Gas question

[skeets]

I have run reg 87 along with sti ble in all my small motors. I was told that for this I should run 89, or E0 gas, which I cant find any place anyway. Lots of stations say they have it but nobody has it, if you know what Im saying. I was wondering if anybody really runs E0 or a higher octan gas in their small motors

 

[McMXi]

I have run reg 87 along with sti ble in all my small motors. I was told that for this I should run 89, or E0 gas, which I cant find any place anyway. Lots of stations say they have it but nobody has it, if you know what Im saying. I was wondering if anybody really runs E0 or a higher octan gas in their small motors

Ethanol free gas is available at just about every gas station up here and I run it in my boat, chain saws, log splitter, weed eater, pressure washer, concrete mixer, leaf blower and lawn mower. I run either 87 or 89 in my Jeep (4.0L I6), but it does seem to run better with higher octane gas.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Nope. I drain it when storing for more than a month. The ethanol is much more volatile and evaporates much more quickly than non-ethanol fuel, and with it goes the octane rating. That's why it's suggested to run higher than necessary octane in small engines--so when the ethanol is gone the octane rating is still "reasonable."

I do have E0 fuel available, but still drain it because it no longer smells like fuel used to years back--don't know what that means, but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[Bmyers]

We do not have ethanol free fuel available in our area. Ok, there is one station that is 45 minutes from here that has it when their pump is working.

I run Ethanol Shield in my fuel and then when I know an engine is going to not be used for a few months, I run the fuel out of it.

 

[Tughill Tom]

TSC has VP race fuel Non-E, Pricey but will protect your motors for storage.

 

[lynnmor]

89 octane gas is simply mid grade available almost anywhere. If 89 isn't available move up to what is. Octane and ethanol are two entirely different subjects, ethanol will increase octane in gas but the destructive nature of it is what folks are trying to avoid. So be careful when moving up in octane, look at the percentage of ethanol and find another supplier if it is higher. Additives are simply snake oil and will do nothing to protect your equipment from the effects of ethanol.

 

[JimDeL]

I run 92 Octane ethanol-free gas, with Stabil added, in all my small engines. Haven't had any problems since I started using it.

BTW: Whenever possible I have a shutoff valve in the fuel line and let the engine run dry when I'm done with it.

 

[Russell King]

There are two stations where I have found non-ethanol gasoline = Walmart (Murphy) and Quick Trip. They may not be in your area though.

Look at this site that lists by state and city where there is ethanol free fuel available

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

 

[skeets]

Thanks guys, the closest station on that list is about an hour away, which kinda sucks but there ya go

 

[Elliott in GA]

Do you have any marinas nearby? They typically only sell non-ethanol fuel, as older boat engines and fuel systems need it.

 

[Botamon]

Only one chain (Maverick) offers ethanol-free gasoline in northern Nevada, and it is 88 octane and costs the same as Premium gas. I use it in all my small engines. Haven't had to replace the small rubber fuel lines on my lawn mower/weedeater/chainsaws since I started using ethanol free. Had to replace those line yearly previous to that.

 

[JimDeL]

Thanks guys, the closest station on that list is about an hour away, which kinda sucks but there ya go

I was surprised. I have two stations within three miles of me (Meijers & Country Fair), but the next closest one after that is over 40 miles away. I kinda took for granted that it was more readily available.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I run 93 Octane ethanol-free gas in all my small engines and all performance engines that call for 91 octane or higher like my atv and 2-stroke snowmobile.
Can't say if it makes a difference or not as I rarely have troubles and when I do its more a regular maintenance kinda thing like seats/needles, etc... versus a fuel failure issue.

Around these parts we have a lot of fishing boats, high performance 2 stroke snowmobiles, etc.... so E-free 93 octane is pretty easy to find.

 

[bucktail]

91 octane E0 is readily available here.

 

[#40Fan]

I live up in elevation and 87 octane is the cheap stuff here.

3 generators, lawn mower, rototiller, pressure washer, air compressor and all get the cheap gas. I run everything out of gas when done with it. No additives ever used.

Maybe it is a location thing. Even people in the area that I know with small gas engines don't seem to have any issues. I'd likely be fixing them if they were.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I also run “ethanol free” stuff in all of my “non automotive” equipment. At a buck a gallon more, it’s cheap “peace of mind” for me.

I can’t recall if the E0 stuff I get is 87or 89, but that does not matter to me personally. I have always run the lowest octane rating that the particular machine will run without “spark knock”.

I had a F150 that required “mid grade” gas (89 octane?) or it would “knock like a bitch” on hard accell. So I was forced to run it.

My buddy has a Lincoln Navigator that requires it too…..(maybe its a Ford thing)

Other than that my personal belief is that 89 or higher is a waste of money if your engine will run it without “knocking” (actually sounds more like a ping’ing noise)

 

[hagrid]

Thanks guys, the closest station on that list is about an hour away, which kinda sucks but there ya go

The new Sheetz stores in Houston and Meadowlands have non-ethanol 90 octane pumps.

 

[Speed25]

We've got 90-octane ethanol-free juice around here for ~10 cents more than premium and it goes in all the small engines with Sta-Bil, and I rarely don't drain fuel after use, with no issues thus far, though everything is stored in a humidity-controlled environment. I also run the same ethahol-free stuff in my Toyota as it consistently gets 10%-15% better fuel economy than the premium juice (ethanol-percentage math says this shouldn't be the case, but my fuel consumption numbers don't lie) . I feel bad blocking the diesel pumps at Sheetz, but the ethanol-free stuff is only at the diesel pumps and not the regular gas pumps for some reason.

Edit: I recently sold several of my old mowers (10-20 years old) and all three had minimal varnish in the carbs and fired up like new, even after sitting for a few years unused.

 

[Flintknapper]

I use EO in my ATV and in some of my two stroke small engines. I find it does 'store' better and I've had fewer problems with it than with E10 in small engines. It is a 30 minute drive to get some and a buck more a gallon, but worth it IMO.

 

[drygulch]

FWIW, this years-long head-to-head comparison of fuel stabilizers from the Project Farm youtube channel came out recently. I find a lot of his product comparisons useful.

I use ethanol free exclusively in my ATVs and lawn tools. None of them typically sit too long between uses, but I do like the idea of running them dry for longer term storage.

Greg