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I've been using non ethanol (even after there was a choice) in my mowers and my Trabant 601 which has a 2 cycle engine because of issues I've read about ethanol in gravity feed fuel systems.

I wonder if I'm throwing my money away paying 10 to 15 cents more per gallon for this stuff. Is pure gasoline really any better than E10? Or should I say is E10 really that bad?

I've always heard it will eat natural rubber. So lawnmower engines built after 200? uses neoprene fuel hoses, o-rings, etc which alcohol won't attack. And I've heard it will corrode aluminum which newer carburetors are made of anyway.

The other day I got out my MTD which is my backup riding mower. But I occasionally use it a couple of times during the season just to make sure it's going to run when I need it. Well my Husqvarna's mower deck has a busted spindle so I needed to mow my yard.

I had not used it since last fall and topped the tank off with pure gasoline before putting it up for the season. I noticed about a quart of gasoline had evaporated between October and April. That seems quite a bit. Where did the gasoline go? I wondered if the float valve was not seating and the crankcase was full of gas. At this moment the level on the dipstick showed normal.

At first the engine ran fine but after an hour or so it started running rough then after I shut it off for about 10 minutes to chit chat with my father, I tried to restart it, the engine was hydro locked. Gasoline was pouring out everywhere. I hooked it to my father's truck and we pulled it up the hill to my garage. I took the carburetor off and cleaned the float valve and passages with carb cleaner. The spark plug was fouled from where it had been running rough and the crankcase was full of gas. So I had to bead blast the spark plug and change the oil (which it needed both anyway) but this put me an hour behind my mowing.

I really didn't find any crude in the float valve. However this carburetor has a non adjustable (no brass tabs to bend) white plastic float and the float initially would not pivot on it's own.

I'm not real sure what the deal was but after putting the carb back together and testing it to make sure the float valve was working the mower ran fine the rest of the day.

Spring of 2016: Somehow water got into the fuel tank in my Husqvarna (Craftsman) over the winter. My guess is I forgot to top the tank off and moisture in the void condensed and sunk to the bottom. I had always heard E10 will absorb water and sink to the bottom. Well water will do the same in pure gasoline.

I blinded over two fuel filters until I figured out what was happening. I filtered all of this gas through one of those Mr. Funnels and was able to filter out the water. The mower ran fine on this same batch of gasoline.

The reason I've been buying pure gasoline to begin with is to avoid both of these problems that seem to occur primarily with gravity feed fuel systems. But it seems my efforts were all for naught.

I've been using E10 in my 68 Ford Fairlane, 1980 Fiat Spider, 1987 Yugo, 2003 Subaru and my 1998 Chevrolet van for ages with no problems. I have had no issues with E10 eating rubber parts on any of these vehicles. Some of hoses on my older vehicles is Gates LOL which is made of neoprene. I have no idea if the Subaru and my Chevy van are setup for E10 since they were built before E10 became somewhat the standard 10 years ago.

I have tested E10 versus pure gasoline on my Subaru and Chevy van. No difference in gas mileage whatsoever.

So is pure gasoline worth the extra money? Is E10 really that bad?

From my experience, I've had the same issues with pure gasoline I've been trying to avoid from using E10, no difference in gas mileage, no damage to rubber parts from using E10.

What's your experience?

I answered some of this from your post earlier today.

In terms of the value of straight gasoline versus E10, I'm not convinced buying gasoline in gallon contains is worth the cost. However, getting straight gasoline at a few cents per gallon over E10 makes sense to me.

In older equipment (around 2000 and earlier) E10 can damage rubber and other parts. However, newer equipment is designed for use with E10 so that issue no loner exists.

Stop and have a little think about it ?
What are we talking about ?
2 gallons / year , 4 gallons / year ?
Total price difference might almost add up to a loaf of bread or can of coke over a year.
When it exceeds the price of a beer you have a problem.

Depends on how much you run a year. If you run a lot then you won't have a problem with E 10. If you let it sit and don't run but a very little bit then absolutely. the problems with E 10 and small engines is it sitting up or that has been my experience.


We run E10 in our equipment but we mix 5 gallons of mixed gas a week or more. Normally we fill the mowers up every day.

It's worth it to me, even at 30 cents per gallon difference.

I'm not sure where the idea that putting ethanol in gas was a good thing came from. Energy independence? We're using something like 40% of the nation's corn crop to make up 10% of its gasoline.

turbofiat124


I would suggest adding a in-line gas shut off on the MTD. Shut off the gas valve & run it till it sputters, & park it. If you are using E10 tho, I'd also suggest adding stabilizer to your P4 Gas. That's extremely too much gas to lose to evaporation.

My former craftsman rider did same thing. Once & only once.

& Yes I will use only the 100% real gas here. I can even get it in 93 octane.

This is a question to those of you who use non ethanol fuel. If you put it in a 1 or 2 gallon can, you are using mainly ethanol fuel. Think about what you are doing? You pull up to the pump, grab the hose, punch the button for non ethanol fuel and fill the can. Think about this, what fuel did the last customer buy, probably ethanol? You just pump all the ethanol fuel in the hose and line all the way back to the transfer connection into your can. What did you pay for? First pump a gallon or two into your vehicle, then fill your can. Which is better? All I'll say is that since we started recommending to our customers to use ethanol free fuel and drain the system when ever the unit will sit for more than 30 days, our fuel related problems have dropped by over 75% to those following our recommendation.

I have thought about that.

If you can't find a pump that has separate hoses for the different grades of gas, what I do is, like you, I run a couple gallons into the truck before filling the can with non-ethanol gas. I don't buy one gallon at at time, either; usually five. If there's any left over at the end of the season, it goes in the truck.

Doesn't work with a motorcycle, though.

Rivets said:

This is a question to those of you who use non ethanol fuel. If you put it in a 1 or 2 gallon can, you are using mainly ethanol fuel. Think about what you are doing? You pull up to the pump, grab the hose, punch the button for non ethanol fuel and fill the can. Think about this, what fuel did the last customer buy, probably ethanol? You just pump all the ethanol fuel in the hose and line all the way back to the transfer connection into your can. What did you pay for? First pump a gallon or two into your vehicle, then fill your can. Which is better? All I'll say is that since we started recommending to our customers to use ethanol free fuel and drain the system when ever the unit will sit for more than 30 days, our fuel related problems have dropped by over 75% to those following our recommendation.

Click to expand...

Rivets,
I hadn't given the gas in the hose and line a thought, I will take your advise and run a couple of gallons in the pickup from now on, great to learn something new from time to time.

THANKS!

Rivets- Your point is a valid one.

The pumps I use are dedicated to 100% free of ethanol gas. I even tested the gas for good measure.

Plus it is what I run in my truck as well.

I don't mind when others (locally) use E10 in their bikes, since it brings me more work.