Regular vs ethanol free gas

[ShadowsPapa]

Carb prices are all over the place, Honda in particular travel the entire gamut. The little 1000 watt generator carb was around $150 a couple years back while their ubiquitous mower carb was only about $20. It's actually cheaper to switch out a carb instead of overhaul it in parts alone. Plus, mechanics that can actually overhaul a carb are a dying breed.

As for the ethanol issue with small engines, I can attest to @ShadowsPapa assertions. Those small engine carbs are definitely not the highest grade of aluminum and are easily prone to the ethanol pulling moisture from atmosphere. White powder (aluminum oxide) = trash bound. Also, the high speed jet is nothing more than a tiny hole that lacquers up way too fast; so, even the plastic carbs will fail to work, and they're equally pricey for no reason other than they can be. As for a vehicle though, that replenishes more often, it's fine. But for anything that sits, I would recommend a stabilizer and/or run the equipment dry.

Yeah, I guess I'm sort of a dying breed, but these days, I have no time to mess with some things like the carb on a chain saw or trimmer - even though I used to own and operate a small engine repair shop - I can make more restoring car parts. Heck, I just got a check for $100 for restoring an ash tray for a 1966 Rambler show car. Yes, restoring an ash tray. I can't afford to rebuild my chain saw carb at that rate.

You nailed it on the aluminum oxide in those tiny little carburetors.

I have a generator now thanks to the derecho last fall here (and the 11% Menards rebate) and since it sits, likely a year at a time, it gets Stabil, and I'll likely drain it after a few months and run that fuel through the lawn mower and put fresh gas in the generator every so often. Will have to figure a maintenance - preventative - for that generator now.

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[jebiruph]

In 2019 on a 2 week cross country (5k+ miles) vacation in my JL, I notice a 20% variation in mpg from 20-21 to 24-25, which coincided with whether I was running an ethanol blend or straight gas.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is pretty much what my shop told me. They said even the stabilizers don't help much anymore with how crappy gas is. They recommend either running it dry, or make your last tank ethanol free and run it for a bit. Personally since I have to cut grass every week, I'm going to run regular gas up until November. Then start running the ethanol free up to my last cut of the year.

I have a blade I put on the front of my JD so it does get run in the winter - although how much or how often depends on the winter............. this last winter it sat until about December and then got used several times from then on.
Beware also of summer blends vs. winter blends on equipment that sits - or that you may fill in the winter and let sit until spring or summer. Makes a person dizzy thinking about all this stuff.

 

[Munkey Boy]

This is pretty much what my shop told me. They said even the stabilizers don't help much anymore with how crappy gas is. They recommend either running it dry, or make your last tank ethanol free and run it for a bit. Personally since I have to cut grass every week, I'm going to run regular gas up until November. Then start running the ethanol free up to my last cut of the year.

That is solid advice. I've used Stabil for decades and have had very good results. I used some fuel that was two years old that was originally mixed with it and it smelled and worked fine. It was a very full gallon can sealed well so there was almost no air in it which definitely helped.

 

[u-joint]

That is solid advice. I've used Stabil for decades and have had very good results. I used some fuel that was two years old that was originally mixed with it and it smelled and worked fine. It was a very full gallon can sealed well so there was almost no air in it which definitely helped.

Ditto.

The 2-cycle oil/gas mix can I have for my chainsaw and trimmer is over 2 years old (possibly 3 years now that I think about it). It works just fine. It is amazing how long gas will store with Sta-Bil, ethanol-free gas, in a well sealed container.

 

[cb4017]

Was curious if anyone had any experience with ethanol free gas and it’s Benifits. I remember back when everything was ethanol free. A local shop by me just started carrying it for 12% more price wise and wonder if it’s worth the difference in performance (mpg and power).

Anyone with experience in their JT?

Around here ethanol free fuel is about impossible to find. Only one brand station has it and the closest one is about 30 miles away.

I tried a tank in my JLU. It didn't really notice a difference in how it ran but did notice a 1.5-2 mpg increase.

I didn't bother crunching the mpg versus cost numbers to see if it was worth it.

 

[brewerydad]

A small engine repair shop nearby has a sign out front of their building that states that the warranty on their repairs are voided if found that ethanol gas was used in the engine.

 

[Munkey Boy]

A small engine repair shop nearby has a sign out front of their building that states that the warranty on their repairs are voided if found that ethanol gas was used in the engine.

Good way to chase away business. I could only warranty work on carbs for 30 days, but I would use it as an opportunity to teach the customer rather than gripe about a dollar amount. I could either explain and show what is happening or turn my back for a buck, I always chose to keep that customer forever along with all of the people he told to trust me. That shop near you already lost that trust by blaming something nearly impossible to avoid.

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