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We at the Home of Lawn Mower Repair are not the only ones seeing problems with small engines likely caused by ethanol in gasoline. Just like this Tuscaloosa News article last week says, ethanol in gasoline is capable of hurting lawn mowers, chain saws, gas-powered weed trimmers and leaf blowers. If the gasoline sits long enough, the alcohol in there can separate out and start eating through rubber and plastic parts. Buy only as much gas as you will quickly use, and you may need to mix in gasoline stabilizer.
Note: be sure to get a gasoline stabilizer to keep the alcohol in the mixture, as opposed to a Stabler-izer which may actually consume the alcohol.
Thanks to reader S. for the news link.
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If you have two cycle products the oil and additive mix should take care of the alcohol that may be present in the base fuel you buy prior to the mix. I have always made it a practice to buy only Amoco “white” gas with the 93 RMS Octane for all of my lawn equipment. I am not sure, however, if the current high test Amoco is pure gasoline or if they don’t also have alcohol in it.
Remember, 20 years ago we called this gasohol and it was blended mostly because of the large alcohol subsidy. The distributors were reluctant to put the alcohol content fact on the pump because they were afraid it would be viewed as an inferior product.
In fact, it was inferior if you had seals and gaskets in your carburetor that also contained oxygen molecules. The oxygen molecules in the alcohol leached out the oxygen molecules in the gaskets or mostly the glue and sealant used. As a result, there were many carburetors that failed. I know, I had to replace one on a Monte Carlo specifically because of this.
In addition, if you have a build up of water in the bottom of your tank (water is heavier than gasoline) the oxygen molecules in the alcohol will also attach the oxygen molecules in the water and pull it through the engine. Many of us have experience with a gasoline engine trying to burn too much water!
Now, they scramble to put those little E-10 stickers on their pumps to show how green they are.
As always, Danny is trying to help us look out for the small engines that enable us to finish our yard work more quickly so that we can have another cool one why we turn the ribs.
Happy 4th to everyone!
Love the stabler line