Non-ethanol gas locations.

[3-D Video]

I haven't found anything but anecdotal evidence to confirm the gumming of carburetors, nothing that suggest the chemistry of what appears to be happening. "Appears to be happening" because there's a lot of evidence out there. And, a lot of Agri-bi$$ lobbying for their corner of the ethanol market.

You may find the following interesting:

“The resin released by ethanol makes its way through the fuel system where it sticks to valves and other internal engine parts.Â* The buildup of this sticky black substance has bent pushrods, clogged intake valves and ruined some engines.Â* Affected engines may run rough, stall or bog down under load.â€� Â*Â* Boat U.S. MagazineÂ* July 2006 Â*

“Employees at the shop regularly rebuilt carburetors gummed up from the so-called “varnishâ€� that builds up from unstabilized gas left sitting in engines.Â* But since ethanol started being added to fuel sold in Florida in 2007, the power-equipment pros were seeing something new:Â* metal parts crusted up, plastic parts stiffened and cracked, and everything rubber, including the tips of needle valves, deteriorated.â€� Consumer Reports.orgÂ*Â* June 24, 2009
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2 ... gines.html

“Examples of reported damage, determined to be caused by E10 fuel. Â*

Ethanol Gasoline – General Problems/Issues:
Phase separation (P/S) of gasoline.
Water contamination (W/C) of gasoline.
Attract, absorb and hold moisture in fuel tank.
Increased occurrence of lean, water-diluted fuel.
Vapor lock or fuel starvation.
Drop in octane (after water absorption, P/S and W/C occurs).
Decreased fuel efficiency and mpg.
Decreased life cycle of parts and engine.
Decreased shelf life of gasoline.

Parts Damage:
Wear and damage of internal engine parts.
Damage to metal, rubber, and plastic parts of fuel system.
Corrosion of metal parts in fuel system and engine.
Deterioration of elastomers and plastic parts.
Deterioration of non-metallic materials.
Fuel permeation through flexible fuel lines.
Drying, softening, stretching and/or cracking or rubber hoses, seals and other rubber components.
Oxygen sensor damage.
Damage or premature disintegration of fuel pump.
Carburetor damage, including clogging.
Dirty and clogged fuel filters.
Clogging and plugging of fuel injectors.
Destruction of certain fiberglass fuel tanks.
Removal or fading of paint and varnish (both internal and external parts of engine).
Piston/bore failure through knock/pre-ignition.
Piston ring sticking.
Unsuitable ignition timing resulting in ignition failure.
Gumming-up of fuel injectors, carburetors, etc. due to release of accumulated deposits in engine from ethanol alcohol’s solvent properties.
Â*
E10 Drivability Issues:
Engine performance problems. (Lack of power/energy).
Hard starting and operating difficulty.
Hesitation and lack of acceleration.
Stalling, especially at low speeds.� November 2009 www.Fuel-testers.com

[mole2]

I just wanted to give a quick "THANKS" for posting the site. I now know where to pick up some non ethanol fuel.

[mrlmd1]

The resin referred to by Boat US is from fiberglass fuel tanks that the ethanol-gas mix dissolves. The release of plasticizers from the fiberglass has been known for years. Any many fiberglass tanks have almost dissolved, started leaking. This is a well known problem,
Ethanol fuels have also caused numerous types of corrosion problems with various types of metal and have dissolved certain types of rubber - including gaskets and certain vulnerable fuel lines. We all know this and the bad effects of ethanol mix fuels on older engine systems with parts that are not tolerated by this type of fuel. Nobody is denying that this is a bad fuel, other than trying to reduce emissions, MBTE, and cost.
But, still, in our bikes and cars using this fuel, the ethanol mix itself is no different than pure gas if it sits for prolonged periods and gums up a carb from evaporation of the more volatile components of the fuel. The ethanol, or the ethanol-gas mix, as far as I have read, does not by itself gum up a carb or hasten it, unless as I said above, you suddenly switch to an ethanol mix fuel and it dissolves old crud in your tank or fuel lines which gets carried down the system.

As a aside, for interest, having nothing in particular to do with ethanol in the gas - I have an '97 Seadoo jetski with some gray fuel lines which at the time were recommended by some govt. agency (for safety?, who knows) , and which, in all skis from the 90's that have these, get gummed up inside the lines and in the little carb filter because the gasoline has slowly dissolved the lines. All older skis need these lines replaced with the black rubber ones we are familiar with, and the carb fuel filter cleaned or replaced, because they eventually get clogged up and the engine starves for fuel. If you look inside the lines, there is a thick black gooey residue, which is dissolved fuel lines, not degredation of the gas over time. So shit happens, for different reasons. An inline fuel filter can solve a lot of these problems real inexpensively.

[emory70]

"Not my responsibility to educate anybody."

now that's the funniest thing i have read on this site yet.

[mrlmd1]

:haha2: :haha2: :haha2: :haha2:
I saw that too but I didn't want to make a comment because someone would have accused me of saying something bad. Glad someone else saw it.
Does that mean that his posts are NOT meant to help educate anyone with a problem?, or that he does it totally VOLUNTARILY out of the goodness of his heart? that it's not his RESPONSIBILITY to educate anybody? Why does he post responses to questions? We always are supposed to say what we mean but what DOES that mean? :??: :??: I agree, it is pretty funny. And a frequent backpedaling to an answer.

Posted by ER on the M-J site

"It's not about "winning"; it's about providing correct information.

We all make mis-statements occasionally; those who can't seem to accept that gracefully when it happens to YOU need an attitude adjustment."

:poke2: :poke2: :poke2: :poke2: :neener:

[Water Warrior 2]

Come on boys, play nice or I'll take you out behind the wood shed.

[frempath]

I think we may have discussed this before, but many of the problems seen with the introduction of alcohol blend fuels to off road vehicles was seen 30 years ago when it was introduced for on road vehicles. The problem was in the components that were not designed with alcohol in mind that had poor reactions to it. Over time new components and designs were used that eliminated the problems with on road vehicles. As to a shorter shelf life, yes that has been observed, so ride your bike more often and don't be afraid of the occasional use of carb cleaner.

Now don't be confused, I was raised to hate alcohol blended gasoline, and don't buy it if I have the choice and there is no price difference. But I am not afraid to use it in my GZ.

frempath

[3-D Video]

Assuming you've already been using ethanol and had to clean-up your tank, replaced your hoses, and have refurbished your carburetor. Assuming that you never get gas from a contaminated source… all your fuel suppliers have pristine new tanks, lines, filters, pumps, etc., and keep them in good repair, and have an active turnover so that the gas doesn't sit for long. And, assuming you never let your gas sit in the tank for more than two months at a time, then, you may be interested in these ethanol cons:

Ethanol is corrosive to some metals, especially in combination with water. Although gasoline does not conduct electricity well, ethanol has an appreciable capability to conduct electricity and therefore can promote galvanic corrosion.

Ethanol is itself corrosive and enhances the deposition of oxidations on metallic components (steel, brass, and especially aluminum). As a solvent, it attacks rubber and plastic components, and embrittles paper components (gaskets).

It's bad for the planet, as I covered in a previous post.

It's costly to produce:
It's incredibly inefficient to unlock energy stored inside plant cells relative to the effort needed to distill comparable volumes of fuel from crude, even crude as expensive as it is today. The reality is that making biofuels from Brazilian sugar cane is much easier, cheaper and kinder to the environment than using Midwestern grain. The reality is that we care about all those principles so much as to impose a stiff tariff on Brazilian ethanol, lest it displace our homebrew.

And, it's bad for the economy:
Corn, traditionally America's most abundant natural resource, has turned into the focus of a scarcity scare, with futures prices nearly doubling, in just eight months. So taxpayers end up subsidizing this folly thee times: Once in federal payments to corn producers that totaled almost $9 billion last year, again in a tax credit of 51 cents per gallon for ethanol producers and a third time in the supermarket checkout line (and that's not counting any repair bills due to your use of ethanol).

Winter is heading our way. If it's too crappy to ride where you are during that time, and if you must use ethanol, then it's been suggested that you empty your tank, empty the float bowl, and spray some WD-40 into the spark plug hole.

[mrlmd1]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

Come on boys, play nice or I'll take you out behind the wood shed.

Ooooh. That sounds like it could be fun. One at a time or both together? What did you have in mind?
:roll: :roll: :poke2: :poke2:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

"It's not about "winning"; it's about providing correct information.

We all make mis-statements occasionally; those who can't seem to accept that gracefully when it happens to YOU need an attitude adjustment."

I'm glad you noticed that.
I WAS thinking about YOU when I wrote it. :fu: