It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => Science, Technology, & Medicine => Topic started by: AlanS on September 19, 2014, 06:18:56 AM
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For my boat and motorcycle, I always try to get real gas. I always have to take the word of the vendor because I don't have a way to test for ethanol. I found this site that has a cheap and easy test. I haven't tried it yet, but will just as soon as I get in from offshore.
http://generalaviationnews.com/2012/12/05/ethanol-testing-made-easy/ (http://generalaviationnews.com/2012/12/05/ethanol-testing-made-easy/)
When I got home I got my wife’s red, blue and green food coloring out; it’s water soluble. A quick check with pint jars of ethanol-free fuel and adulterated fuel indicated that a drop of any color food coloring will dissolve and turn the adulterated fuel the same color as the food coloring. Putting a drop of food coloring in pure gasoline, the drop just goes to the bottom of the sample and rolls around there as little globules. Now I just carry a bottle of inexpensive and readily obtainable food coloring and a quart glass jar – it’s easier to get a fuel sample into – and have an instant indication of ethanol free fuel or adulterated fuel.”
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Good find, Alan.
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That is a good find. I put the good stuff in my boat too. I've always wondered what would stop them from just saying it's ethanol-free.
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Nice !!! ::hat-tip:: ::clapping::
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That is a good find. I put the good stuff in my boat too. I've always wondered what would stop them from just saying it's ethanol-free.
'cuz if I found them out I'd burn 'em out.
::outrage::
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Good info Alan, thanks for sharing. A station near me now has one pump dedicated to ethanol-free gas. It's what I use for my SHTF storage cans. Among the other downsides of ethanol, it also stores poorly compared to pure gas. The ethanol attracts so much moisture, which then starts to emulsify with the petroleum.
Have you ever tried Star Tron (http://www.starbrite.com/en/startron) fuel treatment? I've read where a lot of people swear by it, particularly boat owners. I've been putting it in every can of gas I store, ethanol or not.
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Have you ever tried Star Tron (http://www.starbrite.com/en/startron) fuel treatment? I've read where a lot of people swear by it, particularly boat owners. I've been putting it in every can of gas I store, ethanol or not.
Haven't heard of Star Tron. I've always used Sta-Bil and Marine Sta-Bil.
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I've heard nothing but praise for Startron. Some folks like it even better than Stabil. I haven't tried it since I'm pretty stocked up on Marine Stabil.
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I will say this much about StarTron, I tried some in my car one time when I filled up, and it definitely seemed to run smoother, especially when first started up on a cold engine. Usually I can tell where the engine computer increases the idle until the car has warmed up, but that seemed to lessen with the StarTron.
I also used some in the last batch of 2 cycle gas I mixed, and my chainsaw seems to start a lot easier. I've noticed the smaller the engine, the more it seems to hate ethanol. Previously it was all I could do to keep my chainsaw from shutting off at idle.
Ethanol belongs in bottles, not gas tanks!
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Good find...I'll need to remember to check the ethanol free claims around me. StarTron is ok. So is SeaFoam. I use the Mercury product to keep my boat engine clean. Best thing to do if you don't run your boat year round is drain your tank. Ethanol laced fuel will separate if allowed to sit in your tank, even with additives.
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They do smell different. If you use them both, enough, as this Iowegian living in Minnesota does, you learn to differentiate.
The only time I was known to have been ripped off was at a Clark station in Waterloo. I paid the extra, just to smell the gasohol smell going into my car. ::pullhair::
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They seem to have a slightly different appearance too. I was pouring the ethanol-free stuff into my lawn mower and it did not have the bluish tint that the other stuff has. Maybe that's due to something other than ethanol, but it does look different than the E10 fuel I have in the other gas cans.
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Very good to know... Thanks for sharing, Alan ::thumbsup::
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Looks like most WalMart stores carry the stuff, will have to swing by and see.