Now that we have no choice other than to buy ethanol blended fuels in most states, we are seeing a rash of small engine problems from very expensive to repair damage in outboard marine engines, to small saw mills, lawn mowers, garden tractors, and generators. The fuel is corrosive, unstable, and has a very short shelf live, put it in a container that is vented, and the ethanol can attract moisture and cause the ethanol to drop out of the gasoline, the higher the humidity, the larger the swing in temperature during a day, and the more problems you’ll see with this fuel.
We know that the EPA hates diesels, any kind of diesel. Some States (like mine) have removed the option of Premium Fuels without ethanol, so this means we no longer have a gasoline fuel with any reliable storage life past 90 days when stored in ideal conditions, and you should know how long it’s been blended and laying in the tank you pump from too. My point? I think the EPA is driving us to purchase more diesel power.
One very interesting power tool that has been around since the late 1940s is the power flail. Small ones cut a 48 to 60 inch swath. They have a horizontal shaft that has a cover over it, and all along the shaft are attachment points where you can bolt a knife that is shaped like an ‘L’ or a ‘T’. If you hit a rock, the knife is not broken off, it simply pivots on it’s attachment point, centrifugal force is the only thing that keeps it fully extended. The advantage is we DIYers can easily build flails, and maintain them. Certainly you will visualize the steel sheet cover over top to assure your safety. The engine sets on top, normally a horizontal shaft engine from about 10hp to 24 horsepower. The small diesels you see for sale at central surplus and other places may be good choices to power small power appliances in the near future, wood splitters, flails, mowers, generators, and more.
One potential use for blended ethanol/gasoline blends gone bad is to put the mix in a clear one gallon jug, remember those? If you have some, consider them valuable, as you can use them to sample, test, and mix small batches fuel. I remember when the hardware stores used these clear one gallon jugs to sell kerosene, and we kids would get 10 cents each for them at the hardware store. A trip to the dump, and we could easily find 5 or more at a time, ….that bought enough candy to make a kid sick..
Take your sample of ethanol/gasoline blend and add about a quarter cup of water per gallon, shake well until all beads up, set the jug down and watch the ethanol and water settle to the bottom. They sell fuel test kits that could be mighty handy for off gridders and those who will attempt to use this fuel, to blend their own fuels.
If we were to take a test tube and rubber stopper, we could add some sand, fishing weights or other material and build our own specific gravity indicator that would approximate what #2 diesel fuel is. We simply float our home made hydrometer in #2 diesel and note where we make our mark.
Once we remove the water and ethanol from the bottom of the container that holds our contaminated or bad blended gasoline fuel, we can use it as an additive to oils, and using our hydrometer we can do our best to approximate the specific gravity of our diesel fuel. Once blended, we pass all through a 2 micron filter and water trap, blending before filtering should make it easier to filter and faster. Of course you will consult the EPA before using this fuel, and assure their approval. don’t run it in a vehicle without paying road tax.
America’s unwillingness to produce it’s own energy supplies, no nukes, no natural gas, no Alaskan oil, no off coast drilling, no new dams, has put us in a vert tight spot. Environmentalists find every reason NOT to produce clean natural gas in the heartland, they would certainly let your children freeze to death before allowing you to light a candle, we all know that less people on the planet would be good for all environmentalists right? Of course we know what they do when they think no one is looking.
We know that small portable power will need to be diesel power or something other than gasoline, you can invest in gold, but getting some garden tools, and more durable goods you’ll likely need may be a good idea. If our dollar goes to hell, you’ll spend more to buy those durable goods.
In my state Safeway >was< pumping B20 diesel, this fuel voids the manufacturer’s warranty in many cases, and this fuel caused a lot of trucks to literally stop running at very moderate temperatures, (30-40F). Since then, Safeway has been pumping B5 for Diesel fuel, and I see advantages, lubricity is improved. The incentive for them is subsidies. I mention this as an example of fuel blenders and those who sell it not understanding the fuel they sell, and what problems it might cause their customers. The guy in charge of Safeway fuel stations at the time had been promoted out of ‘produce’ he really knew his fruit and vegetables, nice guy too. He was relying totally on his fuel vendor for guidance, of course the fuel vendor was better rewarded when he sold more of the biofuels, as they were getting a subsidy for each gallon. I have first hand knowledge of diesel pickups that quit running on this fuel, and I >know< for a fact it was the blend that produced a wax like sludge that clogged the fuel filter. One person I know had his truck towed into the dealer, and was presented with a $600 bill for diagnosis and filter replacement.
Back to blended ethanol fuels, they may get worse, testers have found up to 14 percent ethanol in the E10 fuel during spot checks, and this might destroy your small engine as it will run very lean and hot. Remember that incentive to sell more ethanol, when the blender pumps more ethanol into the fuel, he makes more in subsidies, I doubt he gives a rat’s ass if your small engine burns up on the stuff.
Google up fuel test kits, as I mentioned, this situation will grow far worse. At this time, those who will make a lot of money blending E15 are still pushing it, no doubt, there are vehicles that can handle this fuel when it’s fresh, AND when they drive often enough to keep the fuel in the tank fresh. This fuel meets the needs of city folks and newer cars, remember, they are the tail that wags the dog.
Sad to say, you take your biggest chance of getting bad fuel at the places we’d like most to support, when you pull up to that small town station that has invested everything in those new above the ground tanks, you may be taking a bigger risk, the fuel likely changes temperature more over the course of a day, and really cold weather can cause the fuel to separate and ethanol to ‘drop out’. Are those tanks insulated? Should they be? Even if there is an area for the water an ethanol to be trapped below the inlet of the pump, there may not be enough ethanol in the mix to give you the octane you need to keep that ‘knock’ at bay. I’m sure you’ve heard that knock after fueling at one station or another.
I think about above the ground stations, what is the fuel temperature? fuels can expand a bunch with temperature, It might be fun to take that non contact thermometer to the station with you. We know the aviation industry uses far more precise measure when it comes to fuel, they weigh it, matters not what temperature it is, they know what BTUs they buy based on weight. Do you get more fuel for your money on a cold morning VS a hot summer afternoon? If you are the first to pump on a really cold morning could you get a slug of ethanol and water? Darned if I know, but I sure think about it.
A question, does your station test the fuel it pumps, or do they count on their vendor to test it for them? I suggest you get a test kit, and find out what you’ve been buying.
And my prayer for today? God grant the Egyptian People the wisdom to avoid turning their country over to radical Islam. The Iranian people were justifiably disappointed in the Shah’s rule, but some are even more disappointed in the Mullahs rule. No doubt they sponsor terror, no doubt they’d love to rule over the Egyptian people by making it a puppet State of Iran. Only the foolish would dismiss the possibility. America’s leaders have bowed to the environmentalist for their re-election, it may be our undoing. We seem to have no vision to see what the future might bring upon us.
Study this.. ‘J’ provides the right answer, but the lame answer gets more attention.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101106191120AAYRslP
Better to trust in God than an environmentalist, they are perhaps the most short sighted of all, but cocksure of all things when you ask them.
All the best,
George B.
I,…am totally dismayed! I finally got a good chance to read about fannie mae & freddie mac, and cap and trade; And then this news vidieo. They’ve done so much damage; I can’t comprehned how they can go to sleep at night. I’ts not about money; It’s about power. Who gets to live,… and who does’nt. If you have to edit this, it’s okay; Wonder how long before the world leaders get what they seem to want; less people. How long before we’re the next egypt? To anyone reading this; learn DIY… And PRAY!… Thank you Utter power for revealing the truths out there.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but there will be no penality for being prepared. As for cheap engery, there are people who are convinced it need be expensive, and they want to do all they can to make it that way. Fact is… millions will likely die if that becomes the case. We Americans help feed the world because we have reasonable prices for energy. A large expense for our farmers is fuel when it comes to harvest time. I’ve seen corn left in the field because it was too costly to harvest, if that happens in the future, we may not have the surplus for trade, as it may be priced beyound what the thrid world can afford to pay. We need take notice, our government and so many others are static planners, they have little appreciation for what their decisions might do and the people who could die as a result. I was listening to a young woman talk about he time near Mumbia, she said there were many there that didn’t have enough food, and there were people each year who starved to death, she said it was very hard to know that there was nothing she could do to save them. These are the people who will pay the largest price for high energy costs, they are the ones who will pay for unwise investments in alternative energy as well.
It’s getting worse every day; Our watered down gasoline is projected to go to about $5 a gallon by summer! I saw that on the news sometime back in the early winter. I’ve already blistered the paint on the gas tank of my old homelite chainsaw! When you opened the cap, you could hear the gas boiling; HARD! I’ve used that saw a long time and have always taken good care of it, so I was dumbfounded as to why it was doing that until I learned about ethanol making them run lean, which makes them run hot. I’ve had different people bring me lawnmowers, weedeaters to fix; And you’d be amazed at what I found as the problem!
Yes ethanol is also a problem “down under” in Australia but if it reduces dependence on the Middle East is it a bad thing? – ethanol is seen in Australia as a fuel extender – marketed as being green but … the Brazilians are lucky John Bennett designed cast iron cylinder heads to run on 100% ethanol when their foreign debt was a big number – they could afford ot import crude oil but they coudl grow sugar cane quite easily and cheaply – Shell was not a happy camper. There is however a problem far worse than ethanol in fuel – the fact that unleaded cannot be stored without additives – it is a major cause of corrison if it is past its use by date or it has been left in the engine for too long – The old addage “refill the tank after you’ve used an engine” is hard to overcome. It is just as well we are half smart and use listeroids isn’t it 🙂 I think they run on aged diesel growing fungal contaminants or the black diesel fuel on the sub continent – the well meaning technological solutions the west dreams up often bite everyone on the arse sooner or later whether it be fuel or engine parts.
Happy listeroiding above all else!
Lord willing, Just as soon as I can get my hands on one!
Hi George,
I came across a number of articles about additives to extend the storage period of E10 and similar unleaded fuels
http://www.fuel-testers.com/review_gas_treatment_products.html
I am testing a product called Stabil, it is marketed by a number of companies including Stihl – Made in USA so whats not to like?
Stabil claim the additive can be stored for 2 years – Stihl in Australia encourage dealers to dispose of fuel after 3 weeks or if they use Stabil they can store it for up to a year. It is not often I use my ride on John Deere in winter or my chainsaw unless I am fencing and perhaps add the Honda firefighting pump – they are all nice and handy if they are fueled up ready ot use with no risk of ethanol drop out or corrosion – so I’ll be trialling Stabil in my fuel tanks – it works out about an extra 20 cents a litre – 🙁 but it means I don’t have to have empty tanks which was a no no in a past life and I don’t have to throw out aged fuels after 3 – 4 weeks in a tank.
Stephen
Ozlisteroids
Australia
I’ve read a lot of these articles, I’ve also used a number of the products. The part I don’t understand is how the addative can keep the Alcohol from taking on moisture.. I’d like to know how that works..
Quite a few years ago; We would put rubbing alcohol, the 90% kind, in the gas tank to get rid of water and it worked just fine. I proved it to myself one day by taking a glass and pouring about a 1/3 water in the bottom, then 1/3 gasoline, which naturally did’nt mix until I added 1/3 of that rubbing alcohol. I poured it in the tank of my lawnmower,and it took it. It did’nt run as good as gas but, It got the water out. I read somewhere else on one of these other sites, that it might solve some of ethanol problem of water development. Ethanol burns lean, so might that hurt or help? It should get rid of the water though.