For my mower, my repair guy says that ethanol gas is bad. The ethanol absorbs water and degrades the seals. It’s an issue in mowers because you leave fuel in the tank for a long time. I’m wondering to what extent that’s an issue in cars. No question that you should run the tank low routinely to get rid of water, but I’m wondering about hybrids, for which you just don’t fill very often. My wife just got a Civic Hybrid. You can use StaBil, but that doesn’t deal with ethanol or water. That’s just about the hydrocarbons degrading. Ethanol-free gas isn’t cheap, and it isn’t conveniently available. But is there a strategy for managing ethanol damage in hybrids? Or is it less of an issue than for non-hybrids for some reason?
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Does your owners manual say anything on this subject?
Hybrids still use gas at fast enough rate to not worry about this, and they’re designed for E10. Plug in hybrids have guidelines on how to keep the gas fresh.
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All cars are now designed to take E10. Don’t worry about it. Small engines are a whole different story. Ethanol free is the way to go.
I do nothing different with my cars and always fill up at half a tank. For my small engine I use non oxy plus a stabilizer. I’ve used Briggs, and Walbro when available but have gone back to stabil. Ethanol shield will absorb the water but haven’t used it yet.
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Upgraded materials are used for hybrids knowing the gas will stay in the tank longer. And car gas tanks are essentially sealed to minimized moisture intrusion. Small engines are not.
StaBil does work to stabilize and preserve E10 fuel. Use it if you think you’ll have issues. It won’t hurt anything.
Mom’s had a Prius for just over 15yrs now that needs gas as little as once a month depending on her weekly needs. Buys top-tier gas from the same station with no problems. Gas engine will be used more during the cold weather months. We have no ethanol gas at a station downtown but only fill the cans for the yard equipment there.
OK, I think the answer is that modern autos are designed for E10, so that the problems that ethanol makes for small engines don’t apply. Thank you.
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Small engines will run on E10 without degrading fuel system components. The problem is gumming up the carburetor during storage. Even if you drain the gas at the end of the season and run it until the engine shuts down, there may be enough residual E10 in the carb to prevent starting after the dormant season.
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If you can find it. Only places around here are gas stations near race tracks for cars that are racing. In order to buy gas the vehicle must be on a trailer. Closest one near me is about 30 miles away.
While it is a potential problem - I’ve never seen it. I have a 15yo snow-blower and a 20-year old mower and never have had this problem. I make sure at the end of season start the engine, then turn off the gas supply and let the engine run out of gas. That method hasn’t failed me yet.
I worked with a guy who owned a plug-in hybrid, and he worked close enough to work that the engine would rarely kick on. After a year of driving, he started having problems running on the ICE engine.
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I have to more like 10 miles to get to the closest place - no race track factor. But I do it. I did have to degunk the carb on my lawn tractor one spring, but I wasn’t leaving it dry at the time. I also plow with it, but in VA we have plenty of winters without snow to speak of, so sometimes it gets used and sometimes not.
It also has a big no E10 symbol on the gas cap.
I agree with this. When I owned a house on a 2 acre property, I had a lot of lawn equipment plus the gas powered compressor on my race trailer and the race car to winterize. There was no E0 available.
I did the same things with one addition… I removed the air filter and sprayed the area and carb throat with WD-40. They’d usually start on 2-3 pulls when I needed them.
Hardware stores around here sell E0 in gallon cans.
I have. Last year I had to clean the carb in my snow blower before it would start. I drain the fuel in early March and run the snow blower until it runs out of gas. A local repair shop says this is the biggest reason they get home equipment with small engines for no-start. They say that even if you follow the plan I mentioned above, there is enough E10 left in the carb to gum it up.
ethanol in gas seems to be a political boondogle
Now you got me curious - make and model?
I disagree. What would we use to increase the octane rating of gasoline? Ethanol works for E10 and it’s inexpensive. If you mean E15 or E85 only, then I agree with you. Midwestern corn states profit from added ethanol, but the rest of us just get decreased gas mileage.
I corrected my post. Closest one near me is about 30 miles away.
Chevy Volt.
Yeah. That might be a deterrent! At one point I had some additive that was supposed to counteract any negative effects. I don’t know if that works or not, but I decided to just get the non-ethanol. I’m not that close to ANY gas stations, so the drive would be similar anyway…
Since I’ve never had any problems with E-10 - I’m not looking for E-0, Maybe if I’ve had problems. But nothing so far.
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Well that is disappointing. Lots was made when it came out about one feature that tracked how old the gas was and ran the engine more if the gas was getting ‘too old’.
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