Does gas really go bad?

[ultrarunner]

WE had one of those towers growing up in Oakland... when building it was leveled by hundreds??? of men with jacks to set it plumb...

During the war they thought it as a prime target... when it was taken down it went very fast but no room to topple... so piece by piece.

 

[fried1765]

I have, in order of use;
(2) on road pickups
chainsaw
snowsled
wood splitter
ATV
off road pickup
Troybilt tiller
semi trash water pump
walk behind string trimmer
Dirt shredder/hammermill
spare chainsaw
welder/generator
outboard motor
string trimmer/cultivator (used to see more use but I forgot to drain the fuel last year.)
ice auger
generator
THe only things which run E-10 are my pickups, and snowsled for most of the winter. For the last few tanks I burn non-ethanol, then run them dry in spring.

I also have an antique snowsled, 1953 Ferguson TO35, and Ariens snowblower, all of which I need to get running because they were stored with fuel in them.

The best way that I've found to clean old tarnished fuel tanks is with paint stripper, followed by a pressure washer.

You are fortunate.
South of you, (in the Socialist People's Republic of Taxachusetts) non ethanol fuel can only be purchased in 5 gal. sealed containers, at $80 each.

 

[MossRoad]

He was quite a mechanic and superintendent manufacturing industrial gases... there was not anything he couldn't fix and in later years became good friends with Chuck Yeager who also came from Indiana?

Still remember the terrible smell from an old jeep he had picked up. The fuel tank had to be boiled out clean...

Yeager was from West Virginia.
Neil Armstrong was from Ohio, but went to Purdue.... Boiler UP! :laughing:
Gus Grissom was from Indiana.

 

[MossRoad]

I used to drive through Kokomo until they built the second bypass. Now I generally drive around it.

It used to take me 3:15 to get from South Bend to my sister's house on the northern side of Indy, near Meridian and 71st.
Last week, it took us 2:10 to get to the airport on the SW side!

Between the bypass around Kokomo and all the work they did eliminating the lights on the north side of Indy, it's really incredible.

 

[MossRoad]

When we were out in OK a couple weeks ago, I noticed certain chains of gas stations that had some interesting pump setups.

2 nozzles.

1 by itself that was 87 octane 10% ethanol. The one on the other end of the pump there was a 2nd nozzle with 3 grades of non-ethanol, 87, 89, 93 (I think).

The 10% ethanol was usually about 22 cents cheaper.

 

[Jstpssng]

When we were out in OK a couple weeks ago, I noticed certain chains of gas stations that had some interesting pump setups.

2 nozzles.

1 by itself that was 87 octane 10% ethanol. The one on the other end of the pump there was a 2nd nozzle with 3 grades of non-ethanol, 87, 89, 93 (I think).

The 10% ethanol was usually about 22 cents cheaper.

Yes, and your mileage drops accordingly. I don't mind running it in my vehicles so much, it hasn't caused any problems since I got rid of my '87 GMC "Toy Truck". Yet during the period we couldn't get the no ethanol I got rid of more stale gas in my burn pan than what little bit extra I pay now to keep my small engines running.

 

[MossRoad]

Yes, and your mileage drops accordingly. I don't mind running it in my vehicles so much, it hasn't caused any problems since I got rid of my '87 GMC "Toy Truck". Yet during the period we couldn't get the no ethanol I got rid of more stale gas in my burn pan than what little bit extra I pay now to keep my small engines running.

We drove about 2200 miles and averaged around 38mpg and 70mph in a full-sized family car. The fuel cost savings between e10 and non-ethanol are just not an issue for most. Maybe fleet use, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yeager was from West Virginia.
Neil Armstrong was from Ohio, but went to Purdue.... Boiler UP! :laughing:
Gus Grissom was from Indiana.

They both retired to Grass Valley CA and that is where they met...

 

[MossRoad]

They both retired to Grass Valley CA and that is where they met...

It's a small world, for sure.

 

[cqaigy2]

I guess that I've been lucky, we've only had it since around 2008. I bought a new Echo chainsaw that year, and the warranty clearly stated that it was voided if I ran gas with ethanol in it.

Gas definitely does go bad, but older engines were less susceptible to problems. I was snow blowing my driveway years ago in my pre-Kubota days and ran out of fuel. Rather than running to the store I noticed the gallon jug of last year's gas, with a little water which I has set aside until I decided what to do with it. The water was frozen, the gas even smelled stale but I dumped it in that old '70s vintage B&S engine, and gave it a tug. It didn't like the old gas and ran mean, but I was able to finish my driveway without going for more fuel.

Use of fuel containing over 10% Ethanol (E10), such as (E15, E20, E30, E50 and E85), or any fuels not meeting ECHO and
Shindaiwa requirements, are not approved for use in ECHO and Shindaiwa gasoline engines.