Bruce (VA)
Well-known Member
Hi-test & marine Sta-Bil is the only easily available "cure".
I kept 2 1 gallon gas cans for years labeled "saw" & "blower" all pre-mixed for the 2 cycle stuff. Now I have 3; "hi-test, lawn mower".
BTW, these new 4 cycle engine w/ all the EPA pollution crap on them burn twice as much fuel. I wonder how that plays out for the environment?
50 Tips
I kept 2 1 gallon gas cans for years labeled "saw" & "blower" all pre-mixed for the 2 cycle stuff. Now I have 3; "hi-test, lawn mower".
BTW, these new 4 cycle engine w/ all the EPA pollution crap on them burn twice as much fuel. I wonder how that plays out for the environment?
50 Tips
And I was using the new marine stabil for ethanol too!
I had been running her on real gas I had in a 5 g stabil-ized can.. ran out last year.. added ethanol gas to her this year for my first weedeating last month.. and in that 1 month.. the ethanol gas ( with stabil ) ate her lines... dang paint thinner....er.. gas stuff..
sounguy
soundguy
I had been running her on real gas I had in a 5 g stabil-ized can.. ran out last year.. added ethanol gas to her this year for my first weedeating last month.. and in that 1 month.. the ethanol gas ( with stabil ) ate her lines... dang paint thinner....er.. gas stuff..
sounguy
soundguy
Yes, and it eats priming bulbs too. I now keep at least 6 bulbs and 3' of each fuel line size on my shelf. Now I'm burning ethanol free gas from Daytona Gas & Grill in all of them. Previously I always added Sta-Bil to the gas as well as Stihl 2-cycle mix that also has stabilizers too. No more corn in my 2-cycle gas, I'm fed up!
It's 10% or less by law here in FL. My saws edgers and trimmers wont go a year before the primers and often the fuel lines crumble just like SouNders did. However, I once bought 5 gal regular for my 2N and it ran poorly and boiled (not the only time). Stuff smelled strongly of ethanol too. Topped it with premium and burned it out. Not sure what we are getting, I asked the folks that sold me the bad stuff and they did not know either. Evaporation, leaching, water absorbtion and chemical changes to the gasoline cause the problems.
Ultradog MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Twin Cities
A couple of places come to mind for buying non ethanol gas. First is your local small airport. They will usually sell you a couple of 5 gal cans of airplane gas. Another place is at your local marina. At both places expect to pay quite a bit more per gallon but then you can add your stabil and it will last for a long time if just using it in trimmers, chainsaws, etc.
yep.. 2' of tygon fuel line and I'm back in business. i went out at lunch. only needed 1.5' but they sell in 2' increments.. so all is well.. 4$ fix on a 150$ trimmer and it fired ont he first pull after priming.
I bet that was why it was hard to start last week.. fuel line in tank must have been nearly cracked all the way thru, as it crumbled removing it.
nearest marina is deland ( st johns ) and nearest airport is in nw ocala.. so I'm stuck.. about 50minutes each way...
soundguy
soundguy
I bet that was why it was hard to start last week.. fuel line in tank must have been nearly cracked all the way thru, as it crumbled removing it.
nearest marina is deland ( st johns ) and nearest airport is in nw ocala.. so I'm stuck.. about 50minutes each way...
soundguy
soundguy
Started getting mine at a marina, now going to Daytona Grill and Gas on US-1 near Mason. No more walking, just drive up to the pump. $3.35 a gallon this week, now I might start using it in my not very often used 8N. I too had a blower that was really hard to start, it was the fuel supply line, this one was not rotten but hair line cracked.
you know.. now that you mention it.. last week my farm utility CUV ( like a gator or mule ) had a no start issue that I tracked to a fuel line that had a 1" split right at the nipple going into the feed tube tot he tank.. fixed that after doing plugs and an oil change.
d@m this new gas crap..
soundguy
d@m this new gas crap..
soundguy
might try a water droplet test.. quart of gas in a glass jar and add a drip of water then agitate with a cap on it.. if the drip settles out to the bottom.. no alcohol.. if it depleates or disappears.. then there is alcohol in the gas. since water is poalr and alc. is a polar solvent.. it disolves the water and carries in soloution. ( vs suspension or emulsfication )
soundguy
soundguy
I used to spend more money per year than anyone I know trying to keep all of my tractors and small engines going. I finally found a shop that advised (in NO uncertain terms!) to thoroughly drain ALL ethanol mix fuels out of the tanks AND carbs. Reality is that the ethanol eats up all the CHINESE rubber in 'O'-rings, seals, and diaphrams.
It was a gift from my son. I guess I could ask, but it is not my custom to ask what someone paid for something they gave me. It came from Home Depot, but since it was Christmas, there is a good chance that it was a close out sale. Sorry.(quoted from post at 21:41:52 05/28/10)(quoted from post at 18:00:13 05/28/10)No ethanol.
Storage time indefinite.
Leaves no gum in carb.
No evaporation loss.
etc.
How much?
I gave up on my gas weed whacker and went back to the "green" one for work more than 50 feet from the house. It's a brush cutter (blade on a stick) that just uses arm power, GRIN.
For the stuff right around the house and barn, I got an electric one. Not as much power, but no fuel to pour or engine to start.
KL
For the stuff right around the house and barn, I got an electric one. Not as much power, but no fuel to pour or engine to start.
KL
fixerupper
Well-known Member
I've used 10% ethanol for probably 25 years in everything that burns gas with only two glitches. The accelerator pump diaphragm on a 76 Plymouth 318 and the same thing in an 80's carbureted Ford ranger. Haven't had a lick of fuel-related problems with anything else including weed trimmers and chain saws. Jim
Tim PloughNman Daley
Well-known Member
Hey CB-
Yep, I truly believe alcohol is the current root cause of many similar problems like boiling gas in our N tanks, etc. I have trashed two chain saws with the stuff. Federal Law use to have the 10% label posted right on the pumps but have you looked lately? Chances are there is no percentage listed if there is even a label at all. So, has the percentage been increased without consumer awareness? Probably. Now I'll hear from all the guys who work for the PETROLEUM companies or are corn growers. It is more than a coincidence that all these problems have surfaced recently doncha think?
give me a gallon, Alan!
Tim Daley(MI)
Yep, I truly believe alcohol is the current root cause of many similar problems like boiling gas in our N tanks, etc. I have trashed two chain saws with the stuff. Federal Law use to have the 10% label posted right on the pumps but have you looked lately? Chances are there is no percentage listed if there is even a label at all. So, has the percentage been increased without consumer awareness? Probably. Now I'll hear from all the guys who work for the PETROLEUM companies or are corn growers. It is more than a coincidence that all these problems have surfaced recently doncha think?
give me a gallon, Alan!
Tim Daley(MI)
TheOldHokie
Well-known Member
- Location
- Myersville, MD 21773
The law has not changed and the labels are still on the pumps here in MD. We have a station that dispenses E85 in addition to E10 right down the road and both pumps are clearly labeled and the E85 nozzldes are yellow color coded. We have been E10 for well over a decade and I have had none of these rubber problems with any of my mowers, trimmers, or saws. I just bought a second string trimmer (Echo) a couple of weeks ago and the manual now specifically says it can be used with fuels containing up to 10% Ethanol. It also specifically says E85 is not acceptable. In this day and age there is no excuse for a saw or trimmer to have fuel lines that can't withstand exposure to E10 - it's ubiquitous
TOH
PS> There's almost always a line of people waiting in line to fill up on E85 while the E10 pumps 15' away are open.....
I bought one of those Propane-powered Lehr's a few months ago and wrote about it to another group...thought you guys might find it interesting. :
[color=blue:78c543ab5d]
I was shopping for a "weed eater" because my 20 -year - old genuine 2-stroke WeedEater's plastic fuel tank/fuel lines just got to be more maintenance than I wanted to put up with anymore. (My right leg became soaked in fuel/oil every time I used it despite the best repeated attempts to fix that sorry system.)
The unit I found at Home Depot is a Lehr, Model 025DC. It uses a common 16.4 oz propane bottle and has a standard "bump feed" string spool which is advertised to be replaceable with various other attachments.
At first, I was disappointed to find it wouldn't run above idle until warmed up for over 10 minutes... and with poor throttle response, then it had no power and would die when presented with grass to cut. I started to put it back in the box and storm over to Home Depot and remind them of their 30-day no-questions-asked-return-policy and give them a piece of my mind...when I saw the little tag in the box which said, "Do Not Return to Store - Call 866-941-XXXX".... so I did ... expecting to talk to Bish-Hab the PunJab. Instead I got "Scott"...in Dallas. :shock:
After I told him how disappointed I was with the product he calmly told me that he would help me make an adjustment that he expected to solve the problem. I described to him that if it were a gasoline-model I'd think it ran too lean. He said that he agreed, and then asked me to take a Phillips screwdriver and remove the air cleaner, then unscrew a thumb-wheel and pull out a throttle-body and then turn a brass needle one, complete turn clockwise. Then he had me reassemble it and stayed on the line while I tried it out.
Bottom line: In about 10 or 12 minutes he had troubleshot and fixed the problem and I was out cutting heavy weeds along my fenceline happy as a lark.
The unit normally sells for $219 but Home Depot has them on sale for $99 and I'm recommending you guys try this if you are tired of mixing oil and gas and having to clean a carburetor every season. (Yes, this is a 4-stroke engine and has a 2.5 oz crankcase that uses ordinary 10W30 motor oil. It's quiet and lightweight and seems to have ample power.)
http://www.golehr.com/products.shtml
By the way, Scott doesn't work for Lehr. Scott works for a U.S. small business which handles Customer Service calls for U.S. businesses and uses AMERICAN customer service reps. It's a "transparent" put-thru call service. The company he works for which handled this call on the Lehr product is AWS (American Warranty Service), a small business in Dallas. I think they're on to something![/color:78c543ab5d]
Subsequently, I have purchased a brass adaptor that lets me re-fill the little tanks from my larger propane 20 lb tanks. Now, six months later, it still does fine. The ONLY complaint I have is that after it's been stored a few days...it's hard to start the FIRST time. Takes about ten pulls or so. But after it's been started.... it re-starts on the first-pull every time for the rest of the day. (I suspect it takes a while to get the propane to the throttle body. Another call to Scott informed me that a small paperclip inserted into a vent-hole in the diaphragm of the regulator starts the flow of propane earlier and it should start on the first or second pull after long-term storage. I haven't tried that yet.)
Hope this helps.
I agree that todays tools should have parts that can withstand 10% ethanol but most do not. The replacement fuel lines and primer bulbs sold today are supposed to be ethanol tolerant but I have had problems with todays newest lines as well. I have switched my 2-cycles to non-ethanol gas and will need time to measure the results. I also have Flex-Fuel vehicles that can use E-85 but last time I looked regular unleaded was in the $2.75 range and the E-85 was $2.69. Don't ever see anyone at the E-85 pumps here.
I was in the Chicago suburbs 2 weeks ago and there was almost a dollar difference between e10 and e85. At .10 it probably wouldn't make sense to run e85 but at nearly a dollar I would if I could. I wish they had some around here I'd like to try a tank of 25% e85 and remaining e10 in my non flex fuel Ranger, I'll bet the truck still runs. Not going to experiment in my non-flex fuel HO 6.0 Silverado.
The issue is not whether it runs or not but how long it continues to run. The ethanol in time destroys things like fuel lines, O rings and diaphrams. Flex Fuel vehicles remedy many of these issues by providing stainless steel lines, parts and other ethanol resistant parts and materials.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
I have used ethanol up to 100% since 1975, NO problems,,,,,
so where does the ethanol mix occur.. at a distribution point.. or the plant.
If at a distribution point.. I wonder how good the QC is on the mix.. IE.. is it possible to see dramatically weaker or stronger concentrations depending on whos' working that day?
Soundguy
If at a distribution point.. I wonder how good the QC is on the mix.. IE.. is it possible to see dramatically weaker or stronger concentrations depending on whos' working that day?
Soundguy
Jerry Kirkpatrick
Member
Pretty funny..."weedeat(er)" is now a verb, even if you're using a Husqvarna. Same thing happened to xerox for copy machines, bushhog for rotary cutters...I took my 1995 Jeep Wrangler Sahara through the carwash and the little teeny-bopper at the counter said "Nice Jeep. I have one, too, only mine's a Suzuki!"
SouNder that is a pretty good question. It's especially jnteresting here in FL too where much of our gasoline is refined in the Bahamas and brought here by ship. Not a lot of corn grown in the islands either and it would be very costly to ship ethanol there and back. So my guess would likely added at the distribution points such as Port Everglades, Canaveral, Tampa or JAX. Pipelines in the west may have it pre mixed with gas. Gonna have to check that one out!
that was along the lines of my thinking.. IE.. mixed at distribution. I know sometimes diesel dye is done like that.
Makes ya wonder if you tested a gas sample.. how much ethanol is really in there from day to day.. er.. or batch to batch.. and then how much is in there after it sets a week..
soudnguy
Makes ya wonder if you tested a gas sample.. how much ethanol is really in there from day to day.. er.. or batch to batch.. and then how much is in there after it sets a week..
soudnguy
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