Why does everyone hate on ethanol?

[Larry B]

I wonder why everyone hates on ethanol so much. I think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It ruins carburetors and eats up fuel and primer lines. It rusts steel tanks real quick. Makes diaphragms stuff as a board. I love the stuff.
Oh yeah........ I run a small mower repair shop. Ethanol makes me more money than anything else. I have had the same generator in 3 times for being used and fuel left in it for months. Same with a couple snow blowers. Some people are just lazy I guess. Oh well, just makes me more money. I love ethanol.
Merry Christmas to everyone and their families!

 

[Wonkydonkey]

The only real ethanol I like at this time, well anytime really is Beer.

Cheers to ethanol.

 

[CR888]

Ethanol is a small engine service technicians best friend.

 

[skinnee440]

It is simply awesome at cleaning out tanks and putting all the goo into filters and turning old fuel lines into dead earthworms! I got a nice 5 gallon bucket that has 3 layers of "go fast goodness" out of a customers sled. When you burn thru one layer, stop and re-jet for the next layer! Can't wait for business to explode when they let them go to 15 or 20%!

 

[P.M.P.]

Exciting thread this is.

 

[Xr650jkallen]

I hate it when it comes to small engines, but in a car engine that has the necessary equipment to run it I love it. More timing and cleaner valves and injectors. Its hell on fuel systems not designed to run it though.

 

[Larry B]

You should have been serviceing outboards back when E10 came out and destroyed every black piece of rubber in the carb and fuel system.

 

[blades]

Ethanol vaporizes out and leaves behind a lovey film that plugs up tiny jets- plus eating just about everything in a fuel system. And then it's also hygroscopic ( attracts water) which as noted rusts steel , and causes oxidation in alum components. Even if you drain or run dry the system in a small eng there is enough left behind to cause trouble. Just looked at some new replacement eng. guess what, Mfg(s) recommends not using ethanol laced fuel. I also see some units now becoming available with fuel injection- premium price though. There are some retrofit efi units around now , as to cost I have been unable to find that.

 

[stretch5881]

Well, I guess ethanol helps small engine shops stay busy. I stay busy enough from people neglecting their equipment and forgetting they have it..., until they need it.

 

[blades]

I am not perfect, last year I finally had to replace the carb on my 40+ year old Snapper snowblower. My 30+ year old Simplicity 860 also died, again carb problems- unfortunatly that carb assembly is no longer available oem, least wise I have not found a replacement yet. Yesterday I broke down and bought a brand new Simplicity- $ OUCH. this is the very first Brand New small engine unit I have ever purchased- getting old and it's a lot harder for me to work on his stuff now days. particulaely in the cold. I have a 36" chi-com contraption called the Beast( 15 hp- 400+cc) snow blower that is awaiting parts. It likely will end up on the front of my compact tractor as I simply do not weigh enough to tip it up and turn it. Top speed on this monster is a full run for me and I am 6'+, lowest forward speed is still a fast walk. Digging into it, it looks to be built as well as can be expected by todays standards. Bought last year at tale end of season- used and abused. Someone must have gotten a bit to close to the business end as the very first thing I had to do was defrost it and remove a complete set of Jeans ( slightly shredded of course) from the augers and impeller area. Likely the reason I had to replace the drive belts as noted in a previous post.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Alot of our gas has had ethanol for decades. When I was a kid, the Ashland/Speedway pumps usually had a sticker that said "contains up to 10% ethanol". In all my machinery I use a healthy dose of fuel stabilizer, 2-3x the recommended amount. Leave the treated fuel in them through the winter and they fire right up in the spring. Would I prefer straight gas? Yes, but I haven't had any problems with treated E10 fuel so I'll continue to use it.

 

[blades]

quote from the dealership yesterday - hard time getting carbs or rebuild kits for same- demand outstripping supply, compounded by shipping problems ( but that is another subject ).