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Message started by rl153 on 09/05/09 at 08:33:14

Title: Ethanol in gas
Post by rl153 on 09/05/09 at 08:33:14

In Connecticut we have ethanol in the gas .I was going to just use stabil to winterize my s40 ,but people are saying to drain the gas out of the carb because of the ethanol . What is the best thing to do ,and how do you drain the carb,and bowl?

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/05/09 at 09:35:03

You might look around for a station that sells gas w/o the ethanol. There are a couple in Longview.

The more full the tank is, the less surface area is exposed to the air. I would think that would minimized the water absorption from the air.
Reelthing has studied the effects of the ethanol & knows what the stuff does over time. I cant remember it, but seems he said something about it separating & & making layers,, heck, thats probably a hallucination, IDK.
Draining the carb sounds like a good idea. Maybe unhook the fuel line from the tank & run it outta gas? That might clear the innards better than just draining it???? Then, drain the bowl & see just how close to empty it is when the engine dies.
Drop the Stabil in the tank & hook up the float charger. Ohh, change the oil.

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by ls650v on 09/06/09 at 03:33:33

There is a screw on the bottom of the float bowl you can use to drain the carb. I follow the "full tank with Stabil and drain the carb" theory of storage. Survived five Michigan winters with no problems this way.

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by smitty1 on 09/09/09 at 11:23:04

Don't use it if you can help it. My mechanic say it will decrease your gas milage about 10 - 20%. Another guy on the forum said to use premium and i've gotten better gas milage since. when your only putting 2+ gals each time, it's not that much more

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by mpescatori on 09/09/09 at 13:54:26

I agree to nearly 110% of what you all just said.

Premium gas will improve mileage, provided you do essentially freeway miles cruising in top gear.

If you do stop&go city traffic, the cheapest is best, no use wasting premium idling at the lights.

Ethanol is an alcohol, and alcohol is more volatile than gasoline.
In the long run, the ethanol will slowly float to the surface and eventually evaporate.
OR
If you run the bike on last summer's FlexiFuel mix, she'll run on the gas, then suddenly chug, sputter and clonk to a halt as the more and more pure alcohol feeds in the fuel line... Remember, the fuel:air mixture is 1:14 with gasoline, it's only about 1:6 with pure alcohol...

I'd say, FILL the tank with regular to the brim and a good dose of Sta-Bil or whatever.

:)

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by voldigicam on 09/09/09 at 18:00:14

Premium mainly has more anti-knock additives and is designed to ignite less easily. There's a tiny bit more energy in it, but that doesn't appear to be worth the extra cost. A bigger problem is a relatively low compression engine that might not like premium. I recall that premium may have a more comprehensive additive package and might be worth running every once and a while.

The ethanol mileage loss seems quite real. We have a straight gas source here - I do consistently get a bit better mileage on straight gas. Maybe as much as 10%, but probably not.

I use gas additives every once and while. The carb is sparkling whenever I'm in there, so something is working!

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by Ed L. on 09/09/09 at 18:33:25

Ethanol or any alcohol in the gas will pull in water vapor over time and it ends up becoming so watered down it won't burn. Filling the up the tank decreases the surface area of the gas/ethanol mixture in your tank and will keep the alcohol from adsorbing humidity. It also is not good to rubber and plastics so a dose of gas additive is a must for long term sitting. I've used two stroke engine oil mixed in with the gas to help protect the rubber parts in carbs at the end of the day back when I ran straight ethanol/methanol in race engines.

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by FreeSpirit on 09/09/09 at 18:45:17

If you use sta-bil and let the MC run ,then sta-bil gets into the carb.

Right? Then why would you need to drain the carb?
Just wondering.

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by thumperclone on 09/09/09 at 18:57:39

41605B482A040 wrote:

here (on the west slope of colorado) at 4500' above sea level i cant believe your winters are worst than ours.

my 06 ls bought new has never seen gas additives, battery tenders,or and other $ suckin winter prep crap...
i get out to the unheateted carrrige house where she resides every 2 weeks or so w/ some beer(4 me) and fire her up...
got an oil temp gauge and dont shut her down till oil is UP TO TEMP..
sometimes i got to back into the house and get more beer for this to happen...
save your money and buy more beer!!!
now those savage riders in antartica and the exterme parts of alaska and canada do what you gotta do...and have a beer on me..

p.s. my B.I.L. owns a liquor store!!! ::)

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by drharveys on 09/09/09 at 20:01:06

Here in Missouri I just fill the tank and connect the Battery Tender Jr.

Of course, every winter month has it's thaw, so I'll go out and ride the thang every few weeks!

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/drharveys/Suzuki/DSC02411.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/drharveys/Triumph/BILD0216.jpg

"IF the road is clear, the bike is in gear!"

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by John_D on 09/10/09 at 01:43:12

I count myself lucky to not have to mess with winterizing. If you don't mind a little cold and wet, you can pretty much ride year round here. I never went more than a couple weeks without taking a spin last winter. :)

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by JohnBoy on 09/17/09 at 09:51:47

Here in Phoenix we winterize by cranking the AC up a degree or two. They are saying “only” 105 this weekend, not bad for the 3rd week in September. Hey! You can ride every day! It's like riding through HELL but you can do it every day.

Title: Re: Ethanol in gas
Post by Gary On A Savage on 09/17/09 at 11:18:08

Here in Central California, we have Ethanol in our gas as well. When I "winterize" a few months out of the year, I put on a good heavy coat and try not to drink the stuff (ethanol will kill you ya know--prefer starbucks myself). But I can really relate to draining your tank. I try and stop every hour or two to drain mine, especially if I get too much starbucks. Makes the year round riding here more enjoyable.