At a party last night and got talking about the ethanol based fuels wrecking engines ie. rusting valves, shlacking and gunk build up. As well as the alcohol eating fuel lines and rubber based gaskets and o-rings. One guy said that kwik trip and shell are now carrying gas that contains no ethanol for boat motors chainsaws, lawnmowers and atvs. Want to know everyone elses views and thoughts on this "new" fuel.

 

Well, it's not the best thing to put in any motor that doesn't frequently go through a tank of gas. The mechanic (and now riding companion) at my Polaris dealer recommend the stuff at the link below. He also said that Stabil is almost as bad as running ethanol.

Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment - HOME

I recently found a station that has gas without ethanol, and I will get that for the ATV, my John Deere, and my other lawn equipment.

I still will use the StarTron for it's other benefits.

 

If you got a relatively new machine, whatever it may be, you've got no problems. There seems to be all kinds of junior scientists providing their expert opinion at parties on various fuels that they actually know little about from a chemical perspective. No expert here either. You'll hear people say all kinds of things about additives and fuel in general. It's sort of like the oil thing. It's a never ending debate. Some people do know what they're talking about, but it's hard to find chemists that deal in fuels on a daily basis.

Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth: I've run 10% Ethanol for years in Maine and it's done no damage to any of my machines. No difference in performance. Maybe a bit less "mileage" is the only thing I can offer. Our local Polaris dealer has had four quarts of E10 with and without stabilizers and there's no difference so far (after 13 months on the shelf). The regular E10 87 octane fuel looks and acts just like the stabilized stuff on shelf. There is no separation as some commonly speak of. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

EDIT: DCT mentioned Star Tron. I've heard good things about this too, only in that it may increase your mileage. Local dealer used it in his F150 and claimed to have gotten 20 more miles per tank.....but then again he's selling the stuff. I may give it a go and post the results here.

 

well up in my part of the state the eth. gas sucks! it has a big effect of fuel milage and has some effect of perforcmance in some machines. the shelf life of this gas also is not very long before it starts loosing octange points. alot of people have had burned down 2 strokes becuase of the gas going bad faster. i do believe the maintaince of use of this gas is higher then if it had none in it. of course as mentioned this is my own .02

 

I googled the debate and alot small engine mechanics are finding that E10 is the culprit to these small engines prematurely failing and dying. Especially in 2cycle engines b/c the e10 breaks down the oil mixture thus no lubricant. This is just what I read and I get maybe overly concerned seeing how these bikes are so expensive and I'm far from rich and try be preventative. Maybe this'll be my year for financial wealth! LOL! Yeah right! I pinched myself, now I'm awake!! Hope this year is better for all you hard working blue collar folks! Blue collar and very proud of it!!

 

My carbed HO was running very lean. When my dealer did some work on the quad recently, the mechanic drained the fuel (which he said was super clean (thanks StarTron), and filled it up with non-ethanol gas. With only a quarter tank of usage, the leanness is gone.

Again, I'll be buying the non-ethanol gas for my equipment... and will continue to use the StarTron.

 

I've always run my 50:1 machines richer than asked.....40:1 at the leanest. Maybe that's why I've never had any problems with E10. I see no difference in chain saws or ATVs. Interesting concept of the Alcohol breaking down the lubricant. Still no proof on that. I'm sure the manufactures would be screaming about it if it was a serious issue. Maybe they are and I'm just not hearing them.

What I've heard is that the high E rating fuels will not break down cheap 2 stroke oil and that you must run synthetic (ester) based oil that can blend really well with the fuel. Maybe that's what's going on.....I run Polaris synthetic 2-stroke snowmobile oil in all my stuff.

 

I don't know about the other areas but round here the 87 has the ethonol and the 93 is still ethonol free for now. If it's a big concern maybe try finding the higher octanes without ethonol if it's still available in your area.

 

All I can tell from the few years we've had ethanol in the gas is that it robbed on average 2 mpg from my truck.

 

we have no choice as the damn state made it manditory