If there is a significant amount of moisture then yes it will be on the bottom. As someone stated in another post if the fuel you use has ethenal in it it will absorb some moisture itself. I personally don't add anything as long as I keep my tank close to full and I have not had any problems here in Minnesota. It won't hurt to add the red bottle of Iso heet if you are concerned about it. I put more than 100 miles on a day so fuel doesn't stay in my tank very long and I buy my fuel from stations that sell large quantities of fuel in a day.

 

Yes! Ever seen a little bit of gas or oil dropped on the water. You get a sheen on the surface because water is heavier than gas or oil and they don't mix together. The alcohol mixes with both, if there isn't to much water.

 

Sort of like the Exxon Valdez effect, Now I see[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. After having a hard time getting mine going in the cold, I changed my plugs (went one stage hotter, will change back in the summer) cleaned my air filter and those changes seemed to help a bunch as it started much easier. I wanted to know where I stood so I took it from its heated enviroment into a garage that was about 45-50 degrees colder (from +40 to -5 Farenheit), at the time it had a 1/3 tank of 2 month old fuel in it; which I feel should not have been an issue however it wouldn't start, oh I'm sure I could have dicked around with it and got it running but that's not what I want, not to mention the wear and tear on the starter. I want what everybody wants...choke on, turn key, Cat runs. So now after reading about the water factor I have added some Iso-Heet and filled it up with fresh fuel, I will keep you posted (like anybody really cares[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]) I'm still waiting to hear back from the person that started this thread, NORYCE if your out there how is yours starting? L8R,
Wayne

 

Fuel can go stale in as little as 3 week. Thanks oil companys for high price junk fuel. I have been putting fuel stablizer (Stabil) in my spare gas and in the tank each fill up after a ride. The cold means the fuel needs to be fresh and if it isn't or at least stabilized the hard starting results. When I top off old fuel with new I always use 92 octane because if the gas in the tank is weak then I want to boost it back up the at least regular octane level or higher. Sometimes running premium in the winter helps starting, but creates other problems.

 

Fuel can go stale in as little as 3 week.

Is that right? my gas sits for a month or so at a time in the machine when I am not around to play and I never realized how bad this is...thought gas was good for much longer.

 

The 3 week number is put out by the Marine Manufactuers Assc. with info got from the Petroleum Institute. Depending on additives, alcohol content, grade of gas and temperature. I don't take any chances anymore. I've seen a fresh fulled tank in December without a stablizer and in May it would not even make the engine pop. It even smelled flat. A fuel stablizer is cheap and works very well. Never had gas that had stablizer in it, even after a whole year, not work. The gas of the 60's was able to last for about a year to 2 years as there was no alcohol to collect water and had lead in it not the strange cocktail of additives of today (thanks EPA) The high dollar gas of today is a far cry from the cheap, truely hi-preformance fuels of the 60's. I had a stock compression factory race motor from 1968 that ran great on the regular of the day. We stored it and then brought it back to run in an antique class. Burnt a piston first time out, with regular gas in 1995. Changed out piston and ran premium until got caught and disqualified for running to hot of a fuel.

 

Well my cat dont like cold she starts great but it's after the bike is warm. Where I live there is alot of moisture in the air and this couses the carb to freeze then it does'nt like to idle. Wich really sucks when I'am trying to plow. My dealer said there is nothing much you can do other than buy a carb heater.I also had an 02 cat that did the same thing.

 

How cold is it? Sometimes the moisture is in the fuel and not the air. It's a real problem that the isopropyl alcohol will help, sometime. The fuel makeup can also be part of the problem, trying a different brand can make it better or worse. I have seen carb icing even above freezing. Has to do the air velocity and high moisture content, something boat engines deal with a lot.

 

How cold is it? Sometimes the moisture is in the fuel and not the air. It's a real problem that the isopropyl alcohol will help, sometime. The fuel makeup can also be part of the problem, trying a different brand can make it better or worse. I have seen carb icing even above freezing. Has to do the air velocity and high moisture content, something boat engines deal with a lot.[/quote]



Today was 16F but it happens in much warmer weather,I have tryed different brand fuel's plus isopropyl. Has anyone tried a carb warmer? Like I said I also had an 02 250 ac that did the same.

 

Today was 16F but it happens in much warmer weather,I have tryed different brand fuel's plus isopropyl. Has anyone tried a carb warmer? Like I said I also had an 02 250 ac that did the same.[/quote]


Actually a simple carb warmer can be made from a couple pieces of heat riser hose and some duct tape or silver insulation tape. You wrap one piece of hose around the exhaust pipe and tee the other into it and tape it up. The other end of the tee hose fits around the carb bowl and convection will move the heat up to the carb. A better way would be to duct the warm air into the air box. I'm sure you aren't out mud holing this time of year and just remove the hoses in the spring.