unleaded or non oxygenated (sp)

[bobbymalone]

I run a 82 'rude 90 horse.

I run and 82 'rude 75 horse and I have had problems with oxy fuel. Just didn't run very good with it, rough running and prone to stalling at low rpms. Only ran a tank or two through it before I switched to the non-oxy. I would love to run the cheap stuff though. I was up around $4.50 a gallon for a while.

[BobT]

Quote:

It will run just fine on it, but it is the storage that you have to be carefull with. If you use it up within a month you are good, but ethanol will absorb water and separate causing problems if stored for too long.

We've been down this discussion a few times before. I should have you take a look at the fuel in the plastic gallon oil jug that I have mixed for my chainsaw. Been in there for more years than I can remember. Yeah, I don't use that old saw (1984 Stihl 032) too much anymore. Did fill it up and cut up a fallen tree this spring. Every spring I put the earmuffs on my outboards and fire them up a week or two before opener. I've never concerned myself with how much fuel I have in the tank in the fall or putting any additives in. It's still the same 10% ethanol 87 octane fuel in the spring as what I left in the preveious fall. Never had a problem. Same with my lawn mowers, ATV, weed whacker, tractor, etc. I have no idea what everyone talks about with regard to fuel requiring stabilizer as I have never experienced an issue.

[spearchucker]

Well I guess since it worked for you guys, it must work for everyone. To each his own.

A gas can is somewhat sealed, but a tank in a boat, lawn mower, saw, etc are anything, but airtight. You can put the stuff in a Mason jar and watch it separate over time.

[BobT]

Well I guess since it worked for you guys, it must work for everyone. To each his own.

[BobT]

Gettting back to answer the question from the OP. I don’t know why I don’t have problems and I can’t explain it but I can share my personal experiences.

I use plain old regular 87 octane gasoline in all my equipment. Check that. My ATV has an air-cooled engine with no cooling fan so if I use my ATV during hotter summer days I will switch to 91 octane or higher because is more stable and isn’t so prone to pre-ignite when the engine temp is getting pretty high. Otherwise it usually runs better on the lower octane so I prefer using 87 octane when I can.

My riding lawn mower sits outside under a three-sided lean-to type shed with no door on that forth side alongside my ATV and garden tiller. This spring, like most, when I fired it up the fuel tank was about 3/4 full of fuel leftover from last fall. It started and ran without a problem.

That tiller only gets used twice a year for about a half hour each time so you can imagine how old the fuel might be in that tank. It always starts without a hitch.

I don’t expect to use my 1999 Kawasaki Prairie 300 ATV any more until sometime in late September. Right now it has about 1/4 tank of 87 octane ethanol-blended fuel. I kid you not. I am willing to bet that I will be able to pull the choke, press the start button, and it will be idling within 1 to 2 seconds of pressing the start button without touching the throttle. You barely hear that starter kick over and that thing is running. One of the reasons I haven’t upgraded yet. It just runs too darn good.

My push lawn mower sits just inside the door of another lean-to alongside an old granary building. Because it opens to the east the snow blows in and buries it during the winter. The fuel tank was almost empty when I fired it up this spring for the first time and it started and ran without a problem. Actually, we only use that mower a couple times throughout the summer to trim around our barn when it starts to get too tall so it is not uncommon to be using the same tank of fuel over two or even three years of use. This year it got a fresh tank.

Two months ago I used my chainsaw for the first time in probably two years. The fuel tank was completely dry so I filled it using 32:1 gasoline from an old 1-gallong oil jug that I use to keep mixed gas for the chainsaw and weed-whacker. I actually labeled the jug so I could remember the gas:oil ratio. I found out why the gas tank was empty. The fuel line finally gave up the ghost after 27 years. Saw ran fine after the repairs. You’d think they could make things last a little longer?

Last week my daughter out of the blue decides we need to trim grass around the trees and buildings so I filled the weed-whacker for the first time in untold years. I don’t recall the last time I fired that thing up. I was pleasantly surprised that it ran fine. A touch cold-blooded at first but I was expecting it.

When I fired up my boat this spring my fuel tank was full from last fall. The motor fired up and ran fine although it did act a little more cold-blooded than usual but as I discovered later, it was getting air in the fuel because my fuel line and squeeze bulb were needing replacement after 14 years of use. I guess they just don’t make things the way they used to.

My Jiffy ice drill has been sitting in my basement since March waiting for next December. I believe there is about a half tank of fuel on it. That will be the same fuel I’ll use in December.

I will admit that I have not had a perfect record; almost but not quite. I am now 52 so I’ve been dealing with gasoline engines for about 40 years plus. In all that time I can recall only one time when I experienced gasoline that went bad. One year my ice drill failed to start for me and so I checked the fuel and noticed it no longer smelled like gasoline but smelled more like fuel-oil. The fuel was over two years old. I poured some of it out into a metal dish and tried to ignite it. It would not burn. I replaced the fuel with fresh fuel, pumped the primer 4 or 5 times, and fired it up. That’s the extent of my “fuel gone bad” experiences.

I can still remember the mid-seventies when unleaded fuel became the rule. The story then was that we needed to use lead substitutes or risk engine damage due to lack of lubrication. Funny thing about that is the primary purpose of the lead was a fuel stabilizer and not a lubricant. I use 87 octane 10% ethanol in my 1946 Farmall M tractor. In 1993 when I bought my M I was still falling for the lead substitute hype so I was putting it in my tractor. One day I decided to read the ingredients list. I was expecting to read “Petroleum distillates” or other ingredients without disclosing the recipe along with maybe some other inert ingredients and such. What I read made me angry. There was only one ingredient named and no indication of any other ingredients, inert or otherwise. I was paying $3.75 a quart for “kerosene” labeled as a lead substitute when I could have been buying it at the local service garage for $1.80 a gallon. I began using #2 diesel fuel instead and my tractor had not shown any signs of problems from this. After a few years I discontinued using the diesel fuel and my tractor still runs just fine. I haven’t used anything but just gasoline in a few years now. This is still the original engine built when gasoline contained lead, was not blended with ethanol, and the octane on a good day was somewhere around 75 or 80. That old engine has been through all the transitions and hype and still keeps on ticking.

Have I just been lucky or is it all just hype? I can’t say but I’ll continue to run on my experiences.

[spearchucker]

Looks like what you are doing is working, so why change it.

[Steelhead Chaser]

For what it's worth, here are some marine manufacturer fuel recommendations.

Bombardier - Evinrude - Johnson - Honda - Indmar - Mercury - Nissan - Pleasurecraft - Suzuki - Yamaha -

Source - Marine Manufacturers, Boat engine Owners Manuals and 2003 Ethanol Renewable Fuels Association - Hermann and Associates report.

Note: If engine manufactured prior to 2003, guidelines below may not apply - The older your engine. the more likely alcohol/ethanol fuels are not allowed.

EVINRUDE - JOHNSON -ETEC (OMC BRP)

Operates on unleaded gasoline with a minimum octane of 87 or higher.

Alcohol-extended fuels are acceptable ONLY if the alcohol content does not exceed 10%: Maximum acceptable alcohol by volume: 10 % Ethanol or 10 % methanol with 5 % cosolvents.

HONDA

Must operate with fuel of an octane level of 86 or higher.

Safe to use up to 10% of alcohol in fuel.

Use of over 10% alcohol content may result in engine malfunction and void of the warranty.

INDMAR

All engines must operate on an octane level of 89 or higher. The LS1 must operate on an octane level of at least 93.

Indmar reccommends the use of Sta-bil fuel stabilizer.

Voids the warranty of all repairs caused by bad fuel.

May use fuel with up to 10% alcohol.

MERCURY

Must operate on fuel with an octane level of 87 or higher.

Does not reccommend the use of any percentage of alcohol in fuel.

NISSAN

Must operate on fuel with an octane level of 87 or higher.

Recommends use of fuel up to only 10% ethanol or 5% methanol.

Voids the warranty for all alcohol-fuel related malfunctions.

Specifically states all problems that may result from the use of an alcohol level over 10%.

PLEASURECRAFT

Must operate on fuel with an octane level of 87 or higher.

Voids the warranty for all alcohol-fuel related malfunctions.

Reccommends the use of pure gasoline without alcohol.

SUZUKI

Must operate on fuel with an octane level of 87 or higher.

Reccommends the use of pure gasoline without alcohol, but can use up to 10% alcohol if necessary.

Reccommends buying fuel from pumps that do not use E-10.

YAMAHA

Must operate on fuel with an octane level of 86 or higher.

Reccommends the use of fuel with an alcohol content which does not exceed 10% (E-10).

[Corey20]

I run non oxy in all of my toys. My last 2 boats are rated for 89 octane. I wasn't aware of it on the old boat so I always ran non oxy. On my new yammy offshore I will run 89 if the station has it or 91 non oxy. I also always run yamaha fuel stabilizer and ring free. If your motor is rated for 87 or 89 and you run 91 non oxy you arent doing yourself any favors because your motor cant burn the higher octane fuel and over time making the engine dirty. With any type of gas I strongly recommend a stabilizer and ring free for the boats.

[LMITOUT]

I run non-oxy in all my seasonal engines. They are too important to worry if they are going to start when you need'm.

Mechanics love it when people use reg pump gas...more business for them. I hear the carb kit business is booming.