Winterizing

[firefighterjake]

Ah yes . . . ethanol gas . . . here we go again.

Post A: Ethanol is terrible and the Devil's Fuel. If you use it all of your small engines will blow up.

Post B: Ethanol is good and is God's Sweat. If you use it all of your small engines will run better and cleaner.

Post C: The truth is somewhere in the middle. It's probably here to stay. It can cause problems . . . especially if one does not take precautions when storing it in small engines for long times with some sort of stabilizer. The best fuel stabilizer is ______ (insert favorite brand here that your second cousin who has a PhD in Chemical Engineering endorses). Most folks don't have many problems using it.

Pick your own post . . .

 

[BrotherBart]

Still fascinates me. My 1991 saw has run on plain old ethynol pump gas as has the other three their entire lives. Now watch, not a one of them will start tomorrow after me saying that.

 

[jatoxico]

My 1991 saw has run on plain old ethynol pump gas as has the other three their entire lives.

Uh Ohhh, now ya did it.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Ah yes . . . ethanol gas . . . here we go again.

Post A: Ethanol is terrible and the Devil's Fuel. If you use it all of your small engines will blow up.

Post B: Ethanol is good and is God's Sweat. If you use it all of your small engines will run better and cleaner.

Post C: The truth is somewhere in the middle. It's probably here to stay. It can cause problems . . . especially if one does not take precautions when storing it in small engines for long times with some sort of stabilizer. The best fuel stabilizer is ______ (insert favorite brand here that your second cousin who has a PhD in Chemical Engineering endorses). Most folks don't have many problems using it.

Pick your own post . . .

I will absolutely agree that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Ethanol fuels have advantages over non-ethanol fuels, they also have disadvantages.

I just find it ironic that throughout the course of history car troubles were rarely associated with fuel troubles except for old/stale fuel, contaminants in the fuel, etc. Now that we have ethanol fuels it's very predictable that most ignorant people will blame nearly all engine troubles on "that dang ethanol crap"... The fact of the matter is that engines have been having troubles since their invention, it's very unlikely that any of the failures are related to the contents of the fuel, it's more likely that it's improper storage, maintenance, etc of the fuel and/or equipment.

I find it ironic that a shop will get an engine in that is having troubles and they will ask what type of fuel it had in it. If it was the "magical" ethanol free type the problems are attributed to normal wear & tear and just needs a little maintenance. But if it has had ethanol fuels in it the response is "that fuel has ruined your equipment, we won't touch it". And the rumors continue to spread...

Just my opinion...

 

[Fred Wright]

Well, small engine issues from bad gas are typically carburetor-related due to gas left setting in the carb bowl over winter. Solids form and clog the jets. When the carb is run dry before long term storage, these issues are significantly reduced.

I'm not gonna get involved in the ethanol wars, just sayin'. Gas leaves a varnish deposit behind. If you've been running pure gas for years and suddenly start using ethanol gas, the ethanol will cause the varnish deposits to break loose. A couple of fuel filter changes later, it'll clear up.

I do all my own small engine work, have been since the early '70s and I've yet to encounter a small engine issue associated with running the 10% stuff from the git go. Have dug into countless small engine carbs over the years; disassemble, soak 'em overnight in cleaner and rebuild. As kids we'd scrounge scrapped mowers, fix 'em and sell 'em to folks who couldn't afford a new one. They loved it.

When a small engine won't start after setting over winter, it's usually due to gas left in the carb for the duration.

 

[jatoxico]

Well, small engine issues from bad gas are typically carburetor-related due to gas left setting in the carb bowl over winter. Solids form and clog the jets. When the carb is run dry before long term storage, these issues are significantly reduced.

Agreed and should be one of the take-aways for the OP. And I'd do the same with e-free gas, leaving fuel in the carb that could go stale or evaporate leaving deposits invites problems.

As far as additives, I've been using Stabil all season since sometimes stuff gets left longer than I thought before I get back to it even in season.

Tip: I measure Stabil and 2 stroke oil out into the gas can I'm using then measure out fuel (e.g 1.0 gal or 5 gal) using the pump rather than trying to sight a line on a can. It's accurate so I can make my mix precisely.

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

Is it true that you can never over stabilize?

 

[tekguy]

i will run some stuff dry but I still add 'marine' stabil to it first before i do.. honestly marine stabil and seafoam and it seems a non issue

if you take some of them materials used in older equipment (which ethanol will break down) and figure in their age- you can see how issues happen - new stuff ethanol itself should be a non issue - similar issue with ULSD and old trucks - i add 2-stroke oil to the old powerstroke and any seals get replaced with viton ones

mikuni fuel bowl doo 800 after sitting all summer