Preventing Ethanol Blended Fuel Problems

[93Regina]

Via two cycle literature

...
...
Ethanol will absorb a small amount of moisture and stay in suspension with in the gasoline for awhile. However, the ethanol will only absorb up to ¾ of an ounce of water in a gallon of gas before it reaches its saturation point.
...
...
STALE FUEL
–
Gasoline begins the gradual process of degrading and losing its volatility as soon as it leaves the refinery. Just like milk, bread and other food items, gasoline will eventually spoil or turn stale. You’ll probably get sick if you drink spoiled milk. Leaving stale fuel in an engine will typically first cause non-warrantable fuel system damage. Stale fuel is the number one cause of stiff carburetor metering diaphragms and a leading cause of carburetor replacement. Very often, engines will run on stale fuel for some time. Stale fuel gum & varnish will quickly stick the piston rings of a running engine causing its failure. Stale fuel is nothing new. We have had this problem long before there was any ethanol blended fuel. The difference is that today’s fuel can start to turn bad much sooner than in the past. In fact, today’s fuel can begin to turn stale in a s little as 30-days. High temperatures, high humidity and poor fuel storage are all factors in fuel turning stale prematurely. However, the major factor in today’s fuel short shelf life is ethanol. Ethanol absorbs moisture which is a factor in the formation of stale fuel. In addition, ethanol adds more oxygen to the fuel, speeding up the oxidation (stale fuel) process.