchased the roll a few years ago, tells me all I need to know.

This is getting about as silly as a K&N air filter thread.

 

[jkeyser14]

I was a small engine mechanic 25 years ago. Ethanol wasn't in fuel then where I worked. Gas still went bad then. I've seen carbs so corroded that they couldn't be cleaned. I've seen gas lines rotted. And, this wasn't ethanol.

Ethanol is accused of a lot of things it doesn't do.

For those of you who use seafoam....you do realize you are putting alcohol in your gas right? Seafoam does have sone cleaning benefits but the specific chemical that does the cleaning is.....the alcohol. Alcohol is a good cleaner. It's also a solvent which is why it does have some limited benefits for cleaning a fuel system. Here's a shocker....Ethanol in gas also has cleaning benefits for your fuel system.

I run only ethanol gas in my equipment and vehicles. It routinely sits for months and up to a couple years in some of my stuff. I have chainsaws, a weedeater, several mowers, a couple generators, a motorcycle, and a boat. All get ethanol gas. None have ethanol problems like reported on the internet.

Congrats, you won the lottery. I have had nothing but problems with softening and collapsing of fuel lines. Ethanol is a real problem. It also causes injectors in my fun car to go bad in less than 2 years. Google "300zx injector ethanol".

 

[StingRay]

I was a small engine mechanic 25 years ago. Ethanol wasn't in fuel then where I worked. Gas still went bad then. I've seen carbs so corroded that they couldn't be cleaned. I've seen gas lines rotted. And, this wasn't ethanol.

Ethanol is accused of a lot of things it doesn't do.

For those of you who use seafoam....you do realize you are putting alcohol in your gas right? Seafoam does have sone cleaning benefits but the specific chemical that does the cleaning is.....the alcohol. Alcohol is a good cleaner. It's also a solvent which is why it does have some limited benefits for cleaning a fuel system. Here's a shocker....Ethanol in gas also has cleaning benefits for your fuel system and non ethanol fuels share some of the same issues. In my opinion less of them and less often.

I run only ethanol gas in my equipment and vehicles. It routinely sits for months and up to a couple years in some of my stuff. I have chainsaws, a weedeater, several mowers, a couple generators, a motorcycle, and a boat. All get ethanol gas. None have ethanol problems like reported on the internet.

Funny ordinary gas with ethanol won't make my gummed up engines run at all or make the marginal ones run better. Are you sure it's not the naptha or pale oil in it that is doing the work as well. By your theory we should all be able to dump cheap pump gas in a poorly running or non running engine with a gunked up fuel system and they should magically run better. Somehow it doesn't happen that way. Also I have far fewer problems with non ethanol fuels than I do with those that contain it. Ethanol is however not the only culprit with regards to modern fuels.

 

[maxpower_hd]

It's not just reported on the internet but whatever...I know what I know. Maybe I'm just EXTREMELY unlucky with ALL my equipment ever since ethanol came out. Must be coincidence for me.

 

[Jazz1]

I run premium in my 5 small engines and carb and fuel tanks are emptied seasonally. My '91 Toyota runs better on premium while the wifes newer toyota car runs fine on REGULAR. We don't know if there is ethanal in the fuel...oil companies not going to tell us the truth.

 

[StingRay]

I run premium in my 5 small engines and carb and fuel tanks are emptied seasonally. My '91 Toyota runs better on premium while the wifes newer toyota car runs fine on REGULAR. We don't know if there is ethanal in the fuel...oil companies not going to tell us the truth.

Here they list if it may have it on the pump.

I find in fuel injected engines where fuel is in a non vented tank regular doesn't tend to have nearly the problems. Modern vehicles are made to handle it.

 

[maxpower_hd]

For those interested here is a link to where you can find ethanol free gas. Far and few between for me but I can get it on my monthly trip to NH.

http://www.pure-gas.org/

 

[alexb2000]

Most airports won't sell Avgas without an actual aircraft tail number to go along with it because it's illegal to put Avgas into road cars or motorcycles....no road taxes were paid on it.

Just go to the self-serve pump they all use the same type of fuel management system. Just put N1234 or any number and start pumping. I've been a pilot a long time, every small airport's support equipment uses Avgas. Usually when you check for water in your fuel the sample gets put into the tug, golf cart, weed eater, etc.

I have 30-40 small engines around my place, the time it takes to run each and every one dry every time I use them is not worth it. If I had ethanol free gas I would use that, but I don't, so Avgas it is. Fuel tanks don't rust, carbs don't gum up, machines start first pull after a year or more of non-use, and when I'm done with them I just turn them off.