Run E10 or E15 but switch over to E0 if you plan to store for longer than 30 days.
E10 in Garden Tractor?
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My riding mover has been stored from about October to April every year with E10 gas in it, going on 5 years, and I have had no fuel problems with it. It always starts up in the spring with no problem.
You can use E10 if you are burning through it. It doesn’t store well even with StaBil or Startron. I pay more and use real gas.
I use very little gasoline for my OPE so I just run E0. That said, if my garden tractor or zero turn was gas, I’d run E10 worry free since I’d use enough to keep it fresh.
Prior to winter storage, I would make certain to run the tank to nearly empty a few times and fill with E0 at the end of the season though.
Id give my 2 stroke stuff the same treatment.
Prior to winter storage, I would make certain to run the tank to nearly empty a few times and fill with E0 at the end of the season though.
Id give my 2 stroke stuff the same treatment.
I am not a advocate or ethanol fuels, give me real gasoline!
However, as I stated before in posts above that I don't have mechanical or carburetor problems in anything that I run E10 in, in the last 25-27 years that we've been using E10 gasoline.
I must add that the only people I know having issues or at least some concerns with E10, are those with small outboard boat motors especially the old ones. They are all getting water in their fuel tanks then into the carbs and the ethanol is eating away at the floats. OK? So there may be some validity to the E problem.
And also these are the same people who blame everything on something/someone else other than the real problem(whatever the issue) and are usually filled with misinformation.
However, as I stated before in posts above that I don't have mechanical or carburetor problems in anything that I run E10 in, in the last 25-27 years that we've been using E10 gasoline.
I must add that the only people I know having issues or at least some concerns with E10, are those with small outboard boat motors especially the old ones. They are all getting water in their fuel tanks then into the carbs and the ethanol is eating away at the floats. OK? So there may be some validity to the E problem.
And also these are the same people who blame everything on something/someone else other than the real problem(whatever the issue) and are usually filled with misinformation.
E10 has been in every vehicle and gas powered lawn equipment I have all year long, since around 1995 when E10 started hitting the pumps here. Some of these machines sits all winter with no fuel stabilizer, and they all fire up easily in the spring. Never a problem. Even my old 1987 Crsftsman lawn mower is still going strong after 35 years with zero carb problems.
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I will be the voice of dissent. My 2002 John Deere GT235 Garden Tractor had trouble with 2 items due to ethanol in the fuel. The fuel line deteriorated internally and the sealing "grommets" on the plastic fuel tank also deteriorated. Leading to leaks at the tank, and a clogged fuel pump, fuel filter, and the complex dual carb full of "fuel line debris".
It was one heck of a job to fix that. Took me the better part of one week.
It was one heck of a job to fix that. Took me the better part of one week.
^^^I understand and feel for you. 
And I do know others with similar issues but it's really hard to argue with either side.
I have a '95 John Deere weed eater/trimmer/edger that I bought new and has seen nothing but E10. In fact, the owner's manual recommends AGAINST E10... Never an issue with it. I've changed the plug 1X.
The Firebird in my signature that I bought brand new in 1980 has only seen E10 since we started getting it here in NY State in the mid 90s(~ 1995ish) and actually runs smoother/better/more efficient than it did when she was brand new.
All of my lawn mowers & snow blowers(that I've owned since the 70s) all start better(weekly & after seasonal storage) than on they did pre E10 and never an issue with the exception of age. I mean, after 20-25 years, anything can happen.
And I do know others with similar issues but it's really hard to argue with either side.I have a '95 John Deere weed eater/trimmer/edger that I bought new and has seen nothing but E10. In fact, the owner's manual recommends AGAINST E10... Never an issue with it. I've changed the plug 1X.
The Firebird in my signature that I bought brand new in 1980 has only seen E10 since we started getting it here in NY State in the mid 90s(~ 1995ish) and actually runs smoother/better/more efficient than it did when she was brand new.
All of my lawn mowers & snow blowers(that I've owned since the 70s) all start better(weekly & after seasonal storage) than on they did pre E10 and never an issue with the exception of age. I mean, after 20-25 years, anything can happen.
Ethanol is pretty weak solvent.
Especially compared to the BTX (Benzene, toluene, and p-xylene) also used to boost octane.
Especially compared to the BTX (Benzene, toluene, and p-xylene) also used to boost octane.
I got a broken down commercial mower for free last year and after cleaning the carb and a bit of tinkering got it running. It last ran in about September of last year. Yesterday I go to fire it up and realize I hadn’t drained the fuel last time so it sat all winter with e10. It wouldn’t start so I pull the carb apart again and voila! Gooey sludge in the jets, bottom of the bowl, and impeding the movement of the float needle. It was spotless last season cause I put it in my ultrasonic cleaner so after 9ish months of sitting the ethanol had caused enough problems to stop it from running. The grunge wasn’t hard yet. It was roughly the consistency of creamed honey. I suspect if I had tried to start it after only 5 or 6 months of sitting it likely would have started and slowly worked that developing junk out of its system.
And you think the ethanol caused that sludge? Or was that sludge in the gas tank and in the fuel lines and the ethanol dissolved it and moved it to the carburetor?
I had a car that was sitting for 10 years with E10 gas in it.
No sludge anywhere, but plenty of rust in the metal gas tank and the filter.
Added fresh gas to the tank after replacing the open-circuited fuel pump and it started right up. (Throttle-body injected).
Later on, replaced the tank and the fuel filter due to the rust.
100 percent it was. Last year the machine got all new fuel lines, filter, pump, shut off valve, and the plastic tank was physically wiped clean (massive fill opening). The fuel system was as spotless as can be.
I do this every spring. Customers give me their mowers when they hire me to do their lawn after their mower won’t start. It’s always a gummed up carb without fail. Clean out the goop and away it goes. If you shell out the extra bit for e0 gas it’s a non issue. It seems like people in some areas of the world have less ethanol problems than others. Must be something about the formulation or additives in the gas. Perhaps something to do with climate.
There are definitely many different formulations of gasoline used just in the USA. I once found a map showing the various types of gasoline required by regulations in different parts of the country. There were at least 10 different formulations. That map was from 2004. Doubt it's gotten any simpler since then.
Where I live, E10 is *REQUIRED*. There is no E0 gasoline for sale in this area. There are other regulations which apply to the gasoline sold here to reduce pollution, and perhaps those regulations also, as a unintended side-effect, make it more stable so it doesn't gum up over the winter.
(IF I want E0 gasoline I have to make a special trip to a gas station at least 20 miles away).
I had a situation similar to @Cujet . I was doing everything I was supposed to but probably about once every 1-1/2 years I was having to rebuild the carb on my Craftsman push mower with the B&S engine, along with rebuilding the carb on my 4 stroke weed whacker. The fuel line on the push mower rotted away, the fuel bowl was always leaking after a year or so, and it would start to run rough, then just not run at all. After 4 carb rebuilds, (the mower was only about 6 years old), I started running TCW3 at 1 oz per gallon, in all of my OPE. This was over 10 years ago and all of my OPE has been flawless ever since (2 push mowers, weed whacker, riding mower, 1987 Honda F501 tiller, I may be forgetting something). I also run it at the same ratio in my Kubota L2501. It may be a coincidence, but I haven't had any problems, so I just stick with it.
My L111 Deere has 200 hours on E10 without issues.
I've used E/10 in everything I've owned since it became the main fuel available in this area in the late '70's or early 80's. The main problem I've had over the years is with carbs on Japanese motorcycles I've owned needing cleaning. I usually pull the carbs off my mowers and clean them every few years even if they're still running good but I've never had to rebuilt them. A few weeks ago I put a car back on the road that had been sitting outdoors for about 5 years with a partial tank of E/10 in it. Put a battery in it, hit the switch and it started right up. It's now been running fine for about 1400 miles.
I see some recommend 1 oz of tcw3 per 5 gallons. Its nice to know that enriching the ratio to 1 oz per gallon works also.
Yes sir, I run it at 1 oz per 5 gallons in my vehicles, and at 1 oz to 1 gallon in my OPE. The spark plugs always come out clean, looking normal, and no oily residue on the plugs or the exhaust, so I am a fan.
I'm fortunate to have multiple stations available that are selling E0. If it's readily available it's a no brainer to use it in OPE and old carbureted motorcycles. The price varies from the same as E10 to a gouging $1.00 a gal. more. If all I could get was some insanely priced canned E0 at a hardware store, then I'd just dose the E10 storage container with Stabil marine formula. I'd also swap it out twice a year if needed. I wonder if those having less or more frequent problems with E10 fuel are affected by average humidity levels or wilder or lesser temperature swings.
The reason that Ethanol dosing of motor fuel has to be done by the distributors on delivery is due to corrosive nature of Ethanol. No Ethanol in gasoline pipelines.
The reason that Ethanol dosing of motor fuel has to be done by the distributors on delivery is due to corrosive nature of Ethanol. No Ethanol in gasoline pipelines.
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