OT Ethanol-free gasoline for lawn mowers?

[FierteTi52]

I bought a new snowblower a few years ago and the dealer was hell bent on sending out their machines with ethanol free gas. So I went with their advice and started running ethanol free gas in all my small equipment. I also treat my fuel with Stabil for winter storage or if the gas in the gas can will be stored for extended periods.
Here is a link to a database to find gas stations nearby :
https://www.pure-gas.org

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by chief

simply burn all the gas out of the carburetor before storing the mower for the winter.

+1

[572cv]

A lot of small boat owners (fishermen, etc) use ethanol free up our way. Often it is available at marinas. In my town, the local gas station keeps a pump for all the off road equipment, boats and the like. As someone said, better for the rubber seals and lines. It’s all I use for the small power equipment, but we are trying to shift to electric these days.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sokyroadie]

I try to always use ethanol free in my boats.


What are these other pieces of equipment you speak of:

Lawnmower - why should I put gas in the guy who does this for me

Snowblower - the biggest snow this winter was maybe 1/2".

Chainsaw - I have a gas Stihl hasn't been started in at least 15 years, been using electric on occasion.

[tv_vt]

I think either is fine, but if you use ethanol gas, you should put some sort of stabilizer in the large container before you pour any into your mower. Was told if ethanol gas was going to sit around for more than a week to put stabilizer in it. Has worked for me.

[DfCas]

I bought a Honda lawnmower last year from a specialty dealer and they urged me to use non ethanol gas in all outdoor power equipment. They said that 90% of the problems they see in their shop is ethanol damage. I have no reason to doubt them so I dont use ethanol in any of my gas stuff. I only use 2-3 gallons a year so its no problem for me. I also use stabil.

[commonguy001]

I’ve used non-ethanol gas in my yard equipment for years and have never had a gas related issue. I buy 50/1 premixed for my Echo trimmer and blower and non-ethanol premium for mower and snow blower (when I was in MN). Harder to find in WA than MN but I found one place within 15 minutes which isn’t too bad considering where I live.

[johnniecakes]

I run ethanol free gas in every engine including both cars. Have to drive a few miles out of the way to get to the station that offers it. I figure if it is better for a $400 lawn mower why wouldn't I use it in a $30K car. A few cents a gallon premium for better protection of a large investment seems like a no brainer ( I also use synthetic oil in every engine )

[jamesdak]

Well, the only local gas station started selling ethanol free this winter. I immediately switched to it for my snowblower and the old engine started running like new. That's all I'm now running in my lawnmowers too.

On a related point. I picked up a low mileage 2008 F-150 last summer. Commuting back to work the computer consistently showed an avg mpg of 16.8 per tankful. Then I switched to ethanol free in it and now see 18.1 mpg. I'll gladly pay the little extra for that.

I honestly think the corn industry has sold us a bunch of lies on this ethanol gas "advantage". It draws in so much water if it sits among other issues.

[unterhausen]

I have to drive 15 miles to get ethanol free gas, so I have been putting it off. I think it's really important for 2 stroke, that's why I got rid of the gas weedwhacker and got a cordless electric. I would get a gallon of fresh gas, it would work fine for one or two times and then a month later the weedwacker wouldn't start. It takes all year for me to go through 5 gallons of gas, so one 30 mile round trip is not that bad. There was a gas station down the street that used to have it, but they quit carrying it at that location. The workers there blame it on tree huggers, which makes no sense.

[saf-t]

I use ethanol-free gas for my chainsaw and weed whacker, but the lawnmower and snowblower get regular gas with Stabil, and I haven't had any issues. Everything gets drained/run dry for offseason storage (except the chainsaw, which I'll drain if it isn't going to be used for more than six weeks or so.

I'd kill to find an affordable source of ethanol-free gas for my outboard, which has been the only thing that's given me a hard time. I do drain the carb if it won't be run for two weeks, and new fuel hoses annually.

[palincss]

You can find a list here: https://www.pure-gas.org/

[DonH]

Been using the ethanol free gas in my power equipment and motorcycles for years. On the rare occasion that I use gas with ethanol, I add Startron additive. The ethanol free stuff costs more but it’s worth it in my opinion.

[loxx0050]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

I think either is fine, but if you use ethanol gas, you should put some sort of stabilizer in the large container before you pour any into your mower. Was told if ethanol gas was going to sit around for more than a week to put stabilizer in it. Has worked for me.

Yes and No. Ethanol stuff will run fine in most lawn mowers as long as you go through the gas relatively quickly before it can absorb too much moisture. You're fine with ethanol in the gas with stabilizer too but I feel that fuel is fine if it is less than 1 year old (I haven't had issues in a pinch when I moved to new area and didn't know where to find pure gas yet). Anymore than that it will probably go bad even with stabilizer because of the ethanol absorbing moisture more readily than straight up gas. For regular gas you should put stabilizer in it if it's sitting around for more than 1 month since that will also go bad and absorb moisture too.

I try to run straight up gas (aka Non-Oxy is what they are labeled from what I've seen) when I can for my lawnmower/snowblower when possible and also put stabilizer in there before even filling up my gas can (so it mixes as it fills). That stuff should be good for 1+ years.

I've also ran them in my previous cars a few times for the heck of it and did see a 10% or so bump in fuel economy. I also ran it in my motorcycle (when I still had one) when I could just for kicks since it didn't require that much gas anyways. That is because the specific energy of gasoline is much higher than pure ethanol (see this link to get an idea: https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/fuel_comparison_chart.pdf). While it doesn't show 100% pure gas you get the idea compared to ethanol E100 (E85 or better) has more than 30% less specific energy which factors in fuel economy.