Fuel stabilizer

GoldenMotor.com

Agreen

Member
Feb 10, 2013
792
11
18
Southeastern GA
Your engine will last longer too, since unburned fuel will leave deposits that either gum it up or bake on leaving carbon deposits that can damage the internals. I've run regular unleaded gas in all my 2 strokes for many years and they have all lasted the test of time. Unless it's a wildly ported high performance 2 stroke, run regular.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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63
Littleton, Colorado
My hot rod is insured by Hagerty who insures antique and special interest vehicles. I recieved a warning from them regarding ethanol fuels and fuel lines in early/classic cars, especially rubber or neoprene fuel lines. I didn't really pay much attention to it until..........the fuel lines in my car started to leak. They were swelling, cracking and leaking as if they were fifty years old. In fact they were all less that five years old.
I replaced all of the flexable lines with tubing made for alcohol based fuels. Not cheap. About $12.00 per foot but it was cheap insurance against a bigger disaster.

Also I've had three accelerator pump failures in my Holley four barrel carb. I highly suspect that was from the effects of ethanol fuels which is all I can get in Colorado.

I've also had to replace the fuel lines in my lawn mower and snow blower. The original fuel lines were turning to goo. Soft and sticky and collapsing. Regular gasoline wouldn't have done that...so what did?

Tom
 

Agreen

Member
Feb 10, 2013
792
11
18
Southeastern GA
If you have been using regular rubber, any petroleum based product will turn it to goo. When I was building my last rotary engine, the factory service manual from Mazda said to coat the housing seals with petroleum jelly and then install them in the grooves. So I did that, but I didn't torque the tension bolts down. I just assembled the engine and lwt it sit until the next day when I could get my torque wrench from the shop. 24 hrs later, the seals swelled out of the grooves and were melting down the side of the engine. There are special types of rubber that are petroleum resistant that get used when in the presence of fuel or oil. That's why I opt for the clear vinyl tube that I used for going from the tank to my carb, and likewise why I don't expect my ghetto heater hose manifold to last too long.

Ethanol can cause some pretty serious problems with carburetors since they're exposed to atmosphere, unlike fuel injection systems that are pretty well sealed. The alcohol does increase the rate of corrosion, especially in the presence of oxygen. For most small engines this generally isn't much of a problem because there are no rubber seals like accelerator pumps to go bad. The only ones that do go are the needle/seat if it's made of rubber. That's why it's recommended to shut off the fuel supply and run the bowl dry when storing the engine.

If you can find viton seals for the accelerator pump seals, you'll have a significantly longer life from that carb.
 
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