Hi all,

As far as octane is concerned, other posts have it correct. No need to run a higher octane than the manual recommends. High octane in equipment that isn't high compression doesn't do a whole lot for you.

All of today's equipment is manufactured to be ran on ethanol blended gas. The reason is that upward of 95% of the gasoline available in the US today has some blend of ethanol in it. There are places that sell rec gas or E0 but they are generally tougher to find and usually cost a little more.

Also, the best way to protect your carbs from ethanol blended gas is to run a high quality fuel stabilizer/ethanol treatment in there. Ethanol's short shelf life is really what will cause gum & varnish formation to plug up systems. Ethanol gas can begin to lose volatility in as little as 30 days. That's not to say it's unusable, but it will gum up over time. By running a stabilizer in any gas that may sit for longer than 30 days, you avoid the gummed up carb issue.

Now, older equipment may have issues with fuel lines but those can be replaced with ethanol grade lines and that problem is taken care of. Most headaches with ethanol blended gas can be taken care of with simple fuel maintenance.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or comments related to fuel.

Have a great day!

 

Thanks for the input on octane.I use nothing but top tier fuel always.I have been running the 400 sportsman on 87 E10 it does seem to run great very fast starting machine.A very smooth running engine for sure.