Ethanol & 2-cycle

[nyslowhand]

Sorry, never win a spelling bee - ethanol...

Anyone else having problems with their small engine equipment since the switch to 10% ethanol?

Seems to be an annual carb adjustment if not rebuild for my chainsaws.

Also have a large trimmer w/blade that has same issues.

Been using Sta-bilt &/or the special additive for ethanol to no avail.

The repair shops must be loving this situation. I'm NOT !LOL

Edited July 16, 2012 by nyslowhand

[First-light]

A few guys recommended only using high octane gas in these type of machines. Less ethanol I guess?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

It eats the carbs and engine parts up. Nasty crap. Just another forced cost to go green...lol. (money being spent, green I mean). My saws, weedeaters, generators all have had yearly issues and that is with or without stabiulizers.

[fasteddie]

The Government is stupid . We get 10 percent ethanol in our gas and it is supposed to be raised to 15 percent soon . It attracts moisture and ruins engines . You can purchase Sta-bil and Startron additives that help reduce damage caused by the junk put in the gas ..

Ethanol is derived from corn . Farmers are planting more corn and shipping it to the ethanol manufacturers which creates a grain shortage and raises the price of beef . I believe the Ethanol Plants are Government subsidized . It's one vicious circle .

No doubt small engine manufacturers and repair shops are making a killing with the crap that gets put into our fuel !

[WNYBuckHunter]

The ethanol eats up the seals, o-rings and rubber hoses. My dad uses an additive in the gas for all of his small engines, and no longer has the issues. Ill see if I cant find what it is.

**Edit, its this stuff, I remembered right after I posted.

http://mystarbrite.com/startron/

[First-light]

Guys am I wasting my money putting higher octane gas in my lawn tractor and quad?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yes, unless the engines need it per the manufacturer. It still has 10% ethanol in it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Guys am I wasting my money putting higher octane gas in my lawn tractor and quad?

some engines lik the one I had in my mororcycle specifically said NOT to use higher octane becasue it was designed for the lower 87. I think that is more fuel injected stuff though

[First-light]

Thanks resident experts! I will look into it.

[Gthphtm]

All the gasoline we get here in the northeast at the gas pump has ethanol in it.VP sells a Small Engine Fuel ( No Ethanol ) it comes as straight 94 octane,Or pre mixed with 2 cycle oil in it.But it is not cheap.Another way to go is use regular pump gas and put in the ethanol treatment that Stabil sells and at the end of the what ever season drain the tank and put in the stuff that Stiel sells it comes in pre mixed 1 quart cans and run the engine with that in it for awhile.That is as they claim keeps all of the seals and gaskets from getting ruined,

[ants]

There are traetments that you can use/ (K-100 and Star Tron) seem to help. But starting this summer I went with non ethanol 91 oct. for most of my small engine stuff and a 72 Olds that I bomb around in. I live near Oneida Lake and the local Nice and Easy's sell the non ethanol stuff for the summer (boaters). I got some last week and it was $4.09 per Gal. Everything does seem to run alot better on it. The Olds loves the stuff.

[ncountry]

If you live anywhere near a marina, gas without ethanol is commonly available at the marinas(at least around here this is true). It will cost a few extra bucks..but gives peace of mind.

[defrazzle]

Yup - I had same problems with my Outboard Motor. 9.9 Evinrude 1987 vintage. Rebuilt and cleaned the carbs every year for 2 years. Now I run the motor until all the gas in the carb bowl is empty. No more problems with the ethanol gas! Although my small 4.5 HP push lawn mower is a 4 cycle, I will start to do the same. A little more difficult as the tank holds more gas and it will have to be emptied first. Also I use Startron - BUT - leaving the ethanol gas sitting in the carb bowl even with the Startron still gummed up my carb. Thanks Uncle Sam!

[fasteddie]

One of the guys at our local Fastrac Station said they are going to start selling non-ethanol gas in the near future .

[wdswtr]

2 cycle engines run High Octane. Additives LMAO waste of money and I have a 4 wheeler with the 3rd carb rebuild needed to go in it for proof. High Octane or non ethanol period. Ethanol is a complete joke. It cost more to produce it and uses more oil to make it per gallon then to just sell gas without it. Made from corn made by oil. Unless they made a change to the process of producing it that Im not aware of. Anyways Husqvarna and alot of other 2 cycle outdoor power equipment say use high octane due to ethonal. Destroyed a 1 year old saw and a weed eater with the stuff and since I switched over to high octane Have not had a problem since.

[nyslowhand]

Pre-ethanol, most manufacturer's of 2-cycle equipment suggested 89 octane gasoline in thier manuals.

So, I guess it wouldn't be a stretch to use 91 octane. Not too sure about the 94....?

After 1st carb issue with chainsaw, began using either Starbrite/Star Tron or the newer Sta-Bilt.

Still have issues. Always use atleast Sta-Bilt in 5gal cans for ATV, mowers & log splitter.

As of yet (knock on wood),... Haven't had any problem with those pieces of equipment.

Think my problem was compounded by poor quality & lower octane gasoline.

Gas prices for 87 octane was over $4/gal, new distributor (Valero) underselling local stations, defaulted to cheaper 87 octane...

Damages done, but now use top name-brand gasoline & 89 octane.

BTW - Picked up my Stihl chainsaw & the mechanic said ethanol problems keeps him adjusting & rebuilding carbs all day!

[Grouse]

Ethanol was forced on us to pollute less, but it gets lower gas mileage. Seems to me because we burn more fuel per mile using the 10% ethanol crap, we probably are polluting just as much per mile as we did with the old gas. More corn demand means higher prices for corn and everything that needs it.

The government never seems to do anything that improves our quality of life, even though that's what they tell us it will do. This is the stuff that matters when you decide who you are gonna vote for.

[nyantler]

I'm thinking that the added pollution to make ethanol pretty much negates it's "pollutes less" status. It was a good idea gone terribly wrong... somebody didn't do their homework. But, I'm guessing big money was involved.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Most 2 strokes are not made to burn high octane gas, you will end up burning the top end of them out faster using high octane. The concept that just any engine will run better if you put higher octane gas in it is a misnomer. High octane gas burns slower and hotter, as it has a higher flashpoint, and if the engine is not setup to cool properly, you end up overheating. I used to race atvs and motocross, we ran 87 octane in all of our engines. I also have friends that raced midget sprint cars, running 2 stroke engines, and i helped them work on them. They ran race fuel in them, but the cooling systems were upgraded, along with the exhaust, etc. That was before the ethanol crap started, but Octane level in your gas does not negate the effects ethanol has on the parts. The best thing to do is get your gas from a marina or somewhere else that carries non ethanol gas.

As I said, my father uses that Strbrite stuff, and hasnt had to rebuild any carb in any of his equipment in 3+ years. Before that, it was every year in almost everything he has. He also uses Stabil when the stuff sits over the winter or for long periods of time. I have never been a fan of additives, but this stuff seems to help.

[ants]

Ethanol is a joke alright. It raises the cost of corn which raises the price of feed which raises the price of beef, milk, pork the cost to ship it... on and on. Then add in that you get poor performance and poor mpgs. They think we're all idiots... thats the problem.

[fasteddie]

I was at Fastrac today and the only gas they have that is "ethanol free" is their premium gas .

[ants]

Yeah ..same with Nice & Easy... 91 oct only

[wdswtr]

That was before the ethanol crap started, but Octane level in your gas does not negate the effects ethanol has on the parts.

Indeed it does, If it doesnt then someone should contact all the 2 stroke engine builders and let them know it doesnt and see what you get for a response. Just one of the examlples I gave was my chainsaw ran 87 in it for a year, 87 with ethanol messed it all up. I have had the same model saw for longer and run nothing but 93 in it per manufactures recomendation due to ethenol. I was also told to run a tad richer as to keep engines temps down a bit more versus the cooler running 87. I can tell you I cut over 30 FULL cords a year with that saw and never had a problem yet and thats just one peice of equipment. It even specifically says 93 in the owners manual and not 87 due to ethanol. And I do know quite a bit about motors as well. Worked on them my whole life.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Youre talking about an engine that is built to run high octane. Not all of them are. Believe what you want, but high octane with ethanol still has ethanol in it, which is what damages the rubber parts inside the carbs and in turn gums things up.

[Fantail]

Not an ethanol fan. One way or another it screws small engines. Not to mention I can count on crappy milage. I use Stabil in the 40-1.