Ethanol 101

[Ray64]

I picked this up at the auto parts store. Good info!

[denis4x4]

I’ve had non ethanol delivered to the house for years. Use it in small engines, outboards and old cars. Also put it in my wife’s 2020 Pacifica. The Pacifica had to be towed to the dealer a couple of months ago with symptoms of a bad fuel pump. Pump and filter replaced under warranty. Work order said failure was caused by non-ethanol gas! Seems that late model fuel systems are designed specially for ethanol.

[Badpuppy]

Info seems accurate but biased. Buy their product, see if it helps. Caveat emptor.

[stevests]

This is off a Model T but illustrates the effects of "pump" gas - I removed this from the tank, set on the bench and within minutes it had this white residue appear - simple swipe with my finger removed the substance.

[alexiskai]

The small displacement turbocharged engines in many modern cars do very well with E15 aka 88 octane. My Accord gets 38 mpg average.

[jg61hawk]

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For winter storage phase separation prevention is very important. Ethanol fuel is high in alcohol. Alcohol absorbs water (used as water remover back in the day). Problem is the alcohol content in Ethanol fuel is so high it absorbs water right from the air, until it reaches its own saturation point. It then can't hold hold another drop and although it tries, it drops all the water it has absorbed. Now you have water at the bottom of your tank. Use this product and keep tank filled to the top to minimize the amount of air in the tank. Just think 10 gallon tank, you have basically one gallon of the old style dry gas product. Back in the day you would have been drumed out of the mechanic's class!

[GPierce]

Modern cars don’t suffer from this problem because the fuel tank is sealed.
Model A’s, lawn mowers and airplanes tanks etc, are vented all the time. Cold night fuel contracts and pulls in air. Warmed during the day it expands and the next night it pulls in air as the fuel contracts again.

[Sunny the Model A]

I run my A on anything I can find, so long as it's cheap. 18.3mpg stop and go traffic and 20mpg at steady 45 mph. I add a bit of mmo or some used motor oil to the mix and it keeps separation at a minimum. 3-5oz of filtered used oil per tank or 1 oz per gallon of mmo. runs like a champion, no complaints. I ran my truck on 100% ethanol and it ran smooth as silk, it loved it so long as it is fresh, if you drive your car a lot, no need to worry about water getting in the tank.

[Hitman]

This product doesn’t look much different than Sta-Bil or the other fuel stabilizers that have existed for awhile. This only addresses the storage issues when the fuel when it sits for periods of time.

I’m still looking for the solution to driving cars with ethanol fuels, particularly in the summer. Vapor lock and other issues take the fun out of things. Ethanol free fuel isn’t available everywhere, but I use it when I can.

[Sunny the Model A]

Marvel seems to help prevent vapor lock during summer, here in charleston sc if you sit in traffic with ethanol fuel it can like to sputter a bit, I add a bit of marvel and it goes away. Used motor oil does the same thing.

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by Sunny the Model A

Marvel seems to help prevent vapor lock during summer, here in charleston sc if you sit in traffic with ethanol fuel it can like to sputter a bit, I add a bit of marvel and it goes away. Used motor oil does the same thing.

I’ve tried Marvel and it doesn’t prevent vapor lock. I’ve tried other things too, and it’s really the carb temp which boils off various parts of the fuel creating the lock.

[Dave in MN]

Our local Club (Twin Cities Model A Ford Club) invited a fuel expert to one of our winter clinics to speak about fuel and oil for our cars. For winter storage of our cars and small engine equipment, he suggested filling the gas tank fully and then placing a plastic bag or similar plastic over the threaded filler pipe and screwing the cap over the plastic tightly. This process creates a sealed tank with very little air in the system. I have tried it and the fuel stays fresh over winter. Good Day!

PS: In our northern area…Please check your coolant to see if it is properly mixed with antifreeze or fully drain the system. You are on borrowed time already.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Hitman

I’ve tried Marvel and it doesn’t prevent vapor lock. I’ve tried other things too, and it’s really the carb temp which boils off various parts of the fuel creating the lock.

I use a phenolic spacer between my Marvel and intake manifold. It seems to help with vapor lock.

I use Seafoam to address the other issues.

[Bigsnapper43]

I have seen many spacers home made an some work and some don't. Having been a wood working teacher many don't know that yellow popular is the only wood that doesnot transfer heat. All tea kittle handles are yellow populalr.

[Bob Bidonde]

I run the least expensive 87 octane gas with 15% alcohol that I can find in my neighborhood on Long Island. My Coupe, which needs refreshing (restored in 1980) has gasoline in it that is several years old, an it starts right away. The is no additive in its gasoline and there is no separation that I can see.
I am not a believer in using gas tank sealer, add-on gasoline filters, and additives of any kind in the gasoline and motor oil used in my Model A's. I cannot recall ever having a gasoline issue.

[Keith True]

I think I've been left out of this whole alcohol,horror thing.I don't seem to have the problems folks scream about.The hype,fairy tales,friend of a friend problems,something they read on the intertube,just don't happen to me.I started working on equipment in 1972,(farm tractors) and have had fuel problems since day one.Rubber parts were falling apart,brass was eroding away,gas was melting into gum,powder,and shellac since there have been fuel systems.I parked my 30 pickup one fall in a shed 7 years ago intending to bring it home to work on it that winter.I replaced the green points last summer and started it up.It didn't smell good but I burned the old fuel out of it before adding fresh.My chainsaw gas mix is well over 3 years old,we were using it yesterday.I do have to laugh about people removing alcohol from their gas.If you remove ethanol from 87-89 octane gas the octane drops to about 77.Phase separation begins at about 3 months,a chainsaw dealer here tries to tell customers it starts in 20 minutes.

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by Keith True

I think I've been left out of this whole alcohol,horror thing.I don't seem to have the problems folks scream about.The hype,fairy tales,friend of a friend problems,something they read on the intertube,just don't happen to me.I started working on equipment in 1972,(farm tractors) and have had fuel problems since day one.Rubber parts were falling apart,brass was eroding away,gas was melting into gum,powder,and shellac since there have been fuel systems.I parked my 30 pickup one fall in a shed 7 years ago intending to bring it home to work on it that winter.I replaced the green points last summer and started it up.It didn't smell good but I burned the old fuel out of it before adding fresh.My chainsaw gas mix is well over 3 years old,we were using it yesterday.I do have to laugh about people removing alcohol from their gas.If you remove ethanol from 87-89 octane gas the octane drops to about 77.Phase separation begins at about 3 months,a chainsaw dealer here tries to tell customers it starts in 20 minutes.

Keep in mind there is no single blend of gas sold throughout the country. Different regions have different blends for pollution, emissions and other local controls. Rural areas might have some of that and might not. Different climates affect how the gas degrades too. While ethanol gets the blame, it’s often ethanol and the other additives that are the cause the issues. They all break down or evaporate at different rates but are in the fuel for different purposes, clean injectors, limit deposits, lube parts, etc.

[AzBob]

Count me as another one who has never had any problems with pump gas of any kind.

[CT Jack]

After reading many posts regarding ethanol I have concluded that some of the complainers are living in past and hardly ever drive their A's and if they do it's only a few miles. I live and travel mostly in New England with my "A" and use 87 (10%) with no additives. I store my "A" for the winter with fuel in the tank and never had a problem that is fuel related. Yes, alcohol (ethanol) does absorb water but if you only occasionally drive your "A" the amount of water in your tank could accumulate and become significant and cause problems.

[Big hammer]

Remember IF your 3 hours from home and after pumping gas and about 5 miles from the station you get a intermittent miss, what may remedy the miss is………….gasoline dryer in a bottle ! Or you could just ignore the intermittent miss and drive on. My last water issue was self induced, after washing my A I believe water got into the gas tank ( no gas cap gasket) the only thing done was to add gasoline dryer and it ran with out issues.

Never buy gasoline if there’s a tanker dumping fresh gasoline, it will stir up the water setting in the station’s tanks