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Stupid Ethanol

rebelgregory

rebelgregory

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Well, I was driving Buelah a couple weekends ago and she was running fine. Then on the way home, it just lost power, started surging, backfiring, etc. It was a step change. I get home and hook up my pressure gauge to see 5psi of fuel pressure, then I went and tightened the adjustable pressure regulator - still 5psi. Fuel filter was newish so I knew I was going into the tank.

Most fuel pumps that I've ever seen fail in a go/no-go way, not reduced pressure. So I started suspecting the little 2 inch rubber hose at the top of the pump was split and bleeding out inside the tank. I'd heard of this before, plus I had to replace just about every fuel line and primer bulb in my yard equipment last year due to ethanol-embrittlement.

Long story short, it was the hose. I replaced the pump anyway. I don't (nor am I willing to) have the hole cut in my bed to replace the pump. So that's a lot of work to replace a 2" rubber hose. Looks like I'm going to have to start finding ethanol-gas. Anybody have a favorite website or app for this?

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Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

All you can buy here in MA is ethanol laced ca-ca ,unless you are willing to buy racing fuel (at very limited locations) for almost 100 bucks for a 5 gallon can..most small engines dont like the high octane stuff either..
I think we are in line to get 15% ethanol soon instead of the current 10%,if they haven't already switched...doubt they monitor the exact ratio at the fuel distribution docks where the trucks load up very closely either--wouldn't be surprised if we get some with 25% sometimes...

Lowes and other stores now sell "Tru-Fuel" in quarts and gallons for small engines,but its about 7 bucks a quart...has no alcohol in it..
 
I've switched to Tru-fuel for my 2-stroke stuff, I'm going to have to start cherry-picking my gas stations for eth-free stuff. As they increase ethanol content, a lot of older cars will be forced into obsolescence. These cars aren't made to handle alcohol and it won't be worth the cost to maintain them as they start to break down.
 
I am lucky. Pull up to the pump, fill anything with 91 octain non ethanol fuel. 50 cents a gallon more but worth it for a tank here and there and all of my yard equipment.
 
Ethanol keeps me busy in the spring. I get at least 50 small engine pieces of equipment which are varnished up. Jets are plugged. $30 a pieces to get them running and "tuned" up. Spay flammable brake parts cleaner into the fuel line. Runn it. Fixed.
 
I had replaced that fuel pump 3 yrs ago. Including the hose.

I'm not trying to start a conspiracy theory, the effects of ethanol (which is an alcohol) is a matter of fact. it dries out and embrittles rubber and plastic and can be hell on carbs that aren't designed for it. It just rubs me that the gas the EPA forces on me makes my car get worse mileage and causes otherwise unnecessary maintenance.
 
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82355 said:
I run ethanol in everything I own.

Martin
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Im with Martin on this one. Ive never seen a detriment to ethanol laced fuel. I mean Im aware it does go bad sooner, and that one winter of sitting can clog up a carb in a small engine tool but other than exemplifying the repercussion of not winter/storing things like you should have been anyway Ive never seen anything wrong with it.
 
I have posted this on here before. But here I go again.

Wife was driving across the counrty. 07 trailblazer. Hit a test station for e15 fuel. 3/4tank went in. Started missing on a cylinder or 2. She called me with the issue. I told her to call onstar for a diagnostic check. Cylinders 4 snd 5 were showing miss fires. Wife told onstar lady about the fuel. Onstar said, "your car will not run on that". No duh. She ran a 1/4 tank out, then filled it. Did this untill DC. Finally started running right.

Son is still driving it today.
 
How old was the replacement pump you used? What brand?

I wondered about when the switch was made to ethanol-resistant hose on the pumps....you might buy a new pump, but who knows when it was actually produced, and who knows if the manufacturer actually used ethanol resistant hose?

I just replaced mine, the hose lasted ~10 years and I always use ethanol. No idea if the hose I used should have been ethanol resistant or not, it was a Delco pump that could have been from 1988 for all I know.
 
rebelgregory said:
To his point, what are you guys gonna do when they switch to E15?
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Switch to propane! I really haven't had any trouble from what is out there now. Run it in my 06 and 85 without issue but I drive them both regularly. The only real issues I've had are with vehicles that sit for a while. On my lawn equipment I just run them dry before I put them up and my scout burns propane.

Now higher concentrations of ethanol I don't know about. All we have is 10% and 85% and I've never used the 85. My brother in law uses it all the time but his truck was designed for it. We also still have plenty of stations that advertise ethanol free.
 
The only difference between burning ethanol and gas is the duty cycle on injectors. The only reason a car wouldnt run right with 5% more ethanol is because the OEM had the injectors specd close to max duty cycle, or the fuel trim wasnt adjusting fast enough.
 
Stomis said:
The only difference between burning ethanol and gas is the duty cycle on injectors. The only reason a car wouldnt run right with 5% more ethanol is because the OEM had the injectors specd close to max duty cycle, or the fuel trim wasnt adjusting fast enough.
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Couldn't you disconnect the battery for a while to reset these fuel trims like you do for resetting the octane tables on engines designed to run on 93?
 
Chevy305 said:
Couldn't you disconnect the battery for a while to reset these fuel trims like you do for resetting the octane tables on engines designed to run on 93?
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Basically yes, as long as theres enough injector there. Which i doubt there isnt.

The problem KT had with his wifes trailblazer is just like your getting at. Too long running on the same fuel making the long term average stacked against an adjustment for a different fuel blend.
 
So much to expand on.... GM made there vehicles able to use up to E20 starting in 1997 everyone else followed suet in 08(or close to it, whenever the gov. mandate was).
10% ethanol is by volume for the company not the station, you can have up to 20% ethanol at an E10 pump.
All vehicles that can run E85 will start re-calibrating fuel trims immediately ( but take up tp 20 miles to finish) if you shut the car off (key in the off position) and add at least 3 gallons of gas to the tank (usually a ford problem, customer will fill up with E85 after a long run of just E10, and the car will stall/no start and have to be towed back to a shop).
$0.60 is just about your brake even point for cost using E85 vs E10("regular") gas, ethanol burns faster than petrol. Ie: if e85 isn't .60 cheaper than regular, your wasting money.
Ethanol is nasty stuff. Its the reason all fuel components have gone up in price. It will eat micro holes in intakes/any other metal not treated for high Ethanol use. I've seen case studys of ethanol eating through a fuel line and igniting on an exhaust manifold (car burned to the ground quick!).
Chrysler is having exhaust valve problems (doing an extended warranty) on there v6 motors. Ethanol is pitting/corroding the valves causing misfire problems at less than 60k miles.
You can play "mad scientist" and separate your own fuel. Pore your gas into a clear container add 20% water, stir, wait 20 min and siphon off the gas. The Ethanol will mix with the water and separate form the gas.

And last but not least, I use this stuff in all my OBD 1 and older vehicles 2x a year:
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