Agree with Yehaa Bill, I have worked on many small engines and I have an 048 stihl chainsaw that I had for 30 years, never had a problem until the ethanol, it started starving for fuel, it would idle fine but when you gave it throttle it wasn't taking it, reached my finger in the tank and pulled the fuel line and it was mush so everytime you pulled the trigger it would collapse the hose. the new hose I ordered came through with stiff rubber rings around it like a ribbed condom.

But for any mowers and small engines you run occasionally, using AVGAS is cheap insurance. I now use it for anything I have sitting around. Little more expensive, but no problems when you need it in a hurry and don't have time to repair things before using them.

Just my 2 cents

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Y-Guys:   Good a.m. My 2 cents, since my shop works on atv's, dirt bikes 2&4 strokes.

          It may have something to do with our humidity down here, but if a bike

          or atv "sits" in-active for 6 weeks or more, with gas in the carb, it usually

          will not start. We can pull the float bowl and it will be green with "hair"!

          growing out of the jets.(I'll get my son to post a few pictures later)

             There are several additives that help, but just turning the fuel off and

         letting the carb go dry seems to help.

             Each year, our tech schools have contests to judge students on their

         learning experiences and I'm usually one of the judges for the small engine

         section. There are "reps" there from John Deere, Husqvarna, Echo, and others

         showing off their new products. This year the John Deere rep and I were

         talking about the ethanol problem(as I write this congress has approved a 15%

         increase) he told me John Deere had sold more carb's this year than they had

         in the past 5 yrs combined!

            You may not have a problem if you use the equiptment on a regular basis

         but it's a MAJOR problem in my area.

                                                      Bill

Bill

Pelham,Al

I got a push motor with a Briggs & Stratton ( 4 cycle) engine and have used nothing but the ethonol blend. 10 years old and no problems with the engine. Chassis is wearing out though.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Because that's too logical??

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

There is a warning on the mower to not use anything more than 10% ethanol. I guess an ethanol test kit will be worth while.



From my research, much of the real bad stuff seems to happen on two cycle engines because the oil is mixed with the gas and apparently does not play well with the ethanol. But across the board, they seem to run hotter and since they are only air cooled, it can cause problems. And also, the issues with the gaskets and hoses in the fuel system. I just don't understand why they don't use gaskets and hoses that are safe with ethanol. It's not like it just became known yesterday that the old materials do not handle it well.


Lawrenceville, GA

The ethanol causes mosture to collect in the tank, also just as it will eat up the old type of needle valves in carbs, it will affect any rubber component in the fuel system. I have a Stile chainsaw that had to have all the rubber lines and carb diaphram replace. The guy at the saw shop told me about the Sea Foam helping to prevent mosture and deterioration of rubber components. He said that he has seen a huge increase in fuel system problems with ethanol.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

I've never tried the Sea foam but I try to use fuel stabilizer since some of the gas sits around for awhile. I also always try to turn off the fuel petcock when I'm done and let the carb run dry. These two things alone have helped all my restarts immensely. I despise is yard work.

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

Glen, that's interesting, I thought Sea Foam was a product to keep the fuel system clean (clean injectors, remove varnish, etc and remove moisture, not as a fuel enhancement.

It can also be used in the crankcase to remove sludge and varnish.

Strange name but it seems to work.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

We had trouble with our 2 cycle leaf blower, the lawn mower man said after a couple of years because of the bad gas it's time to throw them away and get a new one.  Our 4 cycle lawn mower seems to keep on going, no problems there.  If you're worried about ethanol just run premium.

   God Bless.   Tim                           http://yblockguy.com/

350ci Y-Block FED "Elwood", 301ci Y-Block Unibody LSR "Jake", 312ci Y-Block '58 F-100, 338ci Y-Block powered Model A Tudor

tim@yblockguy.com  Visalia, California    Just west of the Sequoias

I am on my second troybuilt mower with briggs engines, Other things went wrong but never had any problems with starting or running, My pressure washer does give me some problems after it has sat for a while, but nothing pulling the aircleaner off and holding the automatic choke open does not fix, same with the edger, all briggs engines. The weedeater is 2 cycle and no problems after 5 yrs. Most people do not do maintance on their lawn equipment and sometimes that is more of the reason for problems than the gas. No extended warranty for me.

Gary Ryan San Antonio.TX.