E-10 Gas Problems

In New England E-10 gas is causing multiple problems with small engines. In carburetors it clogs spray nozzles with varish, ruins rubber tubing, chemically breaks down in 3-4 weeks, clogging filters. Do any preservatives work to prevent this? I’ve had to rebuild carburetors on mowers, riding tractors and marine engines and I’ve seen massive damage to smaller engines. Fellow mechanics are puzzled what to do. Are car engines also susceptible? Any comments or recommendations?

Newer cars should be OK, but not by that much. Older cars may well have problems at 10% and likely will with anything more.

Sorry, but I don’t believe there is anything that will really work to prevent those problems other than convincing the politicians that you vote and your vote is as important to them as the farmers who grow that expensive ethanol.

We use E-10 here in Florida, and I haven’t had any of these problems in any of my lawn equipment or carburated motorcycles. Since I go through about a gallon of fuel per year for my lawn equipment, I add fuel stabilizer as soon as I buy the fuel.

Leaving fuel in small equipment for 3-4 weeks has always been a bad idea without fuel stabilizer. Perhaps E-10 is making the problem worse, and the people who should have been using fuel stabilizer all along will finally do it.

Before you ask, my lawn mower has a plastic fuel tank and is 17 years old.

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