E0 vs E10 for storage?

Joined
Jan 7, 2009
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Location
Rochester, MI, US, World
This may seem like a silly question, but hear me out… I had to pull the generator out today as the ice storm here knocked our power out for nearly 18 hours. First lesson I learned is don’t run the carb dry for storage… where there’s no fuel, there will be moisture, and it will freeze. 😳

Anyway, I always use E0 for my OPE. The down side is E0 does not absorb moisture like E10 can, and for my generator, that’s a problem. I don’t have a garage, and it won’t fit in my shed, so my generator sits under multiple tarps outside. It stays dry, but moisture will still make its way into the tank after long periods of sitting. This is despite the fact that I start it every few months and warm it up. Normally I only keep a gallon or so in the tank, which holds 7 gallons; I will keep it more full from now on to reduce room for moisture. When I went to start it yesterday, I noticed what looked like a blob in the bottom of the tank. I don’t know if it was water or separated fuel (not likely separated, the fuel was treated and not that old). I got to thinking that if I had E10 in the tank, it would have absorbed this water over time instead of just letting it sit there. I know what ethanol can do to carbs if left there for a long time, I’ve seen it. But if I store with treated E10 and exchange the fuel once a year, is that better than E0 in my situation?
 
I've been storing 20 gallons of untreated E10 in a regular gas can for up to 2 years at a time without any issue. I don't really know why people go nuts about this. At the beginning of storm season, I fill it. At the end of storm season, I burn it in my OPE. Sometimes I take it with me to the gas station, pour the gas can into my car, and then fill the can with fresh gas.

The blob in the tank is water. Its condensation from the vapor space you left keeping only 1 gallon in a 7 gallon tank. It will still do this with the tank full, but much slower. It's why all decent carbed units have a drain on the bowl. Drains the water out of the bowl and tank at the same time. Remember, the carburetor has a float. There will always be a vapor space in it.
 
I was a big believer in storing stuff with E0+stabilizer in it, but about five years ago I wanted to see if it really made any difference so I started putting E10 in everything without stabilizer. I've noticed exactly zero difference. I have more problems with mice chewing wires than I do with carburetors.
 
I always run E0 in our OPE (mower/snowblower/trimmer/leaf blower/tiller/pressure washer) with no added stabilizer. My preference is to run them out of fuel before storing them for their off-season, but I don't sweat it if there's a little fuel left over in the tank, either. I haven't had any trouble starting engines that have been stored empty and were filled with fresh fuel when started, even over 6 or 8 months.

Our Honda tiller probably uses a tank of E0 every year or two and has never even given so much as a hiccup, even when it has a partial tank of rather old E0. It's 20 or 25 years old, and has gotten this fueling routine as long as I can remember.
 
I've been storing 20 gallons of untreated E10 in a regular gas can for up to 2 years at a time without any issue. I don't really know why people go nuts about this. At the beginning of storm season, I fill it. At the end of storm season, I burn it in my OPE. Sometimes I take it with me to the gas station, pour the gas can into my car, and then fill the can with fresh gas.

The blob in the tank is water. Its condensation from the vapor space you left keeping only 1 gallon in a 7 gallon tank. It will still do this with the tank full, but much slower. It's why all decent carbed units have a drain on the bowl. Drains the water out of the bowl and tank at the same time. Remember, the carburetor has a float. There will always be a vapor space in it.
I think you are probably right, but I still don't do it. I think it has to do more with how well sealed your container is than how much is in there. Ethanol will absorb moisture from the air and will go "bad" when it absorbs too much. If your container is sealed you are good to go for quite a while, but most aren't. This is the reason it goes bad in the tank of you OPE because none of them are sealed.
 
I've had good luck with older E10 in sealed gas cans. Lasts at least 6 months in my air conditioned garage.

I've had terrible results with E10, destroying fuel lines and carbs. Especially when sitting for the off season. The fact is, ethanol in fuel will, over time cause aluminum corrosion.

Regardless of what you thing of PF, this video does a good job demonstrating that ethanol causes corrosion and that fuel stabilizer does not prevent ethanol based fuels from causing corrosion.

 
I never store my generators or any equipment with E10 in them. I will run them during the season (except gens) with E10 but once I get anywhere near the off season they get only E0.
I forgot about my snowblower while we were building our house and it sat in storage for 12 months with E10. It destroyed the carb and had to be rebuilt before I could use it again. Anyone that has bought parts for a small engine knows the price of repair parts is sky high not to mention the snowblower had to be virtually disembowled just to get at the carb.
 
I think the OP would be better running the carb dry and draining the tank. Leaving E10 in a carb sitting is recipe for disaster. The alcohol will settle out of suspension, settle to the bottom and corrode the bowl. Ask me how I know.

E10 does loose octane when it sits, but running it in a low compression engine it likely doesn't matter too much, so storing E10 in a tightly sealed container then shaking it before using - it would likely be good for much longer than rated.
 
I stabilize my E0 cans when they get filled, it's my idiot proofing so I just pour and go year 'round.
I never drain carbs either. Once a carb goes into service it's meant to be ''wet''.
I no longer battle cleaning out the green algae in carbs either.
Before I had easy access to E0 stabilized E10 was a must do. Stabilizer is cheap insurance.
A lot of my OPE see's 100 degree temperature swings also.
 
I am fortunate enough to have 89 octane E0 available nearby. Haven't treated it in the past two years. I doubt that it is necessary if you don't allow that gas to sit unused for 6-9 months. Personally I run the tanks dry on the occasionally used machines, but just go with the flow on the regularly used ones. The snowblower hasn't seen any gas in two years.
 
Back in the old days when all gasoline was leaded E0, they used to sell a product in a can called :
Christy Dry Gas. It was alcohol. You poured it into your fuel tank to mix with the fuel, and its purpose was to allow moisture to pass through your fuel system by binding to the alcohol.

They don't sell that stuff any more, because pump gasoline now has alcohol already blended in. And gas line freeze ups are a rare problem these days.

Why people want to store idle equipment with E0 makes no sense to me.
 
Back in the old days when all gasoline was leaded E0, they used to sell a product in a can called :
Christy Dry Gas. It was alcohol. You poured it into your fuel tank to mix with the fuel, and its purpose was to allow moisture to pass through your fuel system by binding to the alcohol.

They don't sell that stuff any more, because pump gasoline now has alcohol already blended in. And gas line freeze ups are a rare problem these days.

Why people want to store idle equipment with E0 makes no sense to me.
Now it's called HEET. I've had more problems overthinking it and running the carb dry that just leaving it alone. Stabil marine 360 m
makes me feel better. Not sure if it matters
 
Two different kinds of alcohol. Cristy's was not isopropyl alcohol that's more fuel system friendly. Methanol maybe? Can't remember.
 
Back in the old days when all gasoline was leaded E0, they used to sell a product in a can called :
Christy Dry Gas. It was alcohol. You poured it into your fuel tank to mix with the fuel, and its purpose was to allow moisture to pass through your fuel system by binding to the alcohol.

They don't sell that stuff any more, because pump gasoline now has alcohol already blended in. And gas line freeze ups are a rare problem these days.

Why people want to store idle equipment with E0 makes no sense to me.
That is for short term use to get rid of water. Store it and it will continue to absorb water until it comes out of suspension and you have a mess
 
@Klutch9 since you store your generator outside I would keep a bottle of Heet or some other gas line antifreeze on hand. I personally would add a shot of that to your fuel tank if you need to fire it up in the winter again. This will help the water (ice) to melt in your carb and also emulsify into the fuel. I would store it with as little fuel as possible to avoid having to treat several gallons of fuel. Personally I would also continue to drain the carb by either running out of fuel or shutting the fuel supply off.

Just my $0.02
 
interesting vids from Chickanic about eathanol content as she uses a simple cheep tester + finds 5% in any E0 gasses + noted that gas pumps with several selections pump whatever from the last customer @ 1/3 to a gallon before your selection + even some spendy canned E0's are NOT eathanol free!! in her experience some canned fuels run poorly, just cant trust most anything these days
 
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