E-10 Gas Damage

I had similar issues. Thankfully there is a couple stations close by that have started carrying non ethanol gas. Only thing the ethanol gas goes into now is the vehicles.

My cans only get non ethanol gas in them for the smaller equipment. Since making the switch I haven't had any more issues.

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DThrash said:

Some how I ended up in the ATV / motorcycle / boat repair business. Most of the problems is this Sh****ty gas people put in things and then let it sit. Leaves crap in carbs, destroys fuel lines and this is what it done to a fuel petcock on a Yamaha Bruin 350, it eat the aluminum and harden the gasket. I could not turn gas off when I was cleaning the tank out. Put new carb on and now waiting for the petcock. Been ordering those China carbs off eBay and they seem to be working good too. $40 vs $250.

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I realize you did not ask any questions.... but I TOTALLY agree with your assessment.

I fix small engines and most problems can be traced to Ethanol Alcohol in the gasoline. When I clean the carburetor, I also dump all the fuel and add NON-ethanol fuel.... the engines run fine then.

Adding Ethanol Alcohol to the gasoline was a political gimmick to make people THINK it is good thing.

Here we are several years into it and the truth has reared it ugly head:

*) Cost of food has gone WAY up. (farmers converting 1000s of acres from food-production to to ethanol) This USED to feed people and livestock.
*) Less energy in the fuel (LOWER MPG!!!)
*) Ethanol Alcohol eats thru many materials used in older fuel-systems.
*) Ethanol Alcohol is hygroscopic (absorbs water into the fuel)

I've been buying the DDG (dried distillers grain) from the local ethanol plant for $10.60 a hundred. It sure is a nice protein supplement, especially with round bales now going over $100 each for 1400#.

D2 I never heard of that till a young man in the Lodge was telling me he gets it from a local whiskey distiller for his sheep. I dont know what the protein accounts for in the diet but his wool business is going very well since they added it to the sheep diet,,, And yeah I have to get a carb for a Honda motor on the log splitter because of that E10 gas, come to find out there are several different carbs for the same motor,,grrrrrrrr ,, yes little brother took it apart and cleaned it ,he has forgotten more than I will ever know about motors. It runs but I have to run it about half choked, nope no leaking around the gasket, so I dont know. All I know is corn should be used to make whiskey not fuel

I replace the Carb on log splitter last week.
Subaru Motor the gas sat 2 years in it , started 1st pull then wouldn't start when pulled over to wood pile. Unable to take apart just bought a new one on Amazon for $18.99 shipped

Wonder if they have honda carbs? You got the link?

I've been using this for about 4 years in all my Gas equipment, no issues to date.
https://lucasoil.com/products/fuel-treatments/safeguard-ethanol-fuel-conditioner-with-stabilizers

The Chinese are very VERY good at copying things. The cheap little 6.5 hp engine I bought for $89 has parts which are EXACTLY interchangeable with my $439 Honda engine which drives a water pump.... carb, valves, rewind-starter, pistons, rings, ignition... But I learned to quit cannibalizing and simply replace the entire engine and get on down the road.

Of course, the engines will go up in price considerably after last Friday... but the CHINESE are going to pay for that, not me or my fellow Americans.....

skeets said:

Wonder if they have honda carbs? You got the link?

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Try Jacks Small Engine on line found the carb I needed for an old Briggs vanguard motor on an old chipper I had.

skeets said:

Wonder if they have honda carbs? You got the link?

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Amazonianland had one for my Honda pressure washer motor. Couldn't find any Honda parts/kits for the carb. The Chinese copy was rated 5 stars by users. I followed one poster's suggestion, "Buy two at this price ($14) and have a spare!"

I have gotten carburetors through Amazon and Carbhub. Fairly inexpensive and quick delivery.


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We always want to blame ethanol, yet it in itself isn't the problem. Root cause is letting the equipment/gas sit without use. Tanks have to be vented. Carbs have to be vented. Won't work if they aren't. Vents mean gas can and does evaporate into the air. Similar to ocean water, the stuff left behind after evaporation is where the problems lie.

Prevention is the cure. Don't let it sit. If there's no choice, remove all fuel, burn it in the lawn mower or car or whatever, refill with fresh.

"Heresay" says Methanol is corrosive as well. It's not. Race car sits for months on end with a full tank of methanol, lines full, etc, and there's never been a problem in the 21 years I've been running it this way. In the winter/spring, the car comes completely apart for inspection/repair, right down to inspecting the fuel lines' internal condition...zero issues. This kind of stuff is why internet can be quite entertaining, and halfway factual.

We only run non-ethanol in all our small engines. A few cents more at the pump is worth it. I Have never had to drain the fuel out of my power tools, sleds or ATVs/SXS. I always have used Sta-Bil during storage months. We can get non-ethanol in 87 and 91 Octane here.

Closest none E 10 gas is like 40 miles away,, no really to cost effective but hey if ya got it use it I always say

lugbolt said:

We always want to blame ethanol, yet it in itself isn't the problem. Root cause is letting the equipment/gas sit without use. Tanks have to be vented. Carbs have to be vented. Won't work if they aren't. Vents mean gas can and does evaporate into the air. Similar to ocean water, the stuff left behind after evaporation is where the problems lie.

Prevention is the cure. Don't let it sit. If there's no choice, remove all fuel, burn it in the lawn mower or car or whatever, refill with fresh.

"Heresay" says Methanol is corrosive as well. It's not. Race car sits for months on end with a full tank of methanol, lines full, etc, and there's never been a problem in the 21 years I've been running it this way. In the winter/spring, the car comes completely apart for inspection/repair, right down to inspecting the fuel lines' internal condition...zero issues. This kind of stuff is why internet can be quite entertaining, and halfway factual.

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Lugbolt, there's a couple things you may have inadvertently overlooked.

Methanol...and Ethanol... are not the same thing. They are both alcohols but Methanol is used to enhance fuel performance (sometimes with methanol/water injection) and the systems designed to use Methanol are made of materials which are Methanol-tolerant.

Ethanol is what is found in auto fuel at gasoline stations and IS CORROSIVE to systems that are not specifically designed for it... and for systems which are cheap Chinese designs such as inexpensive carburetors with steel float-bowls.

You are correct that fuel should be used while fresh and machines should not be stored with ethanol-based gasoline. Run the machine out of fuel (turn the fuel valve off) and drain the carb bowls (most have a 10mm bolt on the bottom of the bowl) ***8230; and use the appropriate Stabil product in all fuels kept over 60 days.

One of the "things left behind" is water... which IS corrosive. Alcohols... ALL alcohols are hydroscopic. They attract and retain water. When the fuel/alcohol evaporates...the water corrodes the steel parts in the system. (And alcohols, even those in alcohol-tolerant designs, will wash-away lubricants* and corrosion-preventives...and THEN the corrosion begins.)

*Yes, fuels contain additives including lubricating and corrosion-preventive additives. Alcohol will dissolve and remove those if left in-situ.

GeoHorn said:

Lugbolt, there's a couple things you may have inadvertently overlooked.

Methanol...and Ethanol... are not the same thing. They are both alcohols but Methanol is used to enhance fuel performance (sometimes with methanol/water injection) and the systems designed to use Methanol are made of materials which are Methanol-tolerant.

Ethanol is what is found in auto fuel at gasoline stations and IS CORROSIVE to systems that are not specifically designed for it... and for systems which are cheap Chinese designs such as inexpensive carburetors with steel float-bowls.

You are correct that fuel should be used while fresh and machines should not be stored with ethanol-based gasoline. Run the machine out of fuel (turn the fuel valve off) and drain the carb bowls (most have a 10mm bolt on the bottom of the bowl) ***8230; and use the appropriate Stabil product in all fuels kept over 60 days.

One of the "things left behind" is water... which IS corrosive. Alcohols... ALL alcohols are hydroscopic. They attract and retain water. When the fuel/alcohol evaporates...the water corrodes the steel parts in the system. (And alcohols, even those in alcohol-tolerant designs, will wash-away lubricants* and corrosion-preventives...and THEN the corrosion begins.)

*Yes, fuels contain additives including lubricating and corrosion-preventive additives. Alcohol will dissolve and remove those if left in-situ.

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I am fully aware of methanol and it's differences between it and Ethanol.

if you had 100% ethanol, you could drink it and the worst that happens is you get drunk..... (yeah same stuff, ethyl alcohol). Try it with Methanol and you'll go blind, if enough, croak off. The names are similar however the chemical properties are way different.

"Everybody" said Methanol is as corrosive as acid. It may be, but it's not nearly as bad as "everyone" says it is. I've personally run every single piece of gas burning equipment I own on Methanol, it sits for months/years and never needs anything. Maybe I'm on borrowed time. Or maybe not. yes that includes the mowers, weed-eater, 4 wheeler, bikes, even the little 2 stroke scooter. Open up the jets, play with needles and float level, etc, they run fine. I run it 100%, no mixing with anything (aside from an occasional mix with CH3NO2). It in itself is a great fuel, however, with stoich being near 6.5:1, you need roughly twice as much of it. Thus, it'll never catch on for a motor vehicle fuel. Not to mention the fumes and it's inherent dangers (burns with VERY light colored flame which is not seen in the daytime...so you only know it's on fire if it's burning something else with it, OR, you "see the heat"-or worse yet, get burned severely because you can't see the fire.

What Ethanol does is attract moisture; and this happens over a long period of time (months). In that same time frame, the fuel evaporates; and what's left is corrosive, it won't burn right, the moisture that's left in it is a breeding ground for microbes, etc. That's my theory based on what I've been seeing with different pieces of equipment. Ethanol in itself isn't as corrosive as people blame it; if it was, it wouldn't be allowed in motor vehicles because of safety hazards of it eating steel gas tanks, eating piston tops, aluminum fuel rails, cylinder heads, injectors, fuel pressure regulators, fuel pump and pump parts, fuel filters, etc. If it were "that" corrosive, we would be seeing manufacturers making parts out of different metals that aren't attacked by it. Titanium? The cost of already expensive cars would be....well more expensive.

I'd try some equipment on 100% Ethanol if I could get it, but that's impossible to find because it's what beer and other alcoholic drinks are made out of. If it were available as 100%, every drunk would be buying it by the barrel; so the best you can do it 98% and even that is extremely hard to find. Indycar (since the Indy 500 is coming up) run their stuff on E98. Gasoline alley sorta smells like a bar if anyone spills any (and they do).