Ethanol

[Johnny Meloy]

I know this may have been talked about before but being new to site I would like to know if there are any affects in using ethanol in these older tractors. Gas here now 10 percent etanal. Enjoy learning from all of you. Thanks for any response

 

[john in la]

Search the archives and you will see you just opened a BIG can of worms.

 

[David G]

Not again........

 

[44 massey]

I havent had very good experience with it at all!!! Especially in the summer when temps rise!!! Had 3 tractors in our 4th of July parade. 2 of them I accidentally put ethanol in and both stopped about half way thru!!! Drained then and put regular in and both ran fine!!! Acts just like vapor lock!!!

 

[RAW in]

I have run it in everything ever since it came out in the mid 70's and have not had a problem with it in anything, old or new.

 

[jm.]

John I agree probably the most talked about subject on here. The way I keep score seems about 50% do have problems and 50 % do not . Sure makes for some interesting reading.

 

[rrlund]

No problem.

 

[Dean]

I avoid it like the plague for multiple reasons but finding gasoline without ethanol is becoming difficult.

Dean

 

[pete black]

was it just i? but didn't the feds last week announce that ethanol in gasoline was going to be reduced due to it ineffectiveness and the cost to the environment to produce it

 

[old]

Well at $2.799 for the cheap gas with alcohol or $4 or so for the stuff with out I'll keep on using the cheap stuff like I have for a decade or so and yet to have much trouble unless you leave a lot in the tank then it absorbs water and evaporates and leave the water behind. I drain my tanks when not using the tractors 30 or so of them by the way

 

[fixerupper]

Big can of worms? How about a BARREL of worms. LOL

 

[flying belgian]

Being a corn farmer, I want to like it. I really do but I just have so many problems I did not have years ago with gas engines.

 

[Sprint 6]

Ethanol will not cause vapor lock. Alcohol has a much more stable and predictable boiling point of about 173 degrees Fahrenheit. Pump gas without ethanol has compounds with many various boiling points depending on the blend, some as low as 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Alcohol is actually thicker than gasoline, too.

Ethanol is not the boogey man, makes much more sense as a fuel source than the hydrogen discussed above.

 

[fixerupper]

The problem, if any, with ethanol is not the alcohol. It's the crappy, cheap, low octane gasoline it's mixed with that gives it a bad name. When we clean carbs we soak them in chemicals that are much nastier than ethanol. I haven't seen one dissolve overnight in carb cleaner yet. Jim

 

[Wayne in MN]

Never had any problems in 30+ years of use in farm tractors, motorcycles, snowmobiles, lawn equipment, etc.
Poor storage procedures from suppliers (water in tanks) and old tanks (varnish dissolving in ethanol) will lead to many of the problems "new" users are having.
The old saying in tractor manuals: "Buy clean fuel & keep it clean" is good advise today!

 

[gene bender]

Been using it for over 30yrs NO problems at all tractors set in unheated building and will start rite up in the spring. The blend has been available here in IOWA seems like forever. Hear about problems on this site but their problems arent caused by the gas but it does get the blame.

 

[Dan T in MO]

You're dreaming

 

[Dan T in MO]

We had some problems with the 9N because of ethanol a few years back. Dern thing kept plugging up the fuel line. Dad took a look inside the tank and said the ethanol was dissolving the tank liner. After he left, I took a look. Sure enough, the whole tank had a varnish liner that was coming off in flakes.

Now on my Farmall, I've had a couple of fuel line blocks, but nothing I couldn't fix with a crescent wrench and back blowing the line.

If you have a dirty fuel system, or if you have old rubber or plastic parts in your fuel system, you'll have trouble. If you gas up and let the tractor sit for months, you'll have trouble. If your fuel system is all metal or updated rubber and plastic and if you use your tractor regularly, then you have no worries.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Kind of a moot point, isn't it? If that's all you can buy, that's what you'll have to run. Maybe you'll have fuel system problems, maybe not. And if you do, you won't know for sure if ethanol was to blame.

Pretty much every gallon of highway gasoline sold in the past ten years has had some ethanol content. If ethanol had catastrophic consequences for old tractors, they'd all be parked by now.

 

[WGM]

Name a few.

 

[Pops1532]

Don't know about old tractors but using it in old cars can be a real problem. The rubber used back then isn't compatible with ethanol. Ethanol absorbs moisture which can, and does cause corrosion problems, mostly in vintage carburetors.

 

[Pops1532]

(quoted from post at 02:36:54 11/23/13) Well at $2.799 for the cheap gas with alcohol or $4 or so for the stuff with out I'll keep on using the cheap stuff like I have for a decade or so and yet to have much trouble unless you leave a lot in the tank then it absorbs water and evaporates and leave the water behind. I drain my tanks when not using the tractors 30 or so of them by the way

$2.799? 87 octane E10 is $3.439 here. We don't have a non-ethanol option. I did see a few stations out west last year that had non-ethanol for about 10 cents a gallon more than E10.

 

[Anonymous-0]

the result of not using enough is $4 corn, wheres all the know it alls now that said ethanol was causing a corn shortage?We have been using it for 30 years in Mn and haven't had any problems. I can get straight gas in SD but I don't see much if any mileage gain.

 

[Wheres Waldo]

Johnny's question was about OLDER TRACTORS. My McCormick Deering has a carburetor with a CORK float. Cork is held together with a binder of SHELLAC. What is shellacs solvent--ALCOHOL. Your float, if made of cork will slowly fall apart, as will any gaskets made of cork in your fuel system. Sediment bowl is another gasket that hardens then shrinks when ethanol is used.

 

[Bspauld]

I understood that they were going to E15 but dicided to stay with E10

 

[rrlund]

The way I heard it was that the increase in the future mandate was based on an assumed increase in gasoline consumption that didn't happen. With a 10% blend they are blending all that can be blended. If they mandated any more use,they would have to go to E15 and auto makers are concerned about the results of using E15 in older automobiles. You can't pour more liquid in to a container that's already full so to speak. No more complicated than that.

 

[HCooke]

I run it in over 20 engines for 15 years plus with no problems. Some engines only get run a few times a year. I use Stabil. The only other subject with more disagreement is what oil to use in old vintage machines!

 

[D beatty]

Carb cleaner not good example because its left in it for only hours or a day or two. But ethanol is in it for days ,months, and years. I have seen the damages first hand.

 

[Mike Aylward]

I have used ethanol in all my gas powered engines for over 35 years. I have LESS problems that are fuel related than before. Once you get the fuel system cleaned it will stay that way. If it didn't work I wouldn't use it. Use it with confidence. There is a lot of misinformation and scare tactics out there about ethanol. Don't listen to it. It's not true. Mike

 

[2 Old 2 care]

When we got married, my wife was slim and HOT. Since then, they started using ethanol and now she's old and getting fat. It simply HAS to be that dang ethanol to blame.

I use pump gas in chain saws, weed eaters, leaf blowers, riding lawn mowers, pumps, generators, a few old tractors, a few old cars, 2 newer cars, and 4 newer trucks. There have been the usual problems you have with ANY mechanical item, but absolutely NO issues caused by the gas.

I sell corn (@ good prices in recent years) and buy brewers grain from an ethanol plan to use for feed. So ethanol has made me money, saved me money, all the while, hasn't cost me any money. Not a lot in this world that I can give that good of a report on. So, I have no problem whatsoever with ethanol. And they all lived happily ever after. The End.