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Aviation Fuel in my car

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After sandy I had some trees to tend to I bought an expensive stihl chainsaw and was told to use ethenol free gas. I bought 5 gallons of aviation fuel from Lakewood airport I have a few gallons left is it ok to use it in my car ( corolla)

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Where are you and how many gallons ya got left....

Good food for GTO !!!!!

I have about 3 gallons it's 100av I'm in Lakewood I just thought I can use it in my 93 Yamaha virago I'll let you know otherwise

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I've run it in my dirt bike(DRZ400) before.  We have a local airport that I can walk through the gate onto the tarmac with a 5 gallon can and fill it up with their pumps.  I've got permission to do it, I just had to assure the airport manager that I wouldn't be using it on the road.  It prompts me for a tail number(I always input 28000- which is Air Force One :lol:)

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Ethanol isn't going to kill your Stihl, at least not immediately. I've got a Stihl chainsaw, a Stihl blower, and a bunch of other 2 cycle equipment that's been running on any old gas (albeit, premium) just fine for several years.

 

If you're really worried, Stihl makes a pre-mixed ethanol free fuel (as do other brands). I think it comes out to something like $32/gallon.

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Ethanol isn't going to kill your Stihl, at least not immediately. I've got a Stihl chainsaw, a Stihl blower, and a bunch of other 2 cycle equipment that's been running on any old gas (albeit, premium) just fine for several years.

 

If you're really worried, Stihl makes a pre-mixed ethanol free fuel (as do other brands). I think it comes out to something like $32/gallon.

Ethanol is terrible stuff, the worst thing they've done to fuel so far. It eats rubber and other seals in your carburetor and fuel lines.

 

I use Sea Foam in all my 2 cycle engines (and I have many that get used daily), I have had a lot less problems since doing so and it's going to be much cheaper than $32 a gallon.

 

Unless the equipment manufacturers had made a change in their recommendations recently, I don't think using premium is a good idea. It burns hotter, and in an air cooled engine extra heat is a bad thing. I've always run regular in all my air cooled equipment.

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Lawnmower...

 

Damn, Troy beat me by a second.  GTO is much better use than lawnmower any day of the week.

Probably not a good idea to run in a lawnmower, unless you consider it disposable.

The fuel metering and ignition timing are rather crude, and more or less fixed at parameters optimized for regular 89 octane. Running high octane fuel will not end well.

I blew up two lawnmowers running them on race gas. They ran really strong for awhile, cutting tall and/or wet grass like never before, until they both launched a rod out of the block. Big kaboom.

 

 

 

Ethanol is terrible stuff, the worst thing they've done to fuel so far. It eats rubber and other seals in your carburetor and fuel lines.

That may still be the case with some small engine stuff, but the big names have now taken steps to use ethanol resistant parts, as the auto manufacturers did a long time ago. The bigger issue is ethanol's propensity to absorb moisture. It does have some advantages (cooler combustion temps, higher octane then gas which allows for higher compression and increased timing, richer stoichiometric ratio allowing for higher power output), assuming the engine and supporting systems are designed to accommodate it.

 

Unless the equipment manufacturers had made a change in their recommendations recently, I don't think using premium is a good idea. It burns hotter, and in an air cooled engine extra heat is a bad thing. I've always run regular in all my air cooled equipment.

There good reasons to stick to "regular" in unsophisticated small engines that are designed for it. However, higher octane fuel does NOT burn hotter. That is a misconception. The octane rating is, literally, a measurement of a specific fuel's ability to resist detonation in a standardized 1 cylinder test engine ("detonation" being an uncontrolled explosion, as opposed to he desired "controlled" burn) Higher octane fuels have a slower flame front speed. They burn slower, not hotter. Now, its possible that higher combustion temps, poor driveabilty, and/or higher engine temps could result if high octane fuel is used in an engine not designed or "setup" for it.

 

Higher octane fuel does NOT "make" more power. Rather, it "allows" for the use of other things that do, such as higher compression, increased boost, increased ignition timing, etc...

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most people are reporting less MPG on ethanol gas

That makes sense. Ethanol has a slightly lower BTU content then gasoline. However, it also has a richer stoichiometrc ratio. The increased volume results in a net increase in power production, but at the cost of greater fuel consumption. The increased fuel consumption can be offset somewhat by designing the engine from the ground up to take advantage of the ethanol; with higher compression ratios for instance.

 

The stoich for straight ethanol is 9:1. Gasoline is 14.7:1 The stoich for a 10% ethanol blend is 14.1:1, slightly richer then straight gas. Similarily, max power afr is also going to be a little richer.

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Ethanol is terrible stuff, the worst thing they've done to fuel so far. It eats rubber and other seals in your carburetor and fuel lines.

 

I use Sea Foam in all my 2 cycle engines (and I have many that get used daily), I have had a lot less problems since doing so and it's going to be much cheaper than $32 a gallon.

 

Unless the equipment manufacturers had made a change in their recommendations recently, I don't think using premium is a good idea. It burns hotter, and in an air cooled engine extra heat is a bad thing. I've always run regular in all my air cooled equipment.

Stihl recommends 89 octane, at a minimum (10% ethanol max, less is better). That, combined with the facts that my car uses premium and the station I fill up at only has 87 and 93, means that premium is the only fuel I buy. I mix it in small batches (1 gallon of 50:1 for small equipment, 2 of 32:1 for the Lawn Boy), keep it fresh, and don't let it sit in my equipment off season. The Stihls haven't complained and the Lawn Boy is still my favorite mower of all time, even though the drive doesn't work.

 

It's all home use only though, so someone who uses their stuff commercially would be better qualified to speak. From since my childhood though, I've ran all my 2 cycle equipment in similar fashion, with no issues. I do have issues with my Echo trimmer, but I bought that second hand with issues. Debating whether to fix it up, or ditch it for a Stihl.

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ethanol is being forced on us by treehuggers. it is an unnecessary addition to our fuel, making it more expensive, less power producing, and in some cases damaging to the vehicle.

Ethanol isn't the problem. What is is:

A.) The politics/subsidies

B.) How WE are making ethanol. Brazil does quite well with ethanol derived from sugar cane. Our problem is in diverting corn from food production. Once we are able to make it, on a commercial level, from other bio-mass like switch grass or wood pulp, then it will be much more viable. That technology is getting close.

 

Also, ethanol makes MORE power, not less; when used correctly.

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