Stay away from ethanol fuel

Rob G · 03-11-2020, 12:06 PM

I just thought I would put this out there. We all know that ethanol fuel is garbage, especially in toys that sit a lot like our ATVs, but here's definitive proof: stay away from it. The top one is from my daughter's t-force. Put 2 tanks of ethanol through it last year since the small town we were in didn't have non-e fuel. When we got home I drained it. Getting ready for riding season and I couldn't quite get it to run right. Tore it down and found this.

A week later, I'm helping a friend bring back to life his Polaris 500. Opened the carb to see all the E-jelly. Ended up costing him a new carb. Despite all our efforts the emulsion tube was stuck and ended up breaking the housing.

So yeah, stay away from ethanol. I know, it's harder to find and costs more, but look at these two... now I wonder how bad my generator is going to be.

A1R 250 bob · 03-11-2020, 12:18 PM

Is it possible someone mixed some Jello in your fuel tank? It is a good thing Bill Cosby is still in prison or I would be suspicious.

Rob G · 03-11-2020, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A1R 250 bob

Is it possible someone mixed some Jello in your fuel tank? It is a good thing Bill Cosby is still in prison or I would be suspicious.

Haha. Right? Pretty nasty crap isn't it? 40+ years of working on things that burn gas, one would think I know better.

**JerryHawk250** · 03-11-2020, 04:17 PM

Ethanol fuel is even worse with outboard motors. Moisture and ethanol don't play nicely together.

Its_not_a_honda · 03-11-2020, 05:07 PM

Thanks for posting the pictures. A lot of people don't understand or have never seen what ethanol is doing inside their fuel systems. I have seen it so many times ( and made a lot of money from it) but never take any pictures.

Sparrowhawk · 03-12-2020, 09:46 PM

Cool photos. Had the same thing in my powerwasher and tiller. I was able to clean my carbs though. I don't run anything but ethanol in all my small engines now, and haven't had a problem since.

Its_not_a_honda · 03-13-2020, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrowhawk

Cool photos. Had the same thing in my powerwasher and tiller. I was able to clean my carbs though. I don't run anything but ethanol in all my small engines now, and haven't had a problem since.

If you are running pure ethanol, you need to drain that stuff immediately after you stop the engine. Everytime! I think you meant to say you run ethanol-FREE. I hope.

bogieboy · 03-13-2020, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Ethanol fuel is even worse with outboard motors. Moisture and ethanol don't play nicely together.

technically, it does play well together, its the water-booze slurry that it makes that doesnt play well with carbs and fuel lines...

Mudflap · 03-13-2020, 09:45 AM

If you drain the float bowl before a couple weeks of non use, E10 shouldn't be a problem. Leaving fuel in the bowl and the fuel valve on can indeed cause a problem. I always use the cheapest gas I can find but always drain the float bowl before storage or fill the tank with 100LL avgas and run it through.

Sparrowhawk · 03-13-2020, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Its_not_a_honda

If you are running pure ethanol, you need to drain that stuff immediately after you stop the engine. Everytime! I think you meant to say you run ethanol-FREE. I hope.

Yea, ethanol free.

FLASHLIGHTBOY · 03-14-2020, 05:15 PM

I saw on youtube a person there make up a special bottle to separate the water and enthaol in the fuel... check it out...

FLASHLIGHTBOY · 03-14-2020, 05:38 PM

fuel fix... watch and do if you can not get premium fuel … or fuel stalbizer

03-11-2020, 04:17 PM	#4
JerryHawk250 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 11,591	Ethanol fuel is even worse with outboard motors. Moisture and ethanol don't play nicely together. __________________ 2023 Lifan Lycan 250 Chopper 2023 Venom Evader 2022 Lifan KPX250 2020 Kawasaki Vulcan S (Sold) 2004 Honda ST 1300 2016 Black Hawk 250 (sold) Keihin PE30 carb,125 main,38 slow.Pod filter,ported & decked head 10:1 CR,Direct Ignition Coil,15/40Sprockets,NGK DPR8EIX-9,De-Cat,Dual Oil Cooler,Digital Cluster 2016 Cazador180 XL 2014 Coolster150 JerryHawk250.com My YouTube Channel
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03-11-2020, 05:07 PM	#5
Its_not_a_honda Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 410	Thanks for posting the pictures. A lot of people don't understand or have never seen what ethanol is doing inside their fuel systems. I have seen it so many times ( and made a lot of money from it) but never take any pictures. __________________ 2020 Kawasaki KLX300R, 2018 Yamaha TW200 If you want more of something, tax it less. If you want less of something, tax it more.
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03-14-2020, 05:15 PM	#11
FLASHLIGHTBOY Join Date: May 2009 Location: SASKATOON Posts: 1,161	fuel I saw on youtube a person there make up a special bottle to separate the water and enthaol in the fuel... check it out... __________________ DEALER FOR ZSTAR & GIO PRODUCTS, TAOTAO ABIBABA ATV ETC
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03-14-2020, 05:38 PM	#12
FLASHLIGHTBOY Join Date: May 2009 Location: SASKATOON Posts: 1,161	fuel fix fuel fix... watch and do if you can not get premium fuel … or fuel stalbizer __________________ DEALER FOR ZSTAR & GIO PRODUCTS, TAOTAO ABIBABA ATV ETC
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03-11-2020, 12:18 PM	#2
A1R 250 bob Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 73	Is it possible someone mixed some Jello in your fuel tank? It is a good thing Bill Cosby is still in prison or I would be suspicious.
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03-12-2020, 09:46 PM	#6
Sparrowhawk Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 64	Cool photos. Had the same thing in my powerwasher and tiller. I was able to clean my carbs though. I don't run anything but ethanol in all my small engines now, and haven't had a problem since.
	0

03-13-2020, 09:45 AM	#9
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,894	If you drain the float bowl before a couple weeks of non use, E10 shouldn't be a problem. Leaving fuel in the bowl and the fuel valve on can indeed cause a problem. I always use the cheapest gas I can find but always drain the float bowl before storage or fill the tank with 100LL avgas and run it through.
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