piter_
I don’t use it but I do run it twice a year, drain and run dry till it stops. It just hasn’t been used as a tiller.
Used ethanol in my mower since I bought it new in '01. Still going strong.
If the mower is still running normally it isn’t ruined. If you mean by “ethanol gas” 10% ethanol, it won’t be ruined at all. If you mean 85% ethanol, draining and refilling was a good idea because if it’s an older mower ethanol might affact the fuel system components, but even then it isn’t ruined. Worst case, any lawn equipment shop can get it running perfectly without undue axhasperation or cost.
Hubby needs to learn more about how engines work.
Triedaq left the computer logged on while he went on an errand, so I will respond to this post. I think a man should get a lawnmower to match his personality. In Triedaq’s case, he needs a diesel lawnmower–one that makes a big stink, a lot of noise and doesn’t move very fast.
Mrs. Triedaq
Burrrrrr! That’s cold!
Funny, though. 
So he should get a goat instead of a lawnmower?
But a lawn mower that’s unstoppable in any condition, dependable and low maintenance; and the perfect hubby for the long run.
you can even use gas with 2 cycle oil in it, it may smoke a little, he he
An added bit of info. Last weekend my nine year old lawnmower started misbehaving, revving up and down and up and down. Clearly a fuel delivery problem. I parked it and had a cool cherry juice. This past weekend I went ahead and tore the carb down to clean it up and get it running again. I found absolutely no evidence of damage from running 10% ethanol. All I found was the kind of crud in the pickup tube screen that one would expect in a push-type lawnmmower engine.
I’ve no doubt that old engines are affected by 10% ethanol. There seems to be considerable evidence out there to that effect. But at least I feel coomfortable now that by nine years ago manufacturers were using materials impervous to ethanol.
Just an FYI.
Of course you don’t know it’s 10% ethanol, you only know it “may be up to 10% ethanol”.
It had better be. There are numerous federal and state regulations that retailers must comply with verifying the amount of ethanol if they claim more than 1%, and there are also federal DOE tax incentives, grants, and requirements that apply.
If a station has “10% ethanol” posted on its pumps, it is mandated to monitor, control, and report on its fuel composition, as well as to report on formal forms the source(s) of the fuel and/or its components.
Ethanol is a strong solvent, absorbs water from the atmosphere and though vehicles are designed to deal with it, small engines in mowers and utility tools as well as marine motors were not. These motors are still in use, and the clogged filters, deteriorated fuel systems and time and money lost to ethanol in my opinion, isn’t worth it. To say that it’s normal to have a mower carb rebuilt every 2to 3 years goes beyond what I personally am willing to contribute to capitalism. It would be to every one’s advantage to use additives and not support any legislation that either continued it’s use, or heaven forbid, increased it.
I defy you to find a pump that actually claims 10% etahnol. At least in MA they say “up to 10%”
Dagosa, I’ll Second That !
CSA
“So he should get a goat instead of a lawnmower?”
Bob Widlar used a sheep: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Widlar
Al5000, there are pumps all over NH that state “contains 10% ethanol”.
Dag, based on my teardown this weekend small motors do contain materials impervious to ethanol, at least as of nine years ago when I bought my mower. Granted, a sample size of one is not statistically sigificant, but there are really only two major small engine manufacturers that have most of the market, Briggs & Stratton and Tucumsch (sp?), so I’m inclined to believe my example is typical. The carb was gunked up with regular black crap of the type that came from the gas tank rather than with deteriorated carb gasket or component. The gas tank is right in the way of all the crap that the mower throws up into the air. Maybe I’ll put a filter on the tank vent holes…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a ethanol advocate. I think it’s a poorly disguised ineffective attempt at a back-door farm subsidy, reduces mileage, and does cause problems. Fortunately, my mower is immune.
I heard that Tecumseh went out of business a year ago. Is this true?
It may be. In response to your question, I went online looking for their site and was unable to find it. I then tried Googling “small gas engines” and the entire list was all Chinese companies. I tip my hat to their having accomplished dominance at the same time that my heart sinks in seeing it.
I definitely need to correct my obviously obsolete statement. And i do so with a heavy heart.
Tecumseh sold some of its product lines, including small engines, to a private equity firm, which sold the line to another company. I’m not certain who the current corporate owner is, but it appears the engines are still sold under the brand TecumsehPower.
An old news release says that production had been shut down in 2008, but they seem to be back in production.
Tecumseh Products Company, the original producer, still sells air conditioning and refrigeration units.