rant about ethanol E10 fuel

Last fall I got to rebuild the carbs on my boat motor, this month the fuel hose on my 2 month old 15 hp mud motor engine literally dissolved and the new lawn boy is dribbling gas out of the air cleaner because of a corroded float needle and seat. You can not leave ethanol blend gasoline in any carbuerated engine with out damage. I have tried the enzyme treatment and sta-bil but nothing works in the long run. The only options are to always drain the tank and run the engine dry before you put anything away.

I never really counted before but I have 5 gas powered machines in my garage and they are all a pain to drain the gas out of. You can not store ethanol blends in ANY vented fuel tank or container as it is very hygroscopic and begins to degenerate into acidic glue within two weeks according to my research. VP racing fuels is selling what they call SEF (small engine fuel) in quart cans at $5 to $8 a quart! It's nothing but unleaded gasoline without ethanol with a stabilizer added.

I realize there are still a few specialty gas stations around such as Marinas, airports and farm machinery dealers that sell unblended gas. Further research led me to a website that lists all the stations in the country selling ethanol free gas. If you are interested: http://pure-gas.org/

The government just approved E15 for all vehicles built after 2000. Kind of a slow motion cash for clunkers program.

When we have E15 fuel, maybe people will stop criticizing me for running 11.5:1 AFR in "boost". "Its too rich, its too rich!!!" when the fuel is 15% everclear.

I believe Viton seals and O-rings are the cure for ethanol rot.

But yeah, sealed or empty fuel tanks and running the carbs dry is the best deterrent.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr brg

When we have E15 fuel, maybe people will stop criticizing me for running 11.5:1 AFR in "boost". "Its too rich, its too rich!!!" when the fuel is 15% everclear.

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I run 11:1 under boost for pump gas. 12:1 for meth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ray_sir_6

I run 11:1 under boost for pump gas

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Same here.

And to get back on track with the original post: Back in NY when I built my first race motor for the jetski I could run 93 all day without detonation since there was no ethanol in it. I would rebuild the carbs each season, so that didn't matter to me (they'd be spotless anyway). Last I ran it with the mixed fuel it detonated like a bastard. I now have that high compression motor and one that is equally built, but with lower compression head inserts. I need to see what the Texas fuel situation is like before I make a decision as to what I'm doing with the balls-out motor. So I feel your pain.

I always tank up at the Rudy's BBQ gas station in CCTX when I visit the in-laws. 100% petroleum gas. I get 6-10% better fuel economy on that tank.

I haven't done the research, but I assume there is no real decrease in emissions with ethanol-infused fuel, since the truest measure would be #Kg of (insert pollutant name here) per #Km driven. I would very much like to see unbiased, neutrally-funded primary research reports (the kind in a peer-reviewed journal) about the comparative pollution and fuel economy of e10/e15 versus pure gasoline. If any of you know of it, send me a copy.

Back to creek's comments: I have left the gas with stabilizer in my grandmother's old Jeepster for a few months on end, and it seems to run OK aside from a hard first start. Hard starts are pretty common in engines that old, though. As for lawn equipment, the maintenance (and noise) have led me back to the good old days of a manual reel mower and the futuristic days of a battery-powered trimmer. I can get away with this because of my small yard, though.

Nobody's going mention what ethanol did to the cost of tequilla?