I suggest storage fuel for OPE

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I own and operate way too many engines (ha ha) .

Anyway, like many of you, I am finding that pump gas and ethanol free pump gas is simply horrible. I've had all sorts of expensive and time consuming failures.

So, I switched to Avgas, 100LL with excellent results. However...

I recently re-discovered a fuel that is IDEAL for OPE and lasts forever. It's VP Fuels "C-9". It's 96 octane, unleaded, zero ethanol and it's good stuff. Stable stuff! And it runs really well.

You can easily order 5 gallon pails and it never goes bad. We recently opened a 12 year old drum of VP fuel (C-10) and it was still great.

It will prevent carb, fuel line, filter, plastics, o-ring and other common problems. And, it won't gum up your equipment.

http://www.goestores.com/storename/highfuelsn/dept/262896/ItemDetail-10963307.aspx
 
It probably is great fuel for the last run before storage, but for a decently large stash (I store 55 gallons in the winter in case of an ice storm, or a major snow storm) the cost for 55 gallons of that fuel would be too high.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
We still had gas turn to varnish in the old days before E10. I not sure what has changed except for the lead is out and some cleaning additives.


Yes. That's very true. In fact I think it's worse today.

I was not suggesting this fuel for large consumers. But for sno-blowers, mowers, weed wackers and so on. And I suggest it as a year round fuel. It's very well engineered and atomizes readily. This results in outdoor equipment that runs really well.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
But for sno-blowers, mowers, weed wackers and so on. And I suggest it as a year round fuel. It's very well engineered and atomizes readily. This results in outdoor equipment that runs really well.


All of my outdoor power equipment runs just fine without $12/gallon fuel. My tiller starts every year after sitting with E10, my power washer starts every spring after sitting with E10, my DR trimmer starts every spring after sitting with E10, my 757 starts every year after sitting with E10, and my two trailer queen Ford N's start every time I take them to a show (a couple times a year). And you guessed it, they both have E10 in them.

So what would an absurd $12/gallon (plus shipping) gas get me that plain old $2.97/gallon gas (with a bit of Stabil thrown in) doesn't? For what possible reason would I pay more than 4 times more for each gallon of gas? For more than quadruple the price there must be some compelling reason to buy, but I simply can't figure out why anyone would be that foolish without good reason. And I don't see a good reason.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
All of my outdoor power equipment runs just fine without $12/gallon fuel...but I simply can't figure out why anyone would be that foolish without good reason. And I don't see a good reason.


It may be the fuel quality around here. But, 6 months of disuse is a disaster. I've been helping people out lately and there are nothing but clogged carbs, deteriorating fuel lines and so on. In this case, the $7/gal C-9 is a godsend. Most people don't burn more than a gallon or two a season. So, a 5 gallon pail will last years and years without issue.
 
Right now my way to keep the two generators reliable is to use StaBil in High Octane gas, and add RedLineSL-1 to the last run, then drain the tank and run dry, then remove carb bowl, then wipe bowl clean, spray bowl lightly with WD-40, spray carb idle air hole with WD-40, spray top of main with WD-40, and put bowl back on for storage.

I also use inline fuel filters and use tygon yellow translucent fuel tubing from McMaster-Carr after the inline fuel filters, because black fuel tubing can (and has on my new mercury outboard) flaked off a small piece of black rubber that caused the needle valve to stick open.

I also lube the cylinders with StaBil foaming cylinder lube spray down the spark-plug hole, pull the rope a few times, put the spark-plug back in and pull the rope a few times, then lightly pull the rope and stop on a compression stroke so the valve springs are not compressed (both intake and exhaust valves closed) and also so ambient air can not condense moisture into cylinder.

Before I was using the RedLine SL-1 and WD-40 the idle air circuit on the gen-set with the 10 HP Tecumseh was getting clogged a little more each use, and finally got to the point where I required the choke some to get it to run right. I cleaned the carb by pulling the carb, pulling the idle screw and putting the carb it in a gallon of carb cleaner for a couple of days, and then spraying out the passageway with carb cleaner. The engine now idles fine without any choke. And since I have been using RedLine SL-1, draining the carb and using WD-40 it has continued to run fine. I also put a new balck gasket on the carb bowl of the Tecumseh.
 
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Years ago I heard a story about a diesel locomotive that sat for a long time, and when it was started there was so much water in one of the cylinders from ambient air condensing moisture into that cylinder that had an open valve when it sat, that it damaged the engine by trying to compress the water.

And a couple of winters ago I had a coil of several feet of clear tubing about 5/8 ID sitting on a shelf in the cellar. Amazingly water from ambient air caused water to condense inside of that tubing and several ounces of water were in it by the end of the winter. This was new tubing that had never been used on anything, and there was no water in it when I put it on that shelf. That one incident convinced me of the importance of always storing a one cylinder with the valves closed.
 
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