Ethanol in small engines
I ran across this guys comments in a zero turn mower review and a guide to ethanol free stations "David S Boyd Duffys Outdoor Power Equipment August 25, 2014 Gary, I am a Hustler dealer as well...
Forum Discussion
tpi wrote:
I remember it being a problem for decades. I bought two ATVs in early 90s at a very good price because both carbs were clogged with varnish deposits and wouldn't run. I've had automotive boat engine carbs clog in the '70s. I learned to take precautions. Two stroke engine carbs running premix seemed to avoid the problem-I suspect because gas evaporated down to the oil and never completely hardened into varnish.
At least for me it boils down to either keeping carb bowls full, some kind of effective additive, or completely running them out of gas before long storage.
Yes, the diaphragm carbs seem less effected as they are not vented to atmosphere like a carb bowl. I do run all my 2 strokes empty for the season. I just drained and ran my home portable generator empty. Since the carb bowl is difficult to remove I poured seaform straight into the carb hose. Started it up and ran it until it quit. You know it's seafoam as it smokes a lot. 10 yrs old and starts on 1 or 2 pulls.
