ethanol gas

I just went to start up my 1939 Farmall A and it wouldn't start. Thought the float was stuck because I haven't used this tractor since the spring. went to check the carb and saw that the sediment bowl was half full of what I thought was sediment. It turned out to be a black tar like substance. I drained the tank and screwwed out the sediment bowl and there is black globs of tar in the gas and loads of it in the tank. The local farmers are telling me they are having the same problems in all their machinery and it is from the ethanol in the gas. Anything more than a month and the stuff starts to form. (Looks just like the stuff on the beaches of New Orleans)A friend at the local Sheriffs office said they have had luck putting stabile in the tank once a month, but thats a real hassle with alot of equipment. Even the local gas stations have told me they have to change filters every week on their pumps because this is forming in their tanks. I need to clean out my tank but haven't found a solvent that will disolve this stuff, alcohol, lacquer thinner, turpentine won't touch it. Does anybody know of any way to clean this *&$*# out of my tank and if there is any additive I can put in my other machines to keep this from happening to them. I really don't want to drain all my tanks for the winter. Also there are no gas stations in NY-NJ that sell gas without the ethanol #$%%$# !

Been burning ethanol in my tractors for 35 years and haven't had any tar in mine yet.

Some only get filled once or twice a year.

Better check with your fuel supplier cause it is something that is in the tank along the way.

Ethanol can not turn to tar but may turn foreign substances to tar.

Everyone here in Iowa and surrounding states have been burning ethanol as long as me and I never heard of this before.

The fuel I'm talking about is a gasoline mixture they use here on the east coast called E10. It is regular gasoline with less than 10% ethanol. Even the warning labels on the pumps say the shelf life is a maximim 90 days. It has also been reeking havoc on small 2 stroke engines because it disolves the rubber diaphrams in the the carbs especially the japanese models.

Remove the gas tank and have it cleaned at a radiator shop.

The tar is the crap in the tank and not related to ethanol.

I put Stabil in the fuel tanks on tractors placed in winter storage. No problems with over winter storage of gasoline in tractor fuel tanks. And yes, regular gasoline in this area is 10% ethanol and has been for years.

Yup same thing we have been using here in the midwest for 35 years.

I put 400 gallons in a tank twice ayear. So mine is 180 days old.

It may be a little rough on those little carbs but will not hurt your tractors once you get the crud cleaned out of your fuel system.

E10 did not put the crude there. E10 is cleaning the crude out.

I have used the stuff for 30 years without any problems. Used it in 1 bangers 4 bangers 6 cyl and v8"s. Both old and newer engines. If it has a smaller fuel filter its a good idea to have spares handy.

Sounds to me like you have 70 years of garbage that is being loosened up by the ethanol. Until you get your tank and lines cleaned out you will have that problem. I use it in every engine I own. In fact my 2006 Buick Lucerne book recommends 10% mixture.

I have a 48 Farmall S/A with E-10 gas that is 2 years old & it starts & runs fine.
Vern

I got started using Stabil when I had a boat because oil/gas mix will not keep long. Now I use it in all my fuel for small engines and the tractor... cheap protection.

Like Gary says we have been using it for 35yrs with no problems you have a bad gas tank get it cleaned you can use Muratic acid that will clean it good.

(quoted from post at 18:22:47 09/16/10) Yup same thing we have been using here in the midwest for 35 years.

I put 400 gallons in a tank twice ayear. So mine is 180 days old.

It may be a little rough on those little carbs but will not hurt your tractors once you get the crud cleaned out of your fuel system.

E10 did not put the crude there. E10 is cleaning the crude out.

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That is why I am a little hesitant about getting a bulk tank of gas. I don't want to invite water and old gas problems. I am glad to hear you are not having them.

Sounds to me like just another feeble attempt from a big oil company to dis-credit home-grown bio fuels. Those of us who have been using the ethanol blends for upwards of 30 years know better than to believe such feeble attempts.

Ethanol will gell up if left long enough, and in 90 days it could clog the passages on a small carb like a weed eater or a chainsaw. In 6 or 8 months it might start to clog up a 5 hp engine. But it forms a greenish/brownish gell. If you have "black tar" in your sediment bowl its not the ethanol.

My old 66 F600 sits for months on end not being started and has never had an issue - and its been using 10% ethanol (Loves Country Store) for over 25 years.

(quoted from post at 05:59:31 09/17/10) Ethanol will gell up if left long enough, and in 90 days it could clog the passages on a small carb like a weed eater or a chainsaw. In 6 or 8 months it might start to clog up a 5 hp engine. But it forms a greenish/brownish gell. If you have "black tar" in your sediment bowl its not the ethanol.

My old 66 F600 sits for months on end not being started and has never had an issue - and its been using 10% ethanol (Loves Country Store) for over 25 years.

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I use the E10 in my lawn mower (briggs), weed eaters (Poulan and Stihl), and my chainsaw, (Stihl) and I have never had an issue. Even when they set all winter with fuel still in the tank.

You've been lucky, but then so have I. I add a little SeaFoam to my gas when they sit for a while so I don't have any issues. My WeederEater Featherlite (the cheapest one they sell) is now 16 years old and is still running, I need a bigger unit but can't bring my self to buy one while my old one is still running.

Local small engine repair man has showed me some carbs that he has worked on after sitting for just a winter with untreated fuel and its nasty (maybe their tanks were nasty to start with?). If left long enough the ethanol seems to turn into something that looks like algea.

But its not like "gummed up carbs" are something that just started happening, anything left sitting too long will gum up. That's why gas stations used to be called service stations with an on duty mechanic to keep everything running and in tune with every tank of fuel.

So do you think "straight" gas doesn't have a shelf life?

Hydrocarbons in the gas react with oxygen to produce new compounds that eventually change the chemical composition of the fuel. This leads to gum and varnish deposits in the fuel system.

These deposits and impurities can clog up gas lines and filters, as well the small orifices in a carburetor and the even smaller orifices in a fuel injector.