E85 gas messing up engines?

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bustednutz

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Just wondering if E85 is making B&S and other lawnmower engines start hard.
I have a 3 year old Troy Bilt 21 inch push mower, its nothing fancy, but always did a decent job on our small lawn.
Anyway, recently I have had the hardest time getting this thing to start. I replaced the plug, air filter and changed the oil.
It just floods itself out. So I pull the plug, spray some carb cleaner on it, and also spray it into the piston chamber. I spin it with the plug out, and let it all dry. Replace plug and VROOM!!! it starts right up. I'm thinking it may be old gas, or E85 thats causing this. Once its running, it runs great. Its just a matter of getting it fired up. I really don't want to have to go through this ritual every time I want to mow the lawn. There is no primer bulb, and it says its guaranteed to start on the 2nd pull too. Thats rubbish as fas as I am concerned. A landscaper neighbor said that his repair facility has been having lots of issues with the E85 too.
Any ideas?
 
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Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
E85 is 85% alcohol. Why would anyone use it in OPE? I think you mean gas that is 15% alcohol?
ok, now,,just use some sta bil and all is well, and dont buy that shettze anymore, u fell for the cheap price,,dont doooooooooo that no more. imho
 
Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
E85 is 85% alcohol. Why would anyone use it in OPE? I think you mean gas that is 15% alcohol?
ok, now,,just use some sta bil and all is well, and dont buy that shettze anymore, u fell for the cheap price,,dont doooooooooo that no more. imho


I agree. E-85 is 85% alcohol and designed for e85 only vehicles. Use e10 or pur gas only.
 
As mentioned above, E85 is a specialty fuel, for Flex Fuel Vehicles only. It is largely ethanol, between 70% (winter) and possibly up to 90% (summer).

I think you meant to ask is the "ethanol" in gasoline causing hard starting?

Generally, no. Most gas tests to have around 4% to 5% ethanol in it around here. Makes sense, as America would have to produce huge quantities of ethanol to have 10% or 15% in every gallon, everywhere.
 
E10 has never caused me any problems, we've had it in Canada for decades. I use E0 if I can, but I can't say that I notice any difference in OPE.

E85 would mess things up royally, but you've already retracted that.
 
I've also never had any problems with ethanol in the fuel, in my on-road vehicles or my OPE. I also buy gas occasionally from Top Tier brands of fuel, which reportedly have between 8 and 10% ethanol by volume.

Are you sure it's flooding? Is the spark plug wet when you remove it? You said you spray carb cleaner in the engine and it'll start after that. I would check for a stuck float or something in the carburetor or something that'd cause it to flood. Also, on the other end of the spectrum, if the carburetor has a choke, make sure it's closing all the way. I've had hard-start issues that were traced to choke adjustment problems.

B&S engines sometimes don't have chokes, but if it does, check for proper adjustment on that.
 
What I have found with E10 and E15 is that it tends to go stale within a couple months...I find that I need to drain the gas at the end of the season, and run the equipment dry to avoid a no-start in the spring.
 
E85 would be totally sweet in ope if you upgraded the fuel lines and rubber carb parts to silicone and re keyed the flywheel to advance the timing. E85 is a poor mans raceing fuel coming in at around 105 O in the summer.
E10 does not last in a vented fuel system very well. As the ethanol evaporates your fuel collects an equal amount of water that will corrode aluminum carbs. If you use your equipment often it's effects are no much of a bother. Worst thing I see it doing is swelling rubber seats in the carb faster than before.
Use an ethanol specific fuel stabilizer in every tank. It's fairly cheep as one ounce will usually treat 5gal.
 
Originally Posted By: 660mag
Use an ethanol specific fuel stabilizer in every tank. It's fairly cheep as one ounce will usually treat 5gal.


I use the normal Stabil all the time, and haven't had any problems. That said, I've seen advertisements for the ethanol-specific Stabil, but I can't find it anywhere. Does Advance or AutoZone carry it? I'd like to start using it.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
That said, I've seen advertisements for the ethanol-specific Stabil, but I can't find it anywhere. Does Advance or AutoZone carry it? I'd like to start using it.



Its the "blue" Marine Sta-bil that's supposedly for ethanol...but if that's the case, why do they still offer the red Sta-bil???

I'm thinking its some sort of marketing gimmick...why offer two products for the same fuel, and claim only one is for the application??
 
What I've notice from straight gas versus E10 is the spark plug needs to be cleaned more often and that solves the problem on hard starts. I always have a spare clean plug should starting be a problem... 99% of the time problem is solved. Also contacts might be corroded or not having a full ignition contact.
 
Start with the simple stuff, good spark & good gas. I try to run in some non-ethanol gas prior to storage. My next idea is to fill it up with 100LL aviation fuel prior to storage. Aviation fuel is made to be stored for up to a year.
 
E10 runs fine but only use it if you are turning the fuel in your tank over relatively quickly (like weekly or at most bi-weekly). E10 has a tendency to gum and varnish if it stays in the tank for an extended period, and if you live in a high humidity area it also like to absorb moisture from the environment. Since ethanol is a little less volatile than gasoline it might make the mower slightly harder to crank in cool weather. If you leave E10 in the tank for an extended period and it gums up the carburetor then yes, it will be darn hard to start.

I run E0 full time but I supposed I wouldn't feel too bad about running E10 during regular mowing season where I'm burning a tank a week. I would suggest running E0 (if available) late in the season as it gets close to time to put the mower away and in any case take the storage steps your owner's manual recommends before you put the mower away for the season. If I couldn't find E0 at the end of the season I'd put some fuel stabilizer in on the last tank.
 
I got a new toro recycler 20333 mower. first drop of gas was pure regular gasoline. I've heard the stories of E10 ruining gas lines.
 
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