The primary compound in gasoline (pre additive package) is naphtha. It has a low octane value on it's own, but is an excellent solvent. Naphtha based additives dilute your additive package, converting your fuel back to old gasoline instead of green gasoline. You are increasing the caloric output of a given charge weight of fuel, and for a brief time, your motor is running on something closer to the lab grade fuel it was developed with. Ronsonol and zippo lighter fluid is cheaper than additives, and will revive bad gas sometimes in a pinch enough to burn. You can also start a Volvo diesel motor that has lost prime with 2 cans of wd40 shooting in the intake, and it will prime the injector pump. Neither is recommended, but that don't mean it does not work.

The additive package is highly aromatic, and as it evaporates, it carries your volitile compounds with it. That's why gas goes bad s quick nowadays. Aviation gasoline AKA 100LL, stays good for indefinate periods of time in aircraft stored out of the weather. It's to damn expensive to run all the time, but it's a good diluter every once in a while, as long as you don't have emissions sensors. It still has T.E.L., and will cause issues.

I use the stuff in my '09 but I don't know if it does any good. It is supposed to nullify the alcohol content of the fuel.
A bottle of the stuff will last a long time. I use a cap full per tank.

It is highly recommended for out board motors because the alcohol does a number on them.

Ethanol itself doesn't really cause the problems sometimes experienced. The problems begin when too much moisture is introduced into the tank and the gasoline goes through what's called a phase change. The moisture can be introduced by condensation, washing a bike with a vented cap or whatever. Here's a good article explaining the problem:
http://fuelschool.blogspot.com/2009/02/phase-separation-in-ethanol-blended.html

The main thing is to keep your tank full, sealed except for the stock vent, and if at all possible away from the kinds of temperature extremes that cause condensation. The recognized additives like Stabil help a lot.

The parts in the Road Star fuel system are made to endure ethanol fuel.

I run star tron with very good results, no longer using sta-bil. Now as for the topic of ethanol, I recently read a article that made alot of sense. Ethanol being derived from corn alcohol has a very high sugar content, and the sugar is the root of all the gumming and crapped up works. In the article the writer actually showed a set of heads on the spring side of valves, that were so gummed up, they were sticking and not seating, obviously causing loss of power. The writer was using chevron Techtron and a paint brush to dissolve the sugar gum, with good results. He also said when they go to 15% ethanol the damage is going to be devastating to small engines. So maybe running some Techtron periodically might not be a bad idea either.

I use Lucas Oil safeguard, removing ethanol and the gas lasts through the winter. I use it in all my home gas engines, dirt bike, lawn mower, weed trimmer, chainsaw. Seems to work well and everything starts when it expected to. Much cheaper than the Stabil w/Ethanol remover and different compund than StarTron, but that works for my brother, my old red Stabil just sits there now. Maybe I will use it before the Zombie Apocalypse to stock up.

http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.html

Actually, processed alcohol should contain ZERO sugar. The yeast consumes the sugar, producing carbon dioxide, and alcohol.

Brewing 101.

That article is bunk. I hate the blended gasolines, but the fact that alcohol does not make as much heat or expanding gas per weight of fuel charge is enough to be a problem for me. Liquers contain sugar, but not technical grades of ethanol or methanol.

jd750ace wrote:
Actually, processed alcohol should contain ZERO sugar. The yeast consumes the sugar, producing carbon dioxide, and alcohol.

Brewing 101.

That article is bunk. I hate the blended gasolines, but the fact that alcohol does not make as much heat or expanding gas per weight of fuel charge is enough to be a problem for me. Liquers contain sugar, but not technical grades of ethanol or methanol.

I went looking for some sweet connections regarding ethanol yesterday , and noticed that the usual sugars are added after the fact in drinking alcohol, and that the real deal should be sugar free....."brewing 101".
Because of the way fuel starts turning to varnish and solids of some sort so quickly, something isn't just right. It could be, that fuel grade ethanol isn't quite as pure. Maybe quality control, allows some by product to be included????

Whether the ethanol has some effect on the gas, or, the additives in the blends these days, or, simply the heat and cold cycles the fuel experiences from the location regarding the tank and carb to the jugs, or,.....??
I had an RV with an Onan generator(mid 90's). If it wasn't run for an hour every month, it didn't run when you wanted it. In the 60's and 70's, anybody that worked on their own cars, knew how to rebuild a carb. That was before the ethanol days. I remember the big sighs of relief, when fuel injection came on the scene.

It does seem, that something sticky accumulates rather quickly in untreated fuel. The number of needle and seats that end up being stuck closed, or stuck open , and the ease with which crud takes over in untreated fuel is undeniable.

Fuel stabilizers don't remove ethanol(one gallon out of every ten that goes in your tank doesn't just disappear). I'm not sure whether stabilizers help to restrict the absorption of H20(which alcohol enhances), or just what they do, but they do work, and some better then others.
Running a carbed bike...or carbed motor of any kind without a stabilizer in the fuel is a recipe for down time somewhere in the future.

The stabilized fuel I just finished removing from my boat in the last month, was every bit of two years old. It had yellowed to the point of being tea colored, and was starting to smell bad. It still ran in my 17 horse Kawasaki powered lawnmower. I've been running that fuel in the mower almost constantly over the last year just to drain the tanks on the boat.

I run my old pre-mix through the Kohler. I agree, the residues are incredible that today's fuel leaves behind.

Did you see the mythbusters where they put all that sugar in that car's tank, and it did absolutely nothing they could find to the internals?

I think what is probably gumming up the works is the adhesive from all the goverment red tape it takes to get fuel in the tank now. That would explain the color of the deposits!

Alcohol displaces REAL fuel in your tank. That's what it is most effective at.

It's amazing that auto fuel, which is regulated by the EPA, has such a short shelf life, and Aviation Gasoline 100 Low Lead, which is regulated by the D.O.T. via FAA, can sit in an airplane for a couple of years and still work. When it evaporates, there is just a blue stain, no inexplicable, near impossible to dissolve gunk. It's a conspiracy to prevent stockpiling of refined gasoline!

Since I have a nice long trip to Texas coming 1st of June
Think I will buy a bottle(StarTron) and use on the trip and see how it works
Have used the Lucas Upper Cylinder Teatment in the past with mixed results.
My fuel pump is relocated and it seems to settle there

My battery crapped out and I ordered the ETX20L DEKA PowerSport Battery.
A good deal which encludes shipping

vegasdave wrote:
Since I have a nice long trip to Texas coming 1st of June
Think I will buy a bottle(StarTron) and use on the trip and see how it works
Have used the Lucas Upper Cylinder Teatment in the past with mixed results.
My fuel pump is relocated and it seems to settle there

My battery crapped out and I ordered the ETX20L DEKA PowerSport Battery.
A good deal which encludes shipping

A friend of mine was saying the other day, that he just spent 300 dollars getting all his lawn care stuff cleaned up, and had gone to using fuel with no ethanol. I told him to just start using Seafoam, Stabil or something. What JD said about the fuel going bad quicker, is spot on, and I'm not all that sure its just ethanol.

If that's the AGM battery you were wondering about, you should be happy. They had been using them in the marine industry for several years when I replaced my boat batteries two years ago, and had good reviews. The AGM's, are supposed to be less susceptible to vibration issues etc., and more tolerant of other types of abuse batteries get, like discharges from neglect etc..