I keep 15 gallons of gas on hand for my generator and I try to rotate it every 1-2 years. I use Stabil and I've never had a problem with that interval.

It's almost time to rotate it and that got me thinking. What's the difference between Summer and Winter blends? Do you think there is any advantage to storing one over the other?

Here in my area, PADD1, in the Northeast, Winter blends have Normal butane blended in to assist vaporization in cold climates. Summer blends do not (Gasoline vaporizes on its own during hot summer temps)


Keep both on hand and you'll be ok when a power loss hits.

Non ethanol if that is an option

I'd keep wintertime ethanol to cover all the bases.

However, if isn't stored hermetically, it doesn't make much difference because of losing fractions and moisture intrusion.


Non-ethanol will get you a denser BTU fuel -slightly, you will lose some moisture resolving benefits...

Those can be resolved by adding some anti-moisture additive -alcohol  

After doing some research on evaporation rates I keep seeing Winter as "more volatile" and more likely to cause fumes in the summer. Is that a concern? Or is Summer blend going to leave me up shit creek when I try to fire up the gen this winter?

If I had to pick,  I'd go with summer and a few cans of starting fluid. I've had detonation issues in small engines running hard in summer using stored winter fuel. Filled up with summer and the problem went away. Both sealed in barrels, premium non corn.

But I store both.

Also, if its below zero, you can warm up the genny beforef firing it up. Kero or propane heater in a small shed workwell ffor this.

Definitely this.

Why?

Because that is what small engines prefer!

 

We run a lot of small engines and they work just fine with the alcohol laced gas... They never say -OH NO, not that alcohol crap again!




Also, alcohol's vapor pressure isn't as great as a lot of other fuel fractions and isn't as easily lost.

PLUS-  the alcohol combines with water and takes it out of the 'problem equation'


The drawback with the water-alcohol issue is it can react corrosively with some metals over extended periods... Like a carburetor... So can plain gas with water in it...

And the lower BTU per pound-gallon  factor...


Personally, I store whatever is at the gas pump and have no problems.

I think this is over thought to an excessive degree...

Could be. I run a lot of old engines, and have had issues that anecdotally happen when I tried running corn gas. All my gas is filtered through a particulate/hydrophobic filter eliminating water issues.

 


Never have issues running on pure gas.




Newer engines I have don't seem to care though, just the older stuff.


 

ETA: Issues I have experienced on old engines running corn gas: burning through fuel lines (known issue) and any other rubber on the engine, all of a sudden needing carb kits because of faulty gaskets/diaphragms, engine knock under high load/RPM.


Sure, some (or most) of the issues can be permanently addressed, but when I stay away from corn gas, I have just normal maintenance items on a typical repair schedule.

Anecdotal...

I did routine maintenance ~2 years ago on a mid '90's Polaris ATV we use all the time and have owned almost 10 years.

I decided to replace the float needle and seat, due to the age, prophylactically...

The ATV has always run on alcoholic fuel since we've owned it as far as I know.

All the seals, the seat, and the interior metal was like new. Fuel lines didn't need replaced.


I replaced everything inside with a carb kit off eBay and bought a spare kit to keep in reserve.

This alcohol fuel issue is a boogie-man for folks who just don't understand the technical issues, altho I agree, older elastomers are subject to being eaten up by alcohol.

Modern stuff, forget it.

Mid 90's is not what I call old engines

I use a handful of engines that are AT LEAST as old as I am, about half of them pre-date me

You might want to update the carb and fuel lines with modern parts in case you have to run alcohol fuel in them...


I had old Wisconsin's, as a kid a Cushman engine that shocked the crap out of me, still have a 60 year old Continental converted to propane in a forklift, and ---trying to remember the brands of the other popular old timey gas engine that I never had, but need to have modern seals and O-rings installed....

+1

All my small engine-driven tools run much better on non-ethanol, and they are both new and older engines.

Do they run better after you wash them too?

Wash them?

I consider my chainsaw, lawn mower & generator as tools to do work, and they run better on non-ethanol gas.

I believe that you believe that they run better on non-ethanol gas.  They don't.  But, keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better!

Ethanol gas will slowly destroy fuel lines and carbs.  They also leave a residue build up in carbs that clog them.  Talk with any small engine repair shop and they will tell you to burn non ethanol gas for any small engine.

Incorrect information.

Think about it and apply some logic. Ethanol is alcohol. Alcohol cleans very well and leaves no residue.

I run ethanol in everything I own. It causes no problems. I even run it in my boat....again....no problems.

VP SEF or C9 in sealed 5 gallon cans.
 

No it's not. Ethanol gas is terrible.

Not even close.

It's your right to keep deluding yourself.  Keep washing your boat since you believe it makes your boat motor to run better.

   

I really gotta remember to stay outta threads on ethanol. Too much emotion and refusal to accept facts. It's Expys fault for tempting me.

When our tree company stopped using ethanol blended gas in the chainsaws we stopped having carb problems. Most of the people I know have stopped using it completely in small carbureted engines. It doesn't just gum up carbs, it erodes them out so they need to be replaced.

How in the World would it gum up carbs, especially if the saws were used regularly???

Alcohol is a SOLVENT and is often used in consumer De-Gumming carb and injector preparations...

The alcohol absorbs water and corrodes the carbs. Even on stuff that doesn't sit it causes problems eventually.

Silly----

Alcohol absorbs water and keeps the fuel system DRY!

Plain gas lets water reside in the system and storage media ----destroying everything...

So all the people who have solved their problems in small carbureted engines by switching to ethanol free gas are full of shit?





 

Go look up how much more hygroscopic ethanol is than gasoline.

That's why many here have said to store gas in hermetic containers to exclude O2 and water.

If water DOES get in, it mixes with the ethanol gas and passes seamlessly thru the fuel system and out the exhaust.


INSTEAD of remaining in the system and causing problems...

Easy boys...

Water doesn't mix with gas. It pools in the bottom of the tank and gets sucked into the carb. It is a problem on small engines, whether you believe it or not.

Water settles to the lowest point with regular gas in fuel systems and containers.


Water goes into solution with ethanol fuel and 'mixes' and is passed thru the system seamlessly.


Alcohol gas isn't the Boogie Man many think it is...

Guess what you put in the tank to GET RID of water.....it's called gas line antifreeze.  So you ask, gas doesn't freeze so why would you need gas line anti freeze in your gas?  That seems rather silly doesn't it?  Well, it's because you can sometimes have water in your fuel tank.  If it gets into the lines, it can freeze in cold weather, keeping the engine from running.  The gas line anti freeze will absorb the water and then it passes it through the fuel system and out the tailpipe.  

What is gas line anti freeze?  Well, glad you asked....it's alcohol.  And, alcohol ABSORBS water.  If you have ethanol in your gas....it absorbs water.  It also does a good cleaning job for your fuel system.  

Gas was going bad before ethanol was in the gas.  I remember quite well....I was a small engine mechanic before ethanol was common in fuel.  Rebuilding carbs was the most common repair we did.  Carbs, by virtue of how they work, are prone to problems....ethanol or not.  The reason is, carbs are vented to the atmosphere....and oxygen and gasoline combined in a fuel tank, fuel can, or carb are a recipe for bad fuel....ethanol or not.  

I routinely store fuel for several years at a time.  ALL my small engines (both two cycle and four cycle) get 87 octane with ethanol in it.  They run fine on it.  Their carbs stay nice and clean.  I have a generator that I've had since 2004.  I have ONLY used ethanol containing gas in it.  I was servicing it a couple years ago and decided to pull the carb to check it out.  It was running fine but I wanted to see the horrors of ethanol for myself.  Shockingly, the carb was spotless.  This generator will frequently sit for up to 2 years between use but the carb is nice and clean.  

Ethanol does not cause the problems that is attributed to it.  It CAN cause problems for fiberglass boat fuel tanks and very old small engines (the rubber specifically).  However, the rubber items are easily replaced and even older engines will run it just fine once those parts are replaced.  New engines will run ethanol without any issues.  

If you get even the slightest amount of water in a chainsaw carb, it won't run. It doesn't pass seamlessly through the system like it would on a larger engine. I don't know what to tell you two, other than switching to pure gas has solved our companies problems with carbs fouling up in chainsaws, trimmers, and blowers.

How do you get water in chainsaw fuel??

E10 gasoline is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the environment, like humidity. Same reason you don't do brakes using that half empty can of DOT 3 brake fluid that's been sitting in your garage for a year and a half.

That's why you need proper fuel containers. I mix a gallon of ethanol containing 50/1 two cycle oil. It's been lasting me 2 to 2.5 years per gallon (I don't use a lot) and it's as good 2.5 years later as the day it was pumped in. I keep it in a 5 liter NATO type can that I got from Old Crouch.

Get better fuel containers and your fuel issues will vanish.

Our company has over 30 of the NATO steel jerry cans. That's all we store our gas and diesel in. We use the mini 10L cans for the saws on the trucks.
 

I drive about an hour away every few weeks and fill up at an ethanol free 89 octane gas pump.

Then you won't have issues with moisture.

Again, we did. Until we stopped using E10 pump gas. Haven't had a carb issue on a saw in over 5 years now.

My buddy had problems with his kids mini bikes as well. Now he uses ethanol free gas and no more issues.

So are ethanol threads in the SF equivalent to the GD '9mm vs 45'  and 'AR vs AK'?  

It wasn't supposed to be an ethenol thread.

Instead it turned into a Boogieman thread  

I'm just genuinely surprised people don't believe it's a problem with certain internal combustion engines.