drainoil wrote:
Over 10 years ago my uncle took two clear Mason jars. Filled one with pure gasoline, 87 octane. Filled the other with 87 octane but with a 10% ethanol blend. He set them on a shelf in his shed and visually checked them every few days. After about 30 days, the one with 100% gas, still looked the same. However the one with the ethanol blend started to separate and almost looked like it was turning into a varnish. I didn't see this myself but he has told the story over and over many times. Being this was over 10 years ago, maybe the formulation/blends have changed so this would not happen nowadays?
It's called phase separation and it's a real phenomena. As a mason jar (with it's lid on) is a very sealed container I do have my doubts about the 10% ethanol blend turning into varnish stored this way.
I've long observed problems with ethanol gasoline stored in plastic gas cans that are stored outside where condensation and especially rain can get on them. Mostly the fuel becoming a non fuel that no longer wants to burn. Be that strange evaporation of high volatiles or an equally strange water absorption that almost never results in water in the bottom of the gas can. It is not a problem with diesel fuel stored in plastic jugs left outside in the rain and condensation. It is also almost never a problem with gasoline stored in plastic jugs that are protected from rain and condensation.
While I see little problem with rubber fuel lines and such from ethanol content, I have seen it and experienced it. The latest being an old Walbro fuel pump diaphragm turning into dissolved goo.
Much more prevalent in my experience is the no-start, frequently from a greenish yellow buildup in the carburetor bowl and jets. It's much more common in equipment stored outside with gasoline left in the bowl. If the build up is in the goo stage, it comes out easily enough. If the buildup has solidified, it's much more difficult to remove and requires mechanical removal. I've not yet found a solvent that will dissolve it once it has solidified. I am assuming it goes from goo to solid, but I do not know that for a fact.
There is sometimes a similar buildup that reduces the diameter of the jets. This is almost invariably yellow in color, which makes it darn hard to see on a brass jet. But, measure the size and you can pick it up. It's frequently found in older outboards around here, and results in a very lean burn with all the problems that creates. In fact it's those problems that will tend to bring the engine in. Inspecting and measuring the jets can reveal this stuff. I have also seen this in power equipment stored outside, but not as much as I have with outboards. It may well be a current additive though.
There is a cyclical aspect of these problems, and I don't just mean seasonal. Yes, the lawnmowers not starting is a spring time thing. But that's owed to when everyone gets around to trying to start it. Instead, I'm talking about something showing up across the board. This past spring there was quite a rash of small equipment not starting and carburetors being gummy, in spite of being put away dry. Stores ran out of replacement filler necks for plastic gas cans for a while too, they were all suddenly cracking. There was also the time several years ago when all of the sudden many an aluminum carburetor bowls started seeping. Something had changed with the gasoline or additives, creating new and exciting problems.
The product we call gasoline has changed substantially over the years. Refilling gas cans reveals just how much this stuff we call gasoline has changed. There are hardly any fumes. About 6-8 years ago when I got the latest Spitfire it came with a tank full of gasoline from the mid 1980's. That was the last time the car had been run and it had been stored inside with that stuff in the tank. When I popped the cap to sniff to see if it smelled burnable it just about bowled me over with the fumes. I'd forgotten how pungent gasoline used to be. That 20+ year old gasoline ran the engine just fine. I regret not having siphoned a little off to store for posterity.
I'm not anti ethanol. But I cannot say I have never seen or experienced any problems with it, or with a few of the other properties of modern gasoline.
