Is that why all my gas cans are coated inside w/ varnish !! Hum'mmm,
last time I looked, all my gas cans that sit winter after winter w/ E10 in them are spotless inside.
Fact is, todays gas does not varnish at all.
And isn't it amazing how the E10 knows if its a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke.
Oh, pardon me, is it the oil in the E10 gas that affects 2 strokes ??
And isn't it amazing how the E10 affects 4 strokes, 10 hp and smaller, but not 11 hp and larger.
Come on guys, get real !
Better yet, send some pics of all these late model carb that are just a terrible mess from E10 !
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Routy....E10 damage is very real.
Your sealed gas cans don't suffer any damage, as there is no evaporation of the gasoline or chance for humid air to reach the fuel. The same cannot be said for the equipment that sits in sheds, barns or outside. The temperature and humidity changes allow humidity to reach the air space in the tanks and carbs.....and this moisture is absorbed by the fuel and eventually enough moisture collects to cause problems. Sure this kind of stuff happened even prior to E10 - but the onset of problems now occurs faster with E10.
The reason that E10 causes problems in 2 strokes faster than 4 strokes is that oil and water don't mix - and when enough moisture has collected in the ethanol it can cause the oil mix to settle out of the fuel (phase seperation). This has been a problem for years and is not something that chainsaw manufacturers will cover under warranty.
I believe the reason that 10 HP and smaller 4 stroke engines are affected more than the larger engines is that they use gravity systems without fuel pumps, and people don't normally use a fuel shut off even if the engine is equipped with one. When the engine sits dormant the fuel in the float bowl begins to evaporate and it leaves behind a high concentration of ethanol. As the float level drops more fuel enters the carb and the gasoline portion evaporates.....and this process repeats until about the only thing in the carb float bowl is ethanol.....and it is corrosive to the carbs. On the larger engines with fuel pumps the flow of fuel to the carb stops when the engine is not running.....so the damage is less likely to occur. The same is true of our motorcycles with the vacuum operated petcocks that stop the flow of fuel when the engine is not running.
Photos......I really haven't documented the carbs that I have repaired or replaced. I first started working on small engines in 1973 when I worked at a Simplicity/Toro/Poulan dealership, and I have definetely noticed the shift in the repairs. As you say the old fuel used to eventually turn into varnish, and after equipment sat for a long time we would have to clean fuel tanks and carbs, and replace the brittle fuel lines. Now the engines have carbs that are corroded and not usually varnished up, and the fuel lines and rubber parts are dissolved and swelled.
I have a feeling that whatever our experience is.......your heels are dug in the sand deep enough that you will only be convinced when you eventually have some personal experience with ethanol damage.