Ethanol ???

S

SolesTree

Location
Middle Ga
Over the last six months I think we have replaced 4 or 5 Carburetors. All have been in small saws (Stihl 200's and pole pruners). The technician said the check valve was leaking and he thinks it is because of ethanol. We've always used mid grade gas and recently started using an additive for the ethanol. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a simple remedy?
 
I always run the best I can get so high test pump gas , ethanol is brutal on any rubber part in the fuel system and will break down any part as well, if you think you got ethanol in your fuel there is a easy test , get a clear glass jug , that seems to work best , add a quart or what ever you like for a measurement of your gas to it , add 10% of its volume in water to it , let it sit for a couple days , the water will sink to the bottom of your jug but the ethanol will go to the water and it will just look like your water level , so anything above 10% is how much ethanol is in your fuel , One thing that is a serious problem that is coming once the ethanol hits 15% in our gas which we know is coming alot of the 2 stroke oils will not mix with that much ethanol , Sure there is oils that will mix with that much ethanol but they are not cheap
 
I know I have ethanol in my gas because every station in our area has it. I guess there is not a supplier that does not bring it in. What should I do?
 
run as high of octane fuel you can get at the pump, donot mix more than what you are going to use and this will sound weird but keep your mixed fuel out of the sun as much as you can, the sun kills ethanol/methanol very fast , If you see your fuel turn any different colour after being mixed dump it
 
Here is a list of ethanol-free gas retailers in GA:

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=GA

anyone else can just go to pure-gas.org and find their own state.

I found one near me, took the hour round trip with 5 gallons, and haven't been back. I just keep the saws running and the big ones that don't run as often - keep them empty.

Also, like EHP says, run 93 octane, or better if possible. The pre-mixed stuff available at Northern Tool may be the answer for small saws - no ethanol, premixed, and smells like racing fuel (94 octane)- I kinda like the smell, personally.

Whoops, there go some more brain cells!
 
I had a problem with this in my four wheeler. Different I know but after I saw what ethanol did to my carbs I am not going back to gas with ethanol for at least smaller engines.

I then started wondering about my saws and noticing how they ran. Seems like what winch said if you run them everyday you are good to go but dont let it sit in the tank. I dont run my personal saws everyday so I run a high octane non ethanol fuel.

It took awhile for the saws to get adjusted to it but man I swear by it now. A couple of my buddies run the airplane fuel or helicopter fuel. Higher octane no ethanol. Its pricey but worth it my mind. I found within walking distance from my house race fuel so i have been using that and it works great.

Sorry so long on the post.
 
If you know you got ethanol like we do up here I run abit more oil in my gas just to help , If the saw is woodsported I run 32-1 but if stock I will go as high as 40-1 and I run quite a bit and have no problems and I cut alot of big hardwood trees so long cut times
 
Thanks for the info guys. Winch thanks for that link there is a station listed on there that's about six miles from me that we didnt know about. Checked them out today they have ethanol free gas but its 87 octane. Would you guys add something? What?
 
I deal with the ethanol problem in my bass boat (90 hp two stroke 2000 model, before ethanol became really big). The problem comes with an empty tank after a hot day, any humid air in the tank after a long day will condense over night and mix with the remaining fuel.

For the most part i run the highest test i can get at the pump, as well as keeping the tank topped off, its the air within a gas tank that will spoil the fuel by introducing water through condensation. I also use Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, the blue stuff. Its a special ethanol treatment i use on every fill up. Haven't had a problem with my motor at all.
 
I always keep my saws fuel plus the gas can , learned that a long time ago with skidders in the winter time , fill the tank back up at night not in the morning ,

87 Octane is not enough for me , if they got 87 why not 91 or so , Most saws need at least 89/90 octane and 91 or higher is better
 
[ QUOTE ]
I always keep my saws fuel plus the gas can , learned that a long time ago with skidders in the winter time , fill the tank back up at night not in the morning ,

87 Octane is not enough for me , if they got 87 why not 91 or so , Most saws need at least 89/90 octane and 91 or higher is better

[/ QUOTE ]. Ok I'm learning here. A couple of you guys have mentioned keeping tanks full. Good info never heard this before. As far as 87 and not higher I don't know they have one pump on the side w/o ethanol.
 
As i mentioned before, with an empty tank, there is more air (obviously) in the tank. That air has humidity, its worse in the summer than the winter, but when temperatures drop, that water condenses and mixes with the ethanol in the gas. (while petroleum and water would separate, alcohol and water can blend)this will make the fuel go bad.

The exact opposite can happen with a can with low gas level as well. On hot days the combustible components of the fuel will evaporate into the open space above the fuel, and with either process happening many times from day to day, or even within the same day if you move a tank around from a hot toolbox/on a truck then into the shade/ vice versa.

A very simple fix is using the new spill proof tanks. they seal automatically and prevent vapor from escaping the tank as well as from water from entering. At the company i work at, this past summer we switched all the tanks over to the no spill/ automatic shut off tanks and i would highly recommend it. Especially on tanks of fuel that might now have a very rapid turnover (you empty it over a week, as opposed to a day).
 
Good info, tips and tricks here! Thanks. I just recently started using the tru-fuel pre mix for my saws. While expensive, I gotta say from the first tankful I noticed better performance.

The saws seems to accelerate faster and smoother. I think in time the fuel will pay for itself as prices at the pump increase and through less maintenance and repair costs.

Keep in mind as well that the fuel you by at a station is formulated for that local, time of year, and to run in motor vehicles. It is generally designed to have a shelf life of 2 weeks.

So even if you find high octane, no ethanol fuel, still use a quality stabilizer/conditioner.

Sometimes I miss the days of saws you could just piss in the tank after a night of good drinking and they would run fine!

I miss them that is until I remember how it felt like you were in a prize fight at the end of the day from holding on to those bone shaking, sole jarring heavy azz things!

Tony
 
Now the big question that time will answer , we now are going to be getting new saws with stuff like the husky autotune , will it be able to handle the more ethanol cause the more ethanol the richer the carb setting needs to be and how ling will stuff like the intake boot setup last before the ethanol breaks in down, I play with alot of different fuels and I have found ethanol far harder on anything like rubber , fuel lines than even methanol
 
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