"Ethanol Free" Fuel, May Not Be

[billt460]

This is a good video that shows when you gas up your small gas can with "Ethanol Free" fuel, you might be getting as much as a third of a gallon or more of the Ethanol based fuel that was in the hose from the last customer.

This happens when several different fuel grades are shared with the same pump nozzle.

I never really thought about this. I'm lucky because the station I get my Ethanol Free 91 Octane from, is on a special single pump off to the side. There is even a class action lawsuit being filed by someone in California over this.

 

[Zee09]

I guess that's where the phrase "hosed" came from?

 

[billt460]

The only way around it, is to buy more than you need. Then first pump a couple of gallons into your car or truck... Then fill your small engine gas can.

 

[zrxkawboy]

When I buy E0 for my bikes or OPE, I make sure to go to a station with separate hoses
for each type.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Saw this a while back, and hadn't thought about it before, but I only by E0 from the one place with a separate pump now.

I should probably still test it. Wouldn't surprise me if there was still some in it.

 

[SHOZ]

You can add water to it and then skim off the good stuff.

 

[jeepman3071]

We don't have any E0 stations in my area, but I have heard of this before.

There are really only 2 fool proof solutions:

1. Run canned fuel (I like the VP racing) if you don't use much fuel at all.

2. Install an in-line fuel shut off valve and run your equipment out of fuel before any time it will be in storage for more than a few days.

I've been doing the 2nd option with all of my own equipment and have encouraged my family, friends, and customers to do the same for more than 10 years now, and all have good results. Much easier than hunting down E0 fuel or paying $20/ 1 gal can. No issues with E10 regular 87 gas. I also write the date on my fuel cans when I get fuel at 2.5 gallons at a time. If the fuel is older than a month, it goes in the car.

 

[SHOZ]

It depends too on if the fuel tank is vented direct to the atmosphere. If it is then water easily gets in. Both of my JD mowers are non vented. So the fuel is never exposed to the atmospheric moisture and there is no need to drain the fuel really. I do fill them full in the fall. Went 23 years with the old one before I found the carb fuel drain.

 

[#18FAN]

I always pump about 5 gallons to the vehicle before filling cans for OPE and that’s really for the mowers the 2stroke equipment gets canned fuel.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Take note of the length of the line and the OD. From the OD you can guesstimate an ID. The cross sectional area is 3.14 * ID ^2 / 4. Multiply that by the line length in inches and get the volume in cubic inches. Divide by 231 and that’s the fraction of a gallon stored in the line.

 

[volk06]

This is not new (and not a "scam") and has an easy solution, it doesn't need to be complicated. Fill up your vehicle or pump a few gallons into your vehicle and then fill up your gas cans. This has worked well for me over the years.

 

[Cujet]

Our local Sunoco station has a blending pump for reg/premium. When I was running more than 30 pounds of boost, I needed all the octane I could get, so I'd fill a 5 gal gas can first.

What was absolutely amazing was the color change that occurred at the 1.5 gallon mark. The regular was straw colored and the premium was a sort of brilliant fluorescent gold with a hint of green.

I saw the pumps apart for service one day, and was surprised that the filter was downstream of the mixing. It was no surprise it took 1.5 gallons to get pure premium out of that equipment. I felt like I was being ripped off.

 

[wpod]

I buy regular E what ever it is gas for my ope and it works fine.

 

[Vercingetorix]

I’m glad I have more important things to worry about. My ethanol concerns are more about my personal consumption, not my lawn mowers.

 

[Pablo]

Used to be the only thing you couldn't trust at a gas station was the sushi and pot of bubbling chili.

 

[4WD]

I buy E0 at a farmers cooperative that has it stand alone - guess I won’t be in any frivolous lawsuits

 

[Chris142]

does not matter here as e0 is not available at all.

 

[wavinwayne]

I only get E0 from the pump with a dedicated hose for E0. Also, I never had any issues using E10 in any of my OPE before E0 was available.

 

[Cujet]

does not matter here as e0 is not available at all.

CA is difficult with E0, however, it is good to note that non oxygenated race fuels are available such as Sunoco Optima 95 octane unleaded and VP C9 96 octane unleaded, as is 100LL Avgas, and Swift 94 octane Avgas. Possibly even the GAMI 102 octane Avgas.

 

[AZjeff]

Used to be the only thing you couldn't trust at a gas station was the sushi and pot of bubbling chili.

What about those things you'd buy out of the dispenser in the restroom?

Not watching the vid but not a scam. Anyone with 2 brain cells that wants E0 out of a shared nozzle should be aware of the hose.