It didn't kill it. Not keeping an eye on jetting most likely did. 2 strokes are far more susceptible to jetting changes. 10% E may have made it run a little lean, but I'd have to say that running a 2 stroke it's on you.
The old man never was too good with mixing so maybe it was his fault I don't really know still makes me wonder sometimes haha I should read up on ethanol more
Fuel pumps in Western NY state say "may contain 10% ethanol",I believe it's been about 8 years now.Don't know if that means it has 10 percent all the time,some of the time or what?I don't notice any problems,my commercial model chainsaws and several small engine 4 cycle machines run fine.My old cars run fine,my newer ones run fine.But,,,my 98 Honda 4x4 ATV suffers from a lean off idle problem that can't be adjusted out.I could blame in on 10 percent corn gas,or rebuild the carb
Not saying it's his fault, 2 strokes take a little extra love, one of the reasons I stopped racing them. But letting the gas sit or not keeping the carb and fuel system absolutely clean can have dire results. 10% Ethanol could effect the jetting as well. I don't know if I was just OCD about it, but I always used fresh fuel and checked the plugs and fuels system religiously. I have a couple of 2 strokes street bikes in the shop and if they sit for more than a few weeks I drain the tanks, a month and I clean the carbs. But I did the same before E.
My problem is I can't find E85 in my area, Building a solid lifter 301 sbc with pop-ups and am going to need the high octane! I know I'll need to use special diaphrams in the pump and carbs, but it will be worth it.
Just to keep the info out there - There's a non-ethanol station about 2 miles from me in Womelsdorf , PA . That being said , I'll give MY 2 cents on the reliablility issue . I'll preface it by saying that I work on vintage British cars for a living , every day . I can say , without a doubt in my mind , that we have definately seen plenty of rubber failures since we got the ethanol gas in our area . So much so , that many of the manufacturers of fuel-related parts have changed the types of rubber they use (many to viton , I believe it is) . We replaced a lot of parts gratis (like fuel bowl valves and jet tubes , etc) till that got straightened out . We've had no failures of the items we've replaced since - that's proof positive to ME . Hell , one customer had 3 jet tubes fail on his MG , all within a very short time . The rubber seal just softened up & the tube fell out the bottom of the carb , resulting in the fuel running out of the bowl - which is a problem with an electric fuel pump that keeps pumping fuel out till the customer turns off the key . Luckily there was no fire , especially since the exhaust runs directly under the carbs . Since we replaced the tubes with ones with viton seals , NO issues for a couple years . There have been plenty of articles/documents in our British car trade publications explaining the many problems between the cars & the ethanol fuel . I won't even go into the PATHETIC shelf life of ethanol fuels or the phase separation issues with ethanol fuels , let alone the mileage drop with it ... I can't say that it happens to every old car , but ethanol-based fuels DEFINATELY adversely affect the fuel systems of older british cars . When it affects yourwallet by doing gratis repairs of stuff you've just replaced , it tends to get your attention !! Here's a link to a good article (in PDF form) from one of our major suppliers (if I can find more of the articles , I'll post 'em) . Talks about a lot of interesting stuff , like shelf life & the phase separation issue . The article is on page 24 : http://www.britishmotoring.net/current_issue/2010_Winter.pdf
It's a no-brainer. Compare the heat energy available in a pound of ethanol and a pound of gasoline. It takes energy to move mass.
I have ran 10-15% ethanol for years (since the 80s). I spent 3 years running E85 in My Ranger. I actually get about the same mileage with the E85 as the 10%. My truck has the smaller 3.0 that always sounded like the timing was off under a load with normal fuel. With the alky it ran smoother, had more power and got the same mileage. Since we only have a couple E85 stations and the alky went up in price a bit I have settled on the 24% ethanol alternating every couple tanks with E10. I seem to have found the sweet spot for this truck. My oil change intervals have gotten spread apart as well. I started running Lucas additive (due to the higher mileage) an changing between 3 and 5K. Oil looks as good at 2K as it does at 5K
and most of that is due to the fact that it is running in an engine set up for gasoline. E85 is about 110 octane, if I had it available here I'd build an engine to run on it and not just change the timing and jetting on one. E10,I have not seen much of a difference mileage wise if at all.
In Missouri all Gas has 10 % except E-85 and that is 85% ethonel and 15% gas. I run the 87 octane that has 10% in it in my motorhome,Tractor,Riding mower etc and have not had a problem mabe you all need to step up to a better grade of junk if your having problems but e85 is not suppost to be use in old cars that are not Designed for that fuel.. Oh by the way 87 Oct is 2.39 and e85 is about 1.85 here.
My late model Chevy trucks that were designed to run on 87 octane get about 10% worse milage on 10% ethanol, which is everywhere here. I personally think it's a scam, you end up using just as much actual gasoline, so I don't see where it cuts the pollution any.
I'm talking about milage of no alcohol gas compared to 10% or even E85. I wonder why they would want to push a fuel if it gets worse milage. Lets hear it. Tommy
Oh this thread kills me. People across the midwest, including me, have had ethanol for 20+ years without added problems. I've run it in my '57 Ford no problems. I've run it in my '49 Chevy, no problems. My grandpa has run it in his 1930-1950s tractors, no problems. Mowers, chainsaws, welder/generator, not one thing with a problem that could be linked to ethanol. Yet you'll drive out of your way to find fuel without it because it "saves fuel" or because you had one problem with your engine and it's because of the fuel, a fuel that thousands of people can give real world data that it causes none of the problems you list. Eats rubber fuel lines? The last time I replaced a fuel line is because the rubber fuel line that runs from the steel hard line on the frame to my fuel pump on the block cracked out at the bend in it, should I be blaming that on E fuel? Umm no, the bend puts constant stress on the house, temperature changes, vibration, and time all factor in as well. I can tell you the one thing that didn't effect it was the fuel.
Same thing in Minnesota, we've had at least as long and I've had no problems. Here's a photo of a gas pump I saw in central MN last fall:
Well,,,I drive an Ot truck every day to work,,,for the last 15 years it has gotten exactly the same milage, on regular gas. Until,,we had to switch to 10% here,,,the milage has dropped about 10-12 % since the change. I have not suffered any rubber damage to my knowledge,,at least not yet. It is funny though,,sometimes the milage is worse than others. It seems to depend on when and where I buy my gas. Sometimes the milage is a little better,,sometimes a little worse. I wonder if sometimes the mixture is a little more than 10%? Like maybe 15% or more,,I don't know. I am not blaming the farmers,,but I do not trust the oil companies ,,or the government,, when money is concerned. They will screw you in a heart beat for a dollar,,,like most business men. Now,,,burn me up. Tommy
Alot of your mileage problems, I would be looking into your local gas station more than the fuel itself. Here's how it started here, at first E10 was sold at a few stations here, most had it as an option, and it was sold cheaper than regular fuel. When it really started catching on here, I was running a service station, and being an ag based community, we wanted to offer Ethanol. The thing that held us back was, normally with gas tanks, you have a water level in them. It's the stations job to measure the water level and pump it out if it got over a certain height (a height that it would start pumping out at), the thing with ethanol was we were told we would have to drain the entire tank, clean out all the water, and add filters to the tanks. Now with a lot of the government mandating ethanol use, I wonder just how many of these gas stations took any time at all to prepare for the change. Cause honestly when there were fewer stations selling ethanol back when I was in college, with my 90 Mustang with a 4 banger, I saw better mileage with E10 versus regular fuel.
Thanks antibling, I am not a farmer so there is nothing monetary for me in the fight. But yourself, hundred of thousands of others and I have been running the stuff for damn near 30 years with no issues. I would rather let the farmers make money actually growing something we can renew each year vs. putting the land aside and collecting a CRP check. Pay em to grow vs. pay em not to grow!@
Dammit! My O/T Jeep got worse mileage! Fuckin 10% shit!!! OOoops...forget that, I never said it. Oh yeah, IT WAS FUCKIN COLDER THAT WEEK!!! Wake up you fuckin idiots! Yes I did, I called ya all fuckin idiots! Who ya been listenin to, Palin? Here in the Motor State we been runnin 10% since the 80s. No harm, no foul. Less water related problems too. Bullshit you say? Look at a fuckin can of drygas and tell me what it's made of...ALCOHOL!!! It absorbs water and haelps keep it out of the system. I highly recommend you do your research yourself instead of listening to others and repeating. Makes you as stupid as the fucks spewing the rhetoric. One last thing. I have a 170HP 2stroke that runs on 10% and I keep it lean n mean. The fuel lines are 9yrs old. The carb boots are originals. Oh yeah, they're rubber. WHere should I look for troubles on that one? Maybe the 6 figure Packards that have been running the shit for 2 decades are about to break down. I'm not waiting long enough for problems?
I do a fair amount of highway driving and buy gas at multiple stations and it seems to make no difference. And that's in two different but similar trucks, too. I did the math and I was using about one more gallon with the ethanol to make the same trip. I don't know about the rubber issues or anything, just that there's less actual energy in it and so I need to use more of it to accomplish the same result. The reason it's a scam is because it costs very little to blend the stuff into the gas, but it makes you use more gas, so the government gets more tax revenue out of it. The oil company and gas station make very little profit on a gallon, but they appreciate the extra dime or so also. So basically you as the consumer get screwed. And to top it off a lot of the ethanol produced in the US consumes more energy to make, than it can produce when used as fuel, so in the long run it only makes things worse, not better.
So, you got better mileage with a fuel that clearly contains less available energy to burn? Miracle of modern science, or maybe recreational activities of those college daze...
I am not an idiot,,just reporting my experience with 10%. My toy truck got 28 mpg for its entire life,,until the switch. Sorry to step on a nerve,,you sound like a great human being. Oh,,,I don't listen to Palin either. Tommy
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