"HEET" in your 4-Wheelers

[1900_LE]

Do I need to put "heet" in my gas when I come to MN next week?

[Surface Tension]

87 octane gas already has 15% alcohol in it so you do not want to dilute the gas with any more alcohol.

When I run non oxygenated gas(no alcohol)in the winter I fill up my 5 gallon gas can and let any water that might be in there settle and freeze before I put it in my sleds or ATV.

[1900_LE]

I run premium gas in my machine. I will be buying gas here in Missouri before I come up.

[Macgyver55]

If you buy your gas in the metro area it already contains ethanol. Adding heet to gas with ethanol is not necessary. Outside the metro, at many stations you can get gas without ethanol. A little wont hurt but dont overdo it. Watch the pumps when you fill, they are required to state which they sell.

If you are bringing your own without ethanol, sure a little bit may keep a day from being wrecked by a frozen gas line, but I personally dont use it.

[1900_LE]

OK thanks. Maybe in that case, I'll just buy it up there.

[Bigsandynorth]

In the winter I always put "heet" in every machine I have wheeler and sled. It will never hurt and it's easy preventive maintance from them freezing up.

[trapperdirk]

Although I'm not in Minnesota I am in Canada which has all the extremes and more that will occur there or anywhere including Alaska . I use seafoam . I can't recall all the specs but it does not draw moisture to it like the the antifreeze gas additives do . Actually its kind of hard to find here but works awesome because it also stabilizes your fuel . I use nothing but non ethanol fuel in my small engines these days . 2 stroke or 4 .

TD

[Macgyver55]

In the winter I always put "heet" in every machine I have wheeler and sled. It will never hurt and it's easy preventive maintance from them freezing up.

Thats fine if you like, but all you are doing is double dosing it. The gas already has 15% alcohol, so adding more is just putting money in someone elses pocket for no reason.

Carburetor problems are also far more frequent with oxygenated fuel in your tank, especially if stored untreated long term, it is just problems waiting to happen.

[Dave S]

Originally Posted By: Bigsandynorth

In the winter I always put "heet" in every machine I have wheeler and sled. It will never hurt and it's easy preventive maintance from them freezing up.

Thats fine if you like, but all you are doing is double dosing it. The gas already has 15% alcohol, so adding more is just putting money in someone elses pocket for no reason.

Carburetor problems are also far more frequent with oxygenated fuel in your tank, especially if stored untreated long term, it is just problems waiting to happen.

Thanks for posting this Mac. I was going to earlier but ran out of time.

[BobT]

Couple things.

When did MN require the alcohol content to be raised to 15%? To my knowledge it is still only 10% unless stated otherwise. Doesn't matter to the question though. The alcohol in the fuel already provides the protection.

Not all gasoline in MN contains alcohol. Some places off non-oxygenated fuel (non-alcohol) where allowed by law. Typically this is 91 octane or higher and it is available for off-road use and for some collector vehicles. Somebody correct me if I have mistated something here.

Edit: I almost forgot. If you top it off in MO you shouldn't have any problem when you get to MN because you won't create a condensation problem in a full tank.

[Macgyver55]

You are correct BobT. I was thinking 10% but figured I was wrong when I read Franks post so I defaulted to his number. Sorry Frank! I just looked it up and for now it says "not less than 9.2 percent by volume and not more than 10.0 percent". This is until August 2013 when its going up more.

Good catch Bob!

[Surface Tension]

My slip it is 10%. There was a push to have that increased to 15% that didn't go anywhere. Not that it matters because 10% is more then enough to treat the gas.

Most gas stations carry the non oxygenated gas(it will state non oxygenated on the pump) and as Bob said it is intended for small engines and collector vehicles.

[Fredd]

I have bottles of heet for emergencies but have yet to use one in 26 years of driving. Keep the tank above half to cut down on condensation and you should be golden

[Riich]

Over here in ND we can still purchase regular, with no additives, which is what I use. I've never added any kind of heet and never had any problems. Don't let the cold freek you out.

[Bigsandynorth]

I also add Seafoam to my tanks, maybe I am over doing it but I have never had a problem with anything freezing up. In the past years on older sleds I had gas lines and carbs that would freeze up, not anymore.

[BobT]

Where you'll have more trouble with icing up in winter is if you bring your machine in and out of a heated garage. If you leave it outdoors all the time so the fuel and the air inside your tank stays cold you rarely have problems with condensation. Anyone that wears eyeglasses can understand what happens when you go from cold to warm areas. The same thing happens to your fuel tank when you subject the vehicle to temperature extremes. The air inside the tank contains a certain amount of moisture and begins to condense forming ice crystals. The filters in your fuel line are too fine to let the moisture pass and the fuel filter becomes clogged with ice or in the case of carburetors, the diaphragms ice up.

[harvey lee]

I have had issues with storing my wheeler for extended periods.

Now I have been running av gas and those issues seem to have gone away.

Can one put heet in av gas or is the av gas ok by itself?