Ethanol or non-ethanol gas

[DavidBarkey]

I buy ethanol regular gas and treat it with seafoam . Just remember to richen it up a little as E runs leaner that G .

[Chad]

Ooh a fuel debate!! I'll wade in lol

I run ethanol free premium in my small engines, and also Seafoam. I like the convenience of having gas that can be used in the 444 and on hand to mix for all my 2-stroke equipment. Overkill I'm sure but have also had to replace fuel lines etc in 2 stroke equipment from E gas, so I like it for peace of mind.

That's interesting @Eugen re: your vehicles. My BMW F800GS bike specifies 89, and definitely doesn't like 87! But not a big deal - even with today's prices it's still very affordable to fill and gets great mileage.

Haven't heard of using ATF before, might give that a try.

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[Harry]

For the last few years when gas was going for a bit under $3 a gallon I was using premium non ethanol for GT's and 2-cycle engines. Premium gas was all I could find in non ethanol. With the price of gas going through the roof I've switched to ethanol for all 4-cycle engines and buy non ethanol for 2-cycle engines. Chain saw, weed string trimmer and leaf blower are all 2-cycle and probably only use a gallon a year for them. The last time I had a problem with fuel lines getting eaten up by ethanol, I went to a NAPA store and the guy sold me fuel line that would not get soft from ethanol. The wall thichness of the fuel line was thicker than the original fuel line.

Keep the Peace
Harry

[thebuildist]

I generally pay the extra for non-ethanol gas if I'm feeling flush. But for many years I've run the ethanol 10%. In my old 442. And always added a little bit of marvel mystery oil to the gas tank. And it always seemed to perform very well.

But the last year or two I've had some real problems in my gas golf cart with the ethanol fuel. So I have tried to switch over. Having said that I haven't gone and bought my 20 gallon refill at the new prices yet. So I may change my story!

[Toolslinger]

If you're going to run it, I don't know that it matters much. If I cut every blade of grass, I'll go through 6, possibly 7 gallons of gas spread across 2 or 3 different machines. What I don't burn out of the tank this week, will for sure be gone next week. With that being the case, I run the cheapest option available. Never had any serious issues with the '48 8N, and just plain wore out the engine on the 2000 ish Walker before we replaced that last summer.

For the stuff that sits, strangely, I haven't had serious issues with whatever ethanol blend we get is. I have had one generator that continuously gives me fits, but otherwise, most stuff seems to just run when needed. Hell, I've got a MF 202 that has sat for so long I think the fuel has just turned to runny varnish, and somehow that always fires off once a year, and runs happily. (usually have to clean the points to fire, but that's it)

[propane1]

I was using regular gas all along in every thing, but switched to high test for my truck. I seem to be getting better milage. So while filling the truck, I also fill the gas cans when needed. I don’t seem to have troubles with lines and carburetors when I was using regular fuel. Some trouble is, when wanting to use high test, and your only filling a 10 litre gas can, how much regular are you getting before it is pure high test coming out of the hose. If the last person to use the hose used regular, how many litres are you getting of regular before it’s high test and paying high test price. You really need to fill the vehicle with high test then fill the gas cans to get true high test in your gas cans, if that’s what you want to use.

That’s just the way it is and not much you can do about it.

Noel

[Eugen]

That's interesting @Eugen re: your vehicles. My BMW F800GS bike specifies 89, and definitely doesn't like 87!

That's a nice bike Chad!! Always wanted one but the wee-strom was the one I could afford. I'm surprised it doesn't like the 87 octane. The 800 and 1200 gs are routinely used for trips around the world where you get low grades gas.

My previous German cars had a definite peppy response on acceleration when run on 89. But they have knock sensors and as lazy as a Honda on regular.

My wee-strom has more pep than I need on regular gas. Been very happy with this bike, got it new in 2008. Finally the front wheel bearings bit the dust a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise just oil changes and once brake pads, and it has 32000 km on board.

[Chad]

That's interesting @Eugen re: your vehicles. My BMW F800GS bike specifies 89, and definitely doesn't like 87!

That's a nice bike Chad!! Always wanted one but the wee-strom was the one I could afford. I'm surprised it doesn't like the 87 octane. The 800 and 1200 gs are routinely used for trips around the world where you get low grades gas.

My previous German cars had a definite peppy response on acceleration when run on 89. But they have knock sensors and as lazy as a Honda on regular.

My wee-strom has more pep than I need on regular gas. Been very happy with this bike, got it new in 2008. Finally the front wheel bearings bit the dust a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise just oil changes and once brake pads, and it has 32000 km on board.

You are correct Eugen. It's possible that I got a bad batch of 87 on a trip a few years ago (a small gas station/general store with 1 pump north of Little Rapids, ON). Of course I had no other option that time, and bikes definitely see some questionable fuel in parts of the world!

The V-Strom is a great bike! Glad to hear it's been good to you. I'm just about at 40k on mine.

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