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Not rude at all, I am always open to debate/discussion on these items. From a technical point of view, hydrophilic refers to the tendency of a material (ethanol in this case) to mix with, dissolve in, or be wetted by water. It does not really "attract" water from its environment. E10 can hold up to half of one percent of water by volume, as opposed to E0 which can absorb almost no water. In the E10, the water molecules will dissolve in the fuel. The dissolving of water into the fuel is the difference between E0 and E10.

See the comments by jrcjr on post #35. He explained better than I did what the alcohol does with water in your tank, and why the same amount of water in an E0 filled tank behaves differently than in an E10 filled tank.

Thanks
Back in the day (60's & 70's) on the farm we use to use a lot of Heet which is really false advertisement when is says it removes water from gas, there is no magic solution to remove the water from gas, the best you can do is get the water to mix in with the gas so it gets burned along with the fuel and also keeps the moisture from freezing in fuel lines. I believe only alcohol can achieve this.
 
Seems also that the 'tree hugger' agenda has begun to override product quality evaluation and ranking, which was always thier strong suit, not politics . . . and while those factors are of interest to many, they have no bearing on quality and durability.
 
Again, I’ve been using 87 E10 in my equipment for years. Never had a problem. I tried tru fuel and the like but didn’t notice much difference at over $25 a gallon. Ethanol needs to be treated a bit different than regular gas. I pour the unused ethanol gas into my truck monthly before it starts to go bad and refill the can with fresh stuff. I also add stabilizer to it right away. If you use it correctly, it’s fine. It’s all about how you use it.




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I've been using E10 for almost 20 years now, it hasn't given me any issues. I always add Seafoam to it. I drain my blower every year and do not drain my mower, per instructions for each. Between the two the gas never sits for more than 6 months or so.

I remember adding isopropyl to gas back in the day, ethanol eliminates that. If I had a lot of engines that sat idle for months on end on a regular basis, then yeah I'd probably try to avoid it. But it's been a long time since I've given it a second thought.
 
Lots of good discussion on this subject. I live in an area where for winter we are actually supposed to be getting a winter blend fuel because of the cold temps ( this from distributor) that normally starts getting delivered in the fall to stations. what they actually do to it is anyone's guess. They do this with fuel oils as well. One thing for sure is that yes ethanol can be destructive if it is used where the equip or product was never designed to use or tolerate it. Some of the old plastics and rubber blends and gasket materials do not react well to it. Old gas cans and tanks like boat tanks were leaching ethanol out of the plastics, this also includes your fuel lines if it is not made for ethanol, primer bulbs and carb parts, and even gas caps. I have not found a good gas line that holds up to both the ethanol and UV for long duration's. They sell a lot with claims to, but havent seen results that I like. Last spring I replaced fuel lines on a chainsaw with very expensive fuel line and in Oct the saw would not run. this saw was being used 4 days a week. The line inside the tank totally shot, he was using E10. Alot has been said about fuel / water saturation between EO and E10 and as stated E10 will absorb or can hold up to 1/2% by volume of h20. I think the big problem is when you exceed the 1/2% water and it is not absorbed or mixed with the fuel and you end up with water at the bottom of your fuel bowl or tank. Yes E10 cannot hold or absorb all the water you throw at it so it has to go somewhere. Now how much water do you think is in the stations fuel holding tanks! Alot! they have guage sticks to measure it. So if the holding tanks have enough water to saturate your fuel to 1/2% h20 by volume, before you pump it into your can anything that you may have in your equipment tanks (water) will not be absorbed. Gas from a pump does not mean its fresh, nor mean moisture free. And because of this saying that you dont need fuel dryers anymore is not accurate. I add gas dryer when I notice surging or hard starts, or rough idle during season. As well I have taken a glass jar drained E10 from the blower carb bowl only to see a bunch of water drops, same in the tank bottom this is during its peak use. Because of having to use gas dryer anyway in E10 I figure that I am probably making it into something like E15 by the time I add the dryer, I prefer to use unleaded non ethanol fuel and when I do see water drops in the tank I tilt the machine to one side and use a turkey baster with a hose that I put a check valve in and simply remove the water from tank bottom. then if necessary add some dryer. I do not leave any fuels in equip. during storage, I run it dry, and when dealing with a metal tank I fog the tank with marvel mystery oil (I use a areasol sprayer for paint touch up) and fog cylinder then put it up till next season.
 
Lots of good discussion on this subject. I live in an area where for winter we are actually supposed to be getting a winter blend fuel because of the cold temps ( this from distributor) that normally starts getting delivered in the fall to stations. what they actually do to it is anyone's guess. They do this with fuel oils as well. One thing for sure is that yes ethanol can be destructive if it is used where the equip or product was never designed to use or tolerate it. Some of the old plastics and rubber blends and gasket materials do not react well to it. Old gas cans and tanks like boat tanks were leaching ethanol out of the plastics, this also includes your fuel lines if it is not made for ethanol, primer bulbs and carb parts, and even gas caps. I have not found a good gas line that holds up to both the ethanol and UV for long duration's. They sell a lot with claims to, but havent seen results that I like. Last spring I replaced fuel lines on a chainsaw with very expensive fuel line and in Oct the saw would not run. this saw was being used 4 days a week. The line inside the tank totally shot, he was using E10. Alot has been said about fuel / water saturation between EO and E10 and as stated E10 will absorb or can hold up to 1/2% by volume of h20. I think the big problem is when you exceed the 1/2% water and it is not absorbed or mixed with the fuel and you end up with water at the bottom of your fuel bowl or tank. Yes E10 cannot hold or absorb all the water you throw at it so it has to go somewhere. Now how much water do you think is in the stations fuel holding tanks! Alot! they have guage sticks to measure it. So if the holding tanks have enough water to saturate your fuel to 1/2% h20 by volume, before you pump it into your can anything that you may have in your equipment tanks (water) will not be absorbed. Gas from a pump does not mean its fresh, nor mean moisture free. And because of this saying that you dont need fuel dryers anymore is not accurate. I add gas dryer when I notice surging or hard starts, or rough idle during season. As well I have taken a glass jar drained E10 from the blower carb bowl only to see a bunch of water drops, same in the tank bottom this is during its peak use. Because of having to use gas dryer anyway in E10 I figure that I am probably making it into something like E15 by the time I add the dryer, I prefer to use unleaded non ethanol fuel and when I do see water drops in the tank I tilt the machine to one side and use a turkey baster with a hose that I put a check valve in and simply remove the water from tank bottom. then if necessary add some dryer. I do not leave any fuels in equip. during storage, I run it dry, and when dealing with a metal tank I fog the tank with marvel mystery oil (I use a areasol sprayer for paint touch up) and fog cylinder then put it up till next season.


Whew.. very detailed and scientific observations. Nice!

I’ve done none of what you mention. Never added a drying agent, never separated water, etc..

I just run my machines with 87 octane E10 (because non ethanol is not readily available)with an added squirt of sta-bil marine.

Store machine per manufacturer instructions.


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Another vote for no ethanol fuel if you have any stations nearby. I bet those little cans of special fuel are pretty spendy. I dont put ethanol in any lawn/garden engine...or generator..snowmobiles...boats. Ethanol is for the minivan! :)
 
I vote for 100 low-lead aviation gas. It doesn't have any ethanol. It does have tetraethyl lead which will extend the service life of the exhaust valve seats on old engines. Avgas stores for at least a year without need for fuel stabilizer. It's not as volatile as automotive gas.

Avgas has a Reid vapor pressure range of 5.5 to 7 psi. Auto gas vapor pressure is 8 to 14 psi. The lower Avgas volatility reduces the chance of vapor lock but that's unlikely to occur during cold weather operation at ground elevation. Avgas - Wikipedia
 
100 low-lead aviation gas. It doesn't have any ethanol. It does have tetraethyl lead
Yes, too much TEL for me...
100LL has a maximum of 0.56 grams of lead (.875 gr of TEL) per Litre. This is equivalent to 2.12 grams of lead per US gallon of gasoline. (As a comparison standpoint, this lies within the same range as the lead content of on-road automotive gasoline from 1973.)
 
Yes, too much TEL for me...
100LL has a maximum of 0.56 grams of lead (.875 gr of TEL) per Litre. This is equivalent to 2.12 grams of lead per US gallon of gasoline. (As a comparison standpoint, this lies within the same range as the lead content of on-road automotive gasoline from 1973.)
I used 100LL for quite some time due to it virtually eliminating carburetor issues, and I can get it relatively cheap. About a dollar extra per gallon compared to 91 E0…

Once I had kids, I stopped using it for the very reason you mention. I might already have enough drain bamage but that doesn’t mean my kids need any.
 
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