Non-Ethanol Gas In the Lawn Mower? (Page 2 of 2)
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Originally Posted By Badlatitude: Ethanol has less energy. It takes 5x more ethanol to make the same power as gasoline in a race motor I think that might be inaccurate PURE Ethanol has 70% of the BTU's of gasoline. So it would take 1.42X (1.42 gallons ethanol equals 1.0 gallons gasoline) the same volume to make the same energy. BUT with ethanol you can up the compression higher than 11:1 (91 octane) because pure ethanol has an octane rating of 112. meaning you can run a NA compression of 13:1 compression WAY over the 91 octane 11:1 whcih allows for more work per Revolution. BUT your MPG will go down approx. 40% because literally there is less energy per gallon. AND ethanol can be very friendly to forced induction systems because of the higher compression so you can pump up boost more before detonation isssues happen because of the heat lowering effects. |
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Originally Posted By gODZOOKIE: There’s no one around me that sells it. WMT was selling it by the gallon in-store but the price is astronomical. So for the past few weeks I’ve been experimenting by removing the ethanol from 93/E10 by using water on my own. Super easy. Lots of Youtube vids on it. I guess I’m doing it right. Been using it in my 4 wheeler and chainsaws and so far, so good. *Doing this separation brings the final octane down a couple of points, from 93 octane to ~91 octane @gODZOOKIE Non ethanol gasoline for off road equipment IS available near you. you jsut dont know about it. Check your local airfield for 100LL, probably 7 bucks a gallon, but zero ethanol. Usually unattended airfields have a credit card pump and a set up for airplanes, find your local pilot and see about it. DONT run 100LL in your road vehicle though, it will ruin catalyic converters quick and then throw engine codes, plus it is illegal as it isn't taxed as road gas. |
| My mower has been run on 10% ethanol since new in 2013. Same with pressure washer and I don't drain the fuel in the winter. They start up fine every spring. I did have a handheld blower that the fuel line disintegrated on but it had been run on non-ethanol premix. My backpack blower I've had for a few years has been run on non-E but I just mixed my own with E10 so i guess we'll see. I think anything made after 2010 (?) should be able to handle it unless you are in a cold climate where it cakes up in the winter?? |
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You cannot feel the difference in performance in a small engine between E5 and pure gas as there’s about 2% difference. The pure gas is better when sitting. So the pure gas is better, much. But it’s hard to find around here, so I run the pump ethanol crap in everything that I own, from weedwackers and chainsaws to large mowers to my bikes. Treat it and you’re fine. I’ll be pulling my snowblower out after sitting all season and it’ll start first or second pull after running almost 20yrs on pump ethanol. |
You should move to the right lane, where the rule of vehicle and traffic law still exists. You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and the left lane is the land of wolves now.
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Originally Posted By fsjdw2: @gODZOOKIE Non ethanol gasoline for off road equipment IS available near you. you jsut dont know about it. Check your local airfield for 100LL, probably 7 bucks a gallon, but zero ethanol. Usually unattended airfields have a credit card pump and a set up for airplanes, find your local pilot and see about it. DONT run 100LL in your road vehicle though, it will ruin catalyic converters quick and then throw engine codes, plus it is illegal as it isn't taxed as road gas. Thanks I did think of our local airport but separating it myself is honestly too easy and probably a lot cheaper. Water/gas, shake, and wait 24 hrs to completely separate (water/ethanol will sink) then siphon. *Though the separation is obvious I add food colorant to the water to make sure I’m only siphoning off the pure gas as the (bulb) siphoning process will bring up the unwanted mix if the hose is too close |
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The stations only sell "rec90" here and it's expensive as shit. It always more than premium grade I would spend a mint mowing with that in my zero turn vs regular gas. I usually about 3 gallons a mow and it's not worth it. I only run it at the end of the year tank, a few small engines, and keep some over winter for the generator. |
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Unless you mower is ancient it's built to handles E10 gas. My push mower says E15 right on the gas cap. Not going out of my way to buy E0 and paying premium+ pricing for it. E0 would have a bit more energy per unit of volume to it but I doubt OP would be able to tell a difference. More likely placebo affect. |
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Placebo? Maybe My 6yr old B&S wally push mower and same year Husqvarna rear tine tiller have been fine and both pretty much start right up after sitting all season using E10/88…..So far But my older Stihl chainsaw and an older Honda 2stroke 4-wheeler have been really hard to start now and keep running well. Gonna keep using the non ethanol and see if that helps, especially in the newer small engines of mine *Stihl recommends high octane/non-ethanol gas (but of course they do sell their own premixed E0/93 too) and goes on to say that their motors can run on ethanol/lower octane gas |
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I've been running premium gas from Shell or Chevron in my boat, lawn mower, generator and motorcycle for over 10 years now. They all run great. I was on a non-ethanal kick before that but my uncle (Mechanic for about 45 years now) told me just run premium and its fine. He's been running premium gas in all his small engines for over 20 years. I try to run everything for about 5-10 minutes minimum once a month year round. No issues at all. Just routine maintenance on a very minimal scale. Literally everyone says non ethanal is better. But part of me wants to keep rolling with premium just to see how long everything runs fine. My grandma puts the cheapest gas she can fine in her riding mower (cuts 3 acres once a week year round). And she has never had any major issues. |
Ethanol free goes in all of these. The two annual trips to the gas station with 5x 5gallon gas cans hurts a little bit.  1954 Ford NAA 1978 Kawasaki KZ650SR 2013 Ford Mustang Kawasaki powered Bobcat ZT Kohler powered Toro Wheelhorse Toro Recycler self propelled mower Toro Powermax 826 snowblower Husqvarna Rancher 455 chainsaw Life is too short to clean/rebuild carburetors. |
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Originally Posted By ICEAGE: I've been running premium gas from Shell or Chevron in my boat, lawn mower, generator and motorcycle for over 10 years now. They all run great. I was on a non-ethanal kick before that but my uncle (Mechanic for about 45 years now) told me just run premium and its fine. He's been running premium gas in all his small engines for over 20 years. I try to run everything for about 5-10 minutes minimum once a month year round. No issues at all. Just routine maintenance on a very minimal scale. Literally everyone says non ethanal is better. But part of me wants to keep rolling with premium just to see how long everything runs fine. My grandma puts the cheapest gas she can fine in her riding mower (cuts 3 acres once a week year round). And she has never had any major issues. Unless you have a high compression engine or buying premium for the added detergents you are probably just throwing money away. Small engines typically don't have enough compression to need premium gas. |
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It definitely makes a difference. I run it in all my small engines and in my Miata roadster. It's especially evident in my generator when there's a load surge such as a heater or 1KW ham radio amplifier kicking in. With regular gas it stutters for a second or two. With non-ethanol, the transition is smooth |
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You may have burned some of the residual crap out of the carb. I just bought a quart can of the special non- ethanol 4 stroke gas, I'll probably run the mower one more time before winter, I'll be putting it in the mower. I didn't catch my big generator in time last year, looked like brownie mix in the carb bowl. I got it cleaned up and it ran. Used it to run my welder a few times. Then the float must have gotten stuck and filled the crank case with gas. I gotta go sort that out. |
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Ethanol is very water absorbing and if enough water absorbs it can separate out from the gasoline and dramatically lower the octane. Phase separation. This is a common issue with boats and common knowledge so no big revelation. Ethanol also causes old fuel lines to dissolve which clogs jets and also diissolves gasoline varnishes into a jelly like goop which clogs. I have never run in to issues with new engines that have run e10 since their beginning. Most of the issues I have read about fall into the varnish gel and fuel line dissolving category. |
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Originally Posted By GTwannabe:Doesn't matter. Install a shutoff valve in the fuel line and run the carb out of gas to shut it down. Ethanol is still garbage, but half the things people blame on the fuel is just shit maintenance. Your 5hp Briggs is not a super car. |
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Originally Posted By Jayne_Cobb: I was going to say this. Run the engines dry when you are done with them and 90% of all seasonal engine problems disappear. Ethanol is still garbage, but half the things people blame on the fuel is just shit maintenance. Your 5hp Briggs is not a super car. Originally Posted By Jayne_Cobb: Originally Posted By GTwannabe:Doesn't matter. Install a shutoff valve in the fuel line and run the carb out of gas to shut it down. Ethanol is still garbage, but half the things people blame on the fuel is just shit maintenance. Your 5hp Briggs is not a super car. You should either top-off the gas tank or drain it and seal the vent before storing the machine, so there's no condensation inside the tank. Condensation might not be a problem in arid climates, but it is up north. |