So does anyone use non ethanol gas

[woodlandfarms]

To my pt brethren, do any if you 422/425 owners run non ethanol? I am converting over for all my small engines. I seem to be rebuilding carbs much more than I used to so hoping the change works in my favor.

 

[cqaigy2]

I run both, depends on if im going south to Centralia or north to Olympia. I put in STA-BIL, Fuel Stabilizer or similar regardless. While im there, i fill the pickup as well.

 

[ultrarunner]

Not really an option in my part of California...

In Olympia non-ethanol is available...

 

[Furu]

I try to never use ethanol laced gas with any of my two-cycle machines. Have I, Yes but not frequently. I go through more two-cycle fuel than the average person though so it does not sit for very long. Fuel lines last longer on all my Stihls with normal fuel.

I allow my gas vehicles to use ethanol laced fuel. I measure the alcohol content occasionally and find that the amount of alcohol is much less than the max 10% that the signs at the pump state.

 

[hslogger]

I have always run super dooper in my powersaws. In Oregon there are places you can buy non ethanol gas and I buy for my saws, weedwhackers, Honda mower, Kawasaki Deere and yes it is spendy but I tell you truthfully, my fuel lines don't rot out, the carbs stay clean and everything runs primo. I hate messing with them when the don't run right especially if I am trying to earn a dollar with these TOOLS

 

[ultrarunner]

Read this tonight in a Boating magazine...

Gasoline mixed with ethanol is like the obnoxious guy who shows up a your party and proceeds to get drunk; he wasn't invited, he's a troublemaker and with enough alcohol, he'll wreck the place... and like a drunk... the more alcohol in the gasoline, the more problems.

Ethanol cleans old gunk out of fuel systems, which clogs filters and it absorbs water which can cause phase separation. Phase separation happens with the ethanol can no longer absorb any more water and the mixture falls to the bottom of the tank.

Not to mention ethanol can be particularly destructive to components not designed or incompatible with alcohol as are most compounds of rubber.

 

[stuckmotor]

I do my best to run non ethanol in all my small engines except the 2 stroke scooter. I can only get non ethanol in high octane and the scooter mechanic told me that high octane would burn the tip off of the sparkplug.

 

[newbury]

Since I started running ethanol free in my saws (Stihls - 1 088, 2 660's, 1 021) starting problems have disappeared.

 

[3v0]

Ethanol cleans old gunk out of fuel systems, which clogs filters and it absorbs water which can cause phase separation. Phase separation happens with the ethanol can no longer absorb any more water and the mixture falls to the bottom of the tank.

Looks like its time to beat another dead horse.

 

[sam5570]

i have been and will continue to use non ethanol gas in everything i have that uses gas. i wish i had took some pic's of what ethanol does to the inside of fuel hose that was not made for ethanol, it just disolves it. gota close friend who own's a gas station and he was shut down for 2 weeks because of leaking gas into the river. they found out that ethanol had eaten the o rings out of the pump's and everytime they were turned on it pumped gas into the ground witch ended up in the river. he don't know yet the finale cost but it will be thousand's. we keep comming up with these stupid ideal's like this one and we will continue to go backwards. just my opnion.

 

[3v0]

Do I use stabil, yes. Is there a problem with modern gas, yes. Is it 100% due to ethanol, not sure but ethanol sure makes a good whipping boy.

I started out looking for a video showing how ethanol attracts water instead I found a couple of videos that are questionable at best. These are not helping the cause. Sort of like the video from the people running generators with electric motors

In the first video water has to be condensing on the inside of the jar and running into the gas.

In this news video the mechanic says "it (ethanol) being from a corn base is gritty". Ethanol is collected by evaporating it then condensing it. no grit.


Most anybody who has lived where it gets really cold knows this product.



I will take ethanol over MTBE anyday but would rather have neither.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have been running non ethanol for all my small engines for 2 years now. I used to have to clean and rebuild carbs every summer after the winter storage season....no more. Everything starts right away.

Well worth the extra $1/gal it costs not to have to mess with carburetors. Besides, i dont use that much of the stuff running chain saws, push snowblower and lawn equipment.

All my vehicles are diesel, as is the tractor.

 

[cqaigy2]

I think they're making the fuel lines out of crappy material. I've been running my 20 year old stihl and haven't had the fuel lines rot yet. Borrowed a year old posthole digger from a friend and had to replace the fuel lines that had rotted off before i could use it. The only differences i could verify is the fuel line on the digger in "modern" compared to the saw and i use sta-bil in my gas.

 

[ultrarunner]

Looks like its time to beat another dead horse.

The boating industry is really taking a stand against increasing the percent of ethanol in gasoline.

Apparantly older fibreglass tanks are particularly vulnerable to ethanol and manufacturer's have denied warranty claims.

 

[3v0]

Maybe we will get lucky and oxygenated gas will go the way of the 55 mph speed limit.

 

[MossRoad]

To my pt brethren, do any if you 422/425 owners run non ethanol? I am converting over for all my small engines. I seem to be rebuilding carbs much more than I used to so hoping the change works in my favor.

I have run 10% ethenol in my PT425 with the Kholer Command engine since 2001. No problems. 12 years. Original fuel filter, lines, etc... No problems.
I have run 10% ethenol in my chainsaws.... and lose fuel lines about every 2 years. The just collapse and turn gummy.
So... given the choice, I would not run ethenol if I didn't have to.

 

[ponytug]

If you leave gas in a small engine, you probably want to be adding a fuel stabilizer. Letting fuel sit around is never a great idea, but we all do it. I put SeaFoam stabilizer or Sta-Bil in everything as soon as it comes on the property. I also run through carb/fuel injector cleaner on a regular basis.

Personally, when I finally paid attention to my Stihl manual and started putting in 89 octane as specified, all my hard start/running issues went away. Note to self: read the fine (or not so fine) print in the manual...

A large fraction of the energy in gasoline is present in some very volatile components that can evaporate out, leaving us trying to run these engines on what has become inferior fuel, often with lots of varnish/crud (technical term). I think that it isn't fair to the engine.

As others have noted, getting the right spark plug for the fuel and operating conditions makes a big difference. Many of these engines are designed for wide open throttle operation for many reasons, including fuel use, but also cooling, and proper temperatures within the engine.

Since some folks manage to get lots of hours out of these engines, there are clearly ways to use/treat the engines in ways that gets lots of use out of them. Personally, I struggle to use many of the small engines often enough to keep everything lubricated well, but I suspect we all have different challenges to deal with. I really appreciate the tips here on this forum on how to best use/maintain the equipment to get the best out of our investments.

All the best,

Peter

 

[scobrado]

I only run non-ethanol premium in all my mowers, saws, etc. You can find gas stations that carry it here:

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

 

[scobrado]

... No problems. 12 years. Original fuel filter ...

Hi MossRoad, you haven't changed your fuel filter in 12 years?!?!? That seems remarkable! Maybe I misread.

 

[washita]

I have not changed the fuel filter in 12 years and 253k miles on my minivan so that is not unreasonable, if you maintain your equipment, we rarely changed fuel filters when farming either but we payed close attention to the quality of the fuel used