Gas Choice

Bumpyroad wrote:
how can one tell by looking at his lawnmower, leaf blower, snow blower, etc. and determine if it is ethanol compatible or not?
bumpy

All new small equipment is designed to run on E-10 gas. Look in your owners manual, look online, or contact the mfg and ask if you are still not sure.

Here's one of the actual problems: depending on how long the equipment is stored, the gas in the supply lines, tank, or carb may oxidize and therefore start to accumulate solids or not burn well. Additionally, some of the gas supply tubing may deteriorate over time and start to fail. This is especially true with small two cycle gear like string trimmers and blowers. It has nothing to do with Ethanol. Typically, I will replace two cycle supply lines with gas tubing noted for longevity, i.e. Tygon.

Here's an outlier that involves storage and gas: I serviced and made ready for storage 125 gas engines of different sizes. All the equipment was prepared alike, full gas in the tank and correct amount of stabilizer added. 5 months later when the equipment was brought out of storage, all of the engines started and ran well except for all 10 Kawasaki 4 hp engines. They all had clogged main jets. The way that engine is built, the air supply was free to enter the main jet cylinder and caused deterioration of the fuel. The following years, those engines were drained of fuel and steel tanks fogged to prevent rust.

Lesson learned: Not all engines may work with a set Winterization discipline. Sometimes, it is better to drain fuel, being sure that all gasoline is gone. An owner could use white gas to fill everything but that is costly. In the Spring, the owner would have to drain that white gas and dispose. It seems the Honda generators benefit from draining all gas but I don't own or work on them for Winterization so can't confirm that.