Ethanol free gas, overkill?

[coleman4868]

In your opinions is ethanol free gas overkill, especially if your machine is out on the trail weekly?

I usually run ethanol free in my pioneer, but thats just because its whats in my gas jugs for my mower and such. In my opinion, the only advantage it has over regular pump gas is it doesn't gum up and go bad as fast. I never use ethanol free in my pickup, but if it sat for long periods, like my mower, I would.

 

[100Acre]

I run ethanol free in all my gas powered engines, including my imaginary Choo Choo train.
Here’s a link to all E free gas stations by state then city with locations and phone numbers

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

 

[dannyboy]

Always ethanol free fuel when we're near home where we can find both 87 and 91. Away from home I try not to worry about it and run what is available. The ethanol free is never in the machines for long.

Correction: the ethanol laden juice is never in the machine for long!

 

[Biteme]

Small town I live in all of the stations are the same brand, all of the fuel comes from the same refinery, all have 10% ethanol. Have to drive 15 miles to a different town to purchase ethanol free @ a dollar a gallon more. Run the E10 fuel in my P1K without issues but usually never sets more than a few days between drives. Have a 2003 Valkyrie with 6 carbs, have payed to remove and rebuild the carbs twice due to gumming from poor fuel, @ $1200.00 each time, I have not ridden the Valkyrie going on 4 years now as it is gummed up again and the closest Honda shop does not know how to sync 6 carbs. I do buy the ethanol free for my chainsaw and generator as it seems to keep the carbs from gumming up. BTW I have tried using Seafoam to stabilize the fuel with poor to no positive results.

 

[HiFive]

Small town I live in all of the stations are the same brand, all of the fuel comes from the same refinery, all have 10% ethanol. Have to drive 15 miles to a different town to purchase ethanol free @ a dollar a gallon more. Run the E10 fuel in my P1K without issues but usually never sets more than a few days between drives. Have a 2003 Valkyrie with 6 carbs, have payed to remove and rebuild the carbs twice due to gumming from poor fuel, @ $1200.00 each time, I have not ridden the Valkyrie going on 4 years now as it is gummed up again and the closest Honda shop does not know how to sync 6 carbs. I do buy the ethanol free for my chainsaw and generator as it seems to keep the carbs from gumming up. BTW I have tried using Seafoam to stabilize the fuel with poor to no positive results.

There's a video comparing heat and seafoam for water removal and seafoam does not remove water from your gas. Heat does yellow bottle uses methanol and the red bottle uses isopropyl alcohol. I prefer the red bottle. Everything I've read about it has positive reviews about not affecting your gas lines. Also isopropyl alcohol is good better cleaning agent without affecting internal engine parts.

 

[Martoe]

In your opinions is ethanol free gas overkill, especially if your machine is out on the trail weekly?

In my opinion the machine was built to run on regular gas.

 

[CID]

I’ve never liked ethanol, always felt it was a political boondoggle. My most recent experience was with my DR650, a carbed, dual sport motorcycle. I went on a trip so it sat for 28 or 29 days (less than a month). I got home, wanted to go for a ride and it would barely start, wouldn’t run without the choke and I had to work the throttle to keep it running but it was unrideable - BTDT - a quick change of the pilot jet and 45 minutes later went on my ride.

The pilot had varnished itself shut in less than a month of sitting - did I say I HATE ethanol? Fwiw: I run major brand fuel, not the cheap stuff.

 

[PaulF]

In my opinion the machine was built to run on regular gas.

Please define "regular gas".

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Please define "regular gas".

I'm thinking what your thinking and am waiting for the response before I post anything.... 🤣

 

[PaulF]

I’ve never liked ethanol, always felt it was a political boondoggle. My most recent experience was with my DR650, a carbed, dual sport motorcycle. I went on a trip so it sat for 28 or 29 days (less than a month). I got home, wanted to go for a ride and it would barely start, wouldn’t run without the choke and I had to work the throttle to keep it running but it was unrideable - BTDT - a quick change of the pilot jet and 45 minutes later went on my ride.

The pilot had varnished itself shut in less than a month of sitting - did I say I HATE ethanol? Fwiw: I run major brand fuel, not the cheap stuff.

The problem with the DR650 lies elsewhere as your evidence is a little suspect. Ethanol does not cause varnish, in fact it actually dissolves it. It was the Gasoline that varnished the pilot jet, not the Ethanol.

 

[HBarlow]

Not overkill at all in my opinion UNLESS you're refilling your gas tank a least monthly. Most of us do but many of these Talons and Pioneers sit unused during extreme winter months then owners are here asking "why won't my buggy start or why does it stall?

Bad gas is usually the best guess when start and idle problems show up. Ethanol gas is crap! It goes bad in a month or so.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

VP Race Fuel solves all fuel related problems and smells great doing it. 😁

 

[Harvey]

Oonly issue with e gas it breaks down and turns into water, run ef any time can iif not that try blenzol gold we run this in our race bike , I also miss and use in my Polaris quads. Out Honda pioneer sits a lot . In az

 

[Smitty335]

Oonly issue with e gas it breaks down and turns into water, run ef any time can iif not that try blenzol gold we run this in our race bike , I also miss and use in my Polaris quads. Out Honda pioneer sits a lot . In az

View attachment 281576

Shame on you!

 

[Harvey]

So for the messed up words my fingers are to big for the key board and forget to check before I send

 

[StewB]

I run my Pioneer with mid-grade (87 or 89) E10, and ran my Teryx 4 for six years with the same. I've never had a gas problem even when the machines have sat for a couple of weeks. I do add Stabil or Seafoam to all of my UTV/mower gas.
I might run E free, but it is hard to find and the websites for E free are often wrong. Personal opinion is that the difference in newer machines is overstated.

 

[Smitty335]

So for the messed up words my fingers are to big for the key board and forget to check before I send

HA!

 

[PaulF]

Oonly issue with e gas it breaks down and turns into water,

It is physically impossible for any gasoline to "turn into water", even E85. Not even pure 100% Ethanol can magically "turn into water". Where does this BS come from??? Boggles the mind!!!

Lets get back to the facts...

A tank (~7 gallons) of E0 can suspend 1 teaspoon (.17 ounces) of water before phase separation (water particles start to combine and gets too heavy and drop to the bottom) but a tank of E10 can suspend up to 25 teaspoons (about 1/2 cup) before phase separation (Ethanol/water mixture gets too heavy and drops to the bottom). ALL fuel tanks condensate but E10 actually handles up to 25 time more condensation in a fuel tank than E0 by absorbing it and burning it through the combustion cycle. E10 phase separation can be more problematic that E0 but if 1/2 cup of water has made its way into your Talon's fuel tank between fill-ups, you got other (bigger) problems.

One of the biggest (and most misunderstood) problem with E10 is it cleans your fuel system because Ethanol is a solvent (and a damn good one at that). E10 will dissolve varnish and other solids that are caused by the gasoline (cleaning your fuel system can be good thing) but Ethanol dissolves these solids quickly and can sometimes dislodge small pieces of these solids. IF a dislodged particle is not fully dissolved by the time it reaches a small orifice (such as a fuel injector) it can restrict or clog it. This is why there are many stories like "I switched to E10 and now my gas powered whatever runs like crap (or doesn't run at all)". It's not the E10 making the engine run like crap, it is the deposits the E10 dislodged that were caused by the E0 that make it run like crap. The E10 cleaned out the fuel system "too fast".

So, if you use E0 most of the time and then throw in some E10 because you can't get E0, you are inviting trouble. Over time, that E0 can deposit varnish all through the fuel system and then the E10 (even just a few gallons) can dislodge it. The longer you run E0 and/or the more often it sits, the more varnish can form and the more susceptible the machine will be to this problem.

If you consistently use E0, then it is a good idea to NEVER use any E10. If you can guarantee you will never be in a position to have to use E10, then you can use E0 safely. However, if you use E0 for several years then have to "bum" some fuel on the trail because you are run out and all you can find is E10, you run the risk of trouble.

Conversely, if you consistently run E10 and run out and end up with some E0 for a tank, you are just fine as long as you go back to E10. 1 or 2 tanks of E0 will not form enough varnish deposits to cause a problem (as long as you don't leave it in there for a long time and let it sit). However, if the varnish reaches a certain point, you never want to go back to E10. So, before switching from long term E0 use to E10, you should verify there is no varnish or clean it out first.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

@PaulF

So what causes the whitish crystallization I've seen hundred of times in the many carbs I've taken apart and cleaned? Is it the ethanol corroding the aluminum parts in the fuel system or something else?


BTW... Excellent explanation in your above post about the water myths. Alot of people mistake the fact that ethanol attracts and mixes with water as "becomes water". If there is no moisture in the system to start with, there is no chance of it attracting or mixing with the moisture.