I got a little taste of what ethanol can do

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Tirediron

Seasoned HillBilly
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Messages
1,704
Location
Rural western Canada, Sunrise side of the Rockies
Yesterday I went to start my vintage JD 820 the real deal not euro trash, or more politely BIG twin Diesel to plow the 18'' dump over the last day and a half. the tractor had a small gas pony motor that spins the diesel. pony wouldn't fire, I drained the fuel out of the carb, and then tryed to flush it until I got clean fuel, barely a trickle. I pulled the fuel system (Gas) apart heading towards the tiny starting tank. barely any thing came out of the sediment bowl outlet. I decided it would be easier to take the sediment bowl off to clean it rather than do it in situ. There was a bit of crap on the bowl, but the screen and upper party of the bowl were covered in greenish grey goop. I cleaned it up only to discover that the screen had separated at the outside. maybe the screen was old damage, don't know, had only just dumped the bowl previously. Went to the local hardware store to get a replacement, bowl assembly, they had sold the one that was in stock, and the supplier didn't have a replacement, so I changed to a valve and inline filter. In the past, the shutoff valve would slowly drip the tiny bit of fuel out of the tank, so I probably got away with the gas not clogging things, finally got it back together and running, but in the future, I will drain the system dry. I probably didn't start the tractor last winter, so maybe it sat longer than I think, won't be leaving it that long anymore.
 
Yesterday I went to start my vintage JD 820 the real deal not euro trash, or more politely BIG twin Diesel to plow the 18'' dump over the last day and a half. the tractor had a small gas pony motor that spins the diesel. pony wouldn't fire, I drained the fuel out of the carb, and then tryed to flush it until I got clean fuel, barely a trickle. I pulled the fuel system (Gas) apart heading towards the tiny starting tank. barely any thing came out of the sediment bowl outlet. I decided it would be easier to take the sediment bowl off to clean it rather than do it in situ. There was a bit of crap on the bowl, but the screen and upper party of the bowl were covered in greenish grey goop. I cleaned it up only to discover that the screen had separated at the outside. maybe the screen was old damage, don't know, had only just dumped the bowl previously. Went to the local hardware store to get a replacement, bowl assembly, they had sold the one that was in stock, and the supplier didn't have a replacement, so I changed to a valve and inline filter. In the past, the shutoff valve would slowly drip the tiny bit of fuel out of the tank, so I probably got away with the gas not clogging things, finally got it back together and running, but in the future, I will drain the system dry. I probably didn't start the tractor last winter, so maybe it sat longer than I think, won't be leaving it that long anymore.
Last several years I have started using nothing but 100% gas in all my small engines. I've not had starting problems with anything since that point. Worth considering
 
I am going to look into pure gas, but it might be pretty pricey here. kind of a pay me now or pay me later scenario i guess. I just helped a friend get an older carburated truck running , stale gas was the problem there too, it had been running a week earlier, but the weather was a fair bit warmer, took a little bit of time to get it to stay running on fresh prime fuel. we ussually get away with not having gas problem due to out cooler weather, but we did have some seriously hot weather last summer, hot for here, cold for Texas, all relative
 
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It's about 20-30%v more per gallon around here. But I have stored it for at least 2 years before, treated with Sta-Bil, with no issues. I don't have to worry about my engines running when I need them, so the cost hasn't been an issue for me. Reliablity long term, especially with the supply chain issues at this time, is just something I don't want to chance.
I typically will rotate my entire gas supply once a year by running it thru my truck to flush all the ethanol from it regularly as well. I look for the best prices to do the rotation, don't always happen, and this year is gonna be costly. Probably spread it out more than normal.
 
I only buy non-ethanol fuel for storage and rotation in my shop. I have no issues with mowers, chainsaws, pumps, garden tiller and the weedeater. (did when ethanol first came out).

When I bought the husqvarna weedeater last spring (high end model with solid shaft), it was from a Husqvarna only dealer w/full service for all husqvarna equipment. They told me in no uncertain terms "non-ethanol fuel only". I looked on the Stihl website couple months ago, same recommendation. I was at a pump shop recently... same, same.

When small engine manufacturers say nonethanol only... I'm not going to use it.

On an added note... I test run my generator every 6-8 weeks. I don't use the kill switch. I close the fuel valve and allow it to burn all the fuel in the carb. Next time I run it I have to wait for the carb and filter to refill, a whole minute. Been doing this for 10/12 years now and have no problems.

I'm better with keeping it tested than to old generator. First time I used ethanol gas in the old one it ate the rubber in the carb, gaskets etc. I had to buy a carb rebuild kit. Even with good gas it was hard to start after about 4 months.
 
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I run 100% in all my stuff but a chainsaw since its going to be mixed anyway.
When I screw up and put b0ngo gas in my Blazer it lets me know real quick!
 
I use 89 octane non ethanol in my mowers.
Used to use it in my chainsaws and weed whacker/brush cutter too, but I use them so seldom anymore I run True Fuel pre-mixed in them. It's pretty pricey, but I get about a 40% discount at work.
I can leave my saw sitting for a month or more, need to cut something, and she fires right up on True Fuel. It's 93 octane, no ethanol, and stabilized. Great stuff, comes in 40 to 1 and 50 to 1, in quarts and gallons.
 
It runs fine in modern vehicles but my '94 Silverado has a carb. It doesn't like Egas, runs like carp.

There is a local oil distributor in the small town that has a separate pump over beside the off road diesel pump, non ethanol gas. I know of 4 stations that have it in the area so it's easy to find and only slightly more than Egas. It's always 89 octane to.

I heard a man I respect, owns a couple gas stations, say... All premium gas in alabama at any station is nonethanol. I've been unable to find confirmation of this. As I said, I respect the man but good men make mistakes so I don't know for sure.
 
Ok, ya got me. :(
I read the title: I got a little taste of what ethanol can do
First thought I had: He finally got a chance to taste some white-lightning.:oops:
Then it turned into just gum in caburetors.:cry:
 
Hope it keeps going for ya. My '94 blew a head gasket at 240K miles (at #1 cylinder like most chevy's). Bought a long block and built the new engine out stock. Did the work myself so it didn't cost that much. Had a good friend put in a rebuilt tranny. Was paid for and good to go for another 240K.

It ran fine on Egas until I got rid of the throttle body injection and coverted it to run on a carb. Runs bad so I use nonEgas.

Carbs and ethanol don't play well together.
 
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WALMART in Texas sells ETHANOL FREE gas for .30 a gallon more than there so called gasoline! I get more miles to the gallon in my dear '99 Silverado Z71, (like my 5.3)! Trying to keep the poor thing going any way I can, tooooo many miles!👍
I told my wife to consider me a worn out pickup truck with high miles:
The chassis is worn out, and it creaks and groans...
Sometimes it is hard to get it started in the morning...
The engine smokes a bit, and it backfires out the exhaust pipe occasionally. :oops:
...but it still runs:thumbs:.
 
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A pony motor can't go through that much fuel in a season, what's it going to cost you a buck? 5? Well worth the added cost.
 
I told my wife to consider me a worn out pickup truck with high miles:
The chassis is worn out, and it creaks and groans...
Sometimes it is hard to get it started in the morning...
The engine smokes a bit, and it backfires out the exhaust pipe occasionally. :oops:
...but it still runs:thumbs:.
Sounds like bad gas to me😉😁
 
WALMART in Texas sells ETHANOL FREE gas for .30 a gallon more than there so called gasoline! I get more miles to the gallon in my dear '99 Silverado Z71, (like my 5.3)! Trying to keep the poor thing going any way I can, tooooo many miles!👍
Good for you! I still miss my 97 Silverado. It has 350,000 miles on it when I finally sold it. It was the most comfortable truck ever. I have an 07 Sierra with 290,000 on it. It's been an awesome truck.
Thanks for the thread and the comments, made me realize I need to change out the gas my husband had stored, and replace it with more real gas. And you made me think that maybe I should use real gas for my motorcycle too. Glad you were able to get your tractor going.
 
Last several years I have started using nothing but 100% gas in all my small engines. I've not had starting problems with anything since that point. Worth considering
One of the problems with ethanol is that neoprene doesn't hold up to it very well, nitrile is what's needed, it can hold up to all kinds of bad chemicals and not break down.
 
but we did have some seriously hot weather last summer, hot for here, cold for Texas, all relative
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All relative.... Isn't that the truth... I'm sure in Alberta you can find E 0 gas easy enough..
It is getting worse when Napa and Chieftain auto parts don't have things.. Princes Auto is worse for out of stock items..

It has been too, too long ago, but as I remember our JD 830s were real grumpy bears until they were well warmed up... Always, always letting the pony motor starve for gas before shutting off the ignition to it..
 
It has been too, too long ago, but as I remember our JD 830s were real grumpy bears until they were well warmed up... Always, always letting the pony motor starve for gas before shutting off the ignition to it..
I worked on a couple JD830's when I was in trade school.
Those things were monsters! 7.7 liters (470cubic-inches) in 2 jugs, Dolly P. ain't got nuthin'!
One of them, the guy had over-reved the pony motor and blown the rods out of it.
He brought in a surplus aircraft starter motor he had got for us to 'make work' on it.
(remember, we worked for free so there was no such thing as 'it will be too much work' :mad:)
I distinctly remember, to this day, we still had the cover off the top of the crankcase that was under the pony motor when we were testing the starter we had mounted underneath the engine.
It cranked up!!!:oops:
Stunned, I watched the huge connecting rods rolling down there, and the massive pistons darting in and out of the cylinders.

Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled diluted, crappy gas.:confused:
 
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