fuel problems

[basslkjohn]

This August I have rebuilt three carburetors: my 9.9 yamaha kicker, my 18.5 hp kohler garden tractor, and , now, my 3500 watt generator (getting ready for deer camp). All three carbs were fouled by fuel I bought in June. All three engines were used just a few times over the course of the summer....but c'mon, is the modern fuel so poor that it will gum up an engine in as little as six weeks? O.K., I did not add a fuel stabilizer right away, but all three engines did get a dose of Sea Foam sometine during the summer.

So is anyone else out there having these problems? Should we run our outboards and other small engines dry before putting them away? Should we drain our portable fuel tanks after each use? I'm not talking over winter storage here...just how to keep a small engine from fouling up over the course of the summer. Thanks,guys.

[harvey lee]

I had those issues with my 4 wheeler over the winter in storage.

Last fall b-4 I put the wheeler in storage, I filled it with Av gas and this spring, no issues at all. I guess I will be using Av gas every fall b-4 putting it into storage.

My boat I fill with gas and put some Sta bil in and I never have any issues come spring.

Yes, the life of gas now days is very poor. Maybe moisture or water in the gas can you are filling everything with.

Does not seem that over the summer months that you should be having issues with gas. I have never had any issues with fuel while using anything during the season for it.

Maybe another issue may be the problem.

[Bigtom]

I was told that sea foam will unstick gunk in the carb and that the gunk moves all over in the carb that could make it worse if you don't use it. If you add sea foam you should run your motor to clean the gunk out, not just dump it in and turn the motor off. But I am not shure?

[theoilman]

The ethanol is causing a lot of problems. Fuel life today can be as little as 2 weeks before causing problems.

The ethanol causes problems with water - really bad news!

In today's small engines - everything that has a vented tank / fuel system - you need to be using an ethanol fix product, that chemically keeps the ethanol from combining with the water.

AMSOIL does have one: Quick Shot

[slammer]

Use non-oxygenated fuel. No ethanol in it. Dump in some type of fuel treatment for storage and you should be good.

[St_Croix_Banks]

Next to impossible to find non-oxy fuel however.

[tonkapat]

plenty of stations sell non oxy. Its all I use in the boat and other small engines. Yes it does cost a little more at the beginning but the savings in the end are worth it. Running your carbs dry for engines not used often is never a bad idea.

[Ed Carlson]

Dump the fuel, it may be water contaminated, I would not trust the fuel.

Dose them both with Sea Foam, turn them over but do not run them long if they start, and then allow to sit for a day. Drain the carb and fuel bowls again and maybe gently blow out the carb...use low air pressure as to be sure not blow out any gaskets.

Refill the units with fresh high octane fuel with Stabill Marine Blue fuel system stabilizer at a rate of 1.5 oz of Marine Blue per gallon of gas.

You will be good to go and you will not need to fog them to store at the end of the use season, just keep the tank full for storage with the mix.

[311Hemi]

Refill the units with fresh high octane fuel with Stabill Marine Blue fuel system stabilizer at a rate of 1.5 oz of Marine Blue per gallon of gas.

You will be good to go and you will not need to fog them to store at the end of the use season, just keep the tank full for storage with the mix.

Please tell me what the higher octane is going to accomplish for these engines? High octane for a generator? You don't need to run a higher octane gas in these engines unless it is called for by the manufacturer. And not all high octane is non-oxy!

Don't fog any of the engines, even if they are a 2 strokes? Why?

I have not had these issues with my equipment, and I only run 87 octane. I do fill my gas cans with seafoam when I fill them as I know they will sit a while. Sleds are stored over winter with a full tank of 87 octane and seafoam, snowblower and tractor same thing when they are stored. Never had an issue with dirty carbs.

Heck, my push mower was put away last spring (2009) and I pulled it out this summer to see if it would start (giving it to my bro) and it started on the first pull.

[Surface Tension]

We can only get the non oxy gas in the higher octane. So reason to use it isn't for the higher octane it is because there is no ethanol in it. Ethanol has a short storage life compared to non oxy gas.

Even non oxy gas will gum and varnish so for long periods of storage use a fuel stabilizer.

[311Hemi]

We can only get the non oxy gas in the higher octane. So reason to use it isn't for the higher octane it is because there is no ethanol in it. Ethanol has a short storage life compared to non oxy gas.

Even non oxy gas will gum and varnish so for long periods of storage use a fuel stabilizer.

That makes sense and in that case and I would agree with you on that use. However, to specifically tell someone to buy high octane gas does not specifically imply that it must be non-oxy high octane.

All high octane gas in the 10 county metro area contain ethanol by law(unless specified for off-road use), so in that case high octane does not offer any benefit. It could actually raise the chances of getting bad gas as higher octane does not sell as quickly as regular.

[harvey lee]

Isn't Amoco's premium gas non ethonal gas?

[311Hemi]

239.791 OXYGENATED GASOLINE.

Subdivision 1. Minimum ethanol content required. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions 10 to 14, a person responsible for the product shall ensure that all gasoline sold or offered for sale in Minnesota must contain at least 10.0 percent denatured ethanol by volume.

Subd. 1a. Minimum ethanol content required. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions 10 to 14, on August 30, 2013, and thereafter, a person responsible for the product shall ensure that all gasoline sold or offered for sale in Minnesota must contain at least 20 percent denatured ethanol by volume.

Subd. 10. Exemption for airport, marina, mooring facility, and resort. A person

responsible for the product may offer for sale, sell, or dispense at an airport, marina, mooring facility, or resort, for use in airplanes or for purposes listed under subdivision 12, paragraph (a), gasoline that is not oxygenated in accordance with subdivision 1 if the gasoline is unleaded

premium grade as defined in section 239.751, subdivision 4.

Subd. 11. Exemption for motor sports racing. A person responsible for the product may offer for sale, sell, or dispense at a public or private racecourse, gasoline that is not oxygenated in accordance with subdivision 1 if the gasoline is intended to be used exclusively as a fuel for off-highway motor sports racing events.

Subd. 12. Exemption for collector vehicle and off-road use. (a) A person responsible for the product may offer for sale, sell, or dispense at a retail gasoline station for use in collector vehicles or vehicles eligible to be licensed as collector vehicles, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, or small engines, gasoline that is not oxygenated in accordance with subdivision 1 if the person meets the conditions in paragraphs ( to (e). If the nonoxygenated gasoline is for use in a small engine, it must be dispensed into a can with a capacity of six or fewer gallons.

( The nonoxygenated gasoline must be unleaded premium grade as defined in section 239.751, subdivision 4.

© No more than one storage tank on the premises of the retail gasoline station may be used for storage of the nonoxygenated gasoline offered for sale, sold, or dispensed by the station.

(d) The pump stands must be posted with a permanent notice stating: "NONOXYGENATED GASOLINE. FOR USE IN COLLECTOR VEHICLES OR VEHICLES ELIGIBLE TO BE LICENSED AS COLLECTOR VEHICLES, OFF-ROAD VEHICLES, MOTORCYCLES,

BOATS, SNOWMOBILES, OR SMALL ENGINES ONLY."

This notice must be posted at least two feet above the ground. A retail gasoline station that sells nonoxygenated premium gasoline as defined in section 239.791, subdivision 15, must register every two years with the director, or an entity appointed by the director, on forms approved by the

director, the total amount of nonoxygenated premium gasoline sold annually.

[gunmunky]

I bought an early 90's ATV 3 years ago and I had the carb gone thru at that time. It ran great until the middle of this summer when it started to leak gas. I pulled it off and a guy I work with likes to rebuild them so I sent it home with him. When he brought it back he asked if I just had it gone thru because it looked like new inside. The leak was from a chunk of old gas line that got into it. All I've done since I bought is to add Sta-bil and Sea-foam to every tank of gas and that seems to be working great for me. I don't use non-oxy fuel. It will sit during the summer for up to 4 months and never get started.

[Surface Tension]

Hemi, are we on again for Thanksgivning.

Didn't read all that but when Ethanol was first introduced to gasoline back to like 10 years ago I was the first one to talk about the storage properties and the fast breakdown of fuel with ethanol and the problems that would occur in carbs. At first some members thought I was nuts.

Gunmokey, the internal failure of your gas line is one of those problems with the ethanol in gas.

The manufactures of gas lines, fuel pumps, carb gaskets were all supposed to change to ethanol resistant parts by a certain date. Some of those manufactures did make the change. If those parts are made out of the USA guess what, there is a good possibility that they are NOT ethanol compatible.

Facttiod: Buy a cheap gasoline for your outboard from WALLMART and the inner core will disintegrate. Why? Same reason you find lead paint in kids toys made in China.

Buy from a USA manufacturer and you can rest assured it meets fuel USA standards

[Booth]

Try this little experiment... Take a sample of gas, mixed or not, in a clear glass jar. Start adding water to it, drop by drop, and let it sit. You would be suprized at how fast gas phazes out. (mixed gas shows the best)

For you diesel guys try the same thing. Gone are the days when the water seperated from the fuel, with this new Bio fuel the water does not phase out it conglomerates (sp) with the Bio and becomes little gray balls of goo. Its not so bad in the summer, barring you don't get too much water, but the winter all bets are off. Those little balls of goo solidify and plug up the filters.

[raymondk]

In the last 2 years the only fuel problems that I have had were with non oxy which I bought both time in early june i think it was old gas never had a problem with the reg gas so the hype about using only non oxy just does't do anything for me I will go for fresh gas which i will buy from the gas stations that sell the most . i have tryed non oxy later in the year and I do not see any differance in either fuel except the price ..........