Is Ethanol an issue?

[okgc]

Originally Posted by Mekanic

Flex fuel vehicle has to do with E-85 Meaning 85% Ethonol.

Yes, I think many are confused with the E-85 name. It is not just an additional 5% ethanol to the standard 10% ethanol blend.

E85 is an abbreviation for an ethanol fuel blend of 85% denatured ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. E85 is commonly used by flex-fuel vehicles in the United States and Europe.

[Dwayne & Shara]

Ethanol has a 2 week shelf life thats why so many people are having problem with small engines. Also ethanol attracts water.

[frankdamp]

We have two refineries on the outskirts of town, one's Tesoro and the other is Shell. All the road tankers coming out of the refineries are generic - no gasoline brand names.

I get the impression from what one or two refinery employees have said is that the gas reaching the tanker fill hydrant system is the same for all, and a initial shot of the specific buyer's proprietary additives goes into the empty tankers before the gasoline is fed in. AFAIK, the ethanol percentage is in the gasoline stock, not the additive mix.

Maybe someone on the forum who works in the refinery industry could clarify?

BTW, CB1000rider, the Onan book for my '02 MH generator (which is probably an '01 build) specifically says not to use ethanol treated fuel. When (if?) I get the generator running again, the carb bowl will get drained each time it's shut down. Im hoping that, If I do need to buy a replacement carb, it will be ethanol compatible.

[Land Barge]

Originally Posted by breed

Ethanol has a 2 week shelf life thats why so many people are having problem with small engines. Also ethanol attracts water.

This has not been my experience nor can I find a supporting reference with this short of storage life. Otherwise it would go bad before you would finish the tank.
Small engines usually have non compatible pot metal parts which ethanol combined with water becomes a weak acid eating away cheaper non compatible items. Small engines or boats are usually more susceptible to water exposure.

Keep water out and it's fine. Gasoline doesn't do well with water either but it separates out and mostly water sits on the bottom and is less disruptive to cheap parts. ie the reason they can use cheap parts. So maybe the problem is cheap parts and not the fuel.

[PanJH]

I did as you do when I had my V-10... keep it full incase we need to evacuate due to a hurricane and to minimize condensation. never had any problems in the 13 yrs we had it. I did have a fuel line issue with the Onan genset and the fuel pump on the genset after about 8-9 yrs . Could have been due to the ethanol.

[Land Barge]

8-9 years? I don't suppose the 8-9 years had anything to do with it?

Let's not have he DW pickup on that, I'm not broken down because of the last 9 years, it's all the whiskey I've consumed those last 9 years. Hmm excuse for better whiskey.

[jamesrxx951]

Originally Posted by Land Barge

8-9 years? I don't suppose the 8-9 years had anything to do with it?

Let's not have he DW pickup on that, I'm broken down because of the last 9 years, it's all the whiskey I've consumed those last 9 years. Hmm excuse for better whiskey.

We wont tell my 13 year old John Deere lawn mower that either Not bad for sitting 5 months a year with E10 fuel in it. 8-9 years is not bad for low grade fuel line these coach manufactures use.

[Mekanic]

South point Ohio is my home town. From 1983?-1995 our tone had the nations largest Ethanol plant "South Point Ethanol" (a Very large still really) and across the river in Cattlesburg we had one of the largest oil refinery. Ethanol was piped under the river to the refinery. (60 million gallons a year )
You couldn't get gasoline around here without it,....for as long as I can remember.
SPE was owned by several oil companys and taken apart,... Ethanol equipment was sold to ADM