ethanol , how to prevent contamination ?

this is the second time I've pulled nasty looking contaminated fuel from the same tank in two weeks, after filling from two different stations hundreds of miles apart. high turnover stations, that were not in low lying/poor drainage areas.

87 octane (90%) with (10%) ethanol as the starting contamination.

this tank normally sits inside (70f /70* humidity ) , until we go riding (95f / 90*humidity) and then home again.

this is the second time I've had to drain the tank and fill with fresh fuel, in order for it to start, idle, and run as intended.

I pulled some of the top layer (cloudy yellow) off and it lit/burned normally.

I pulled the bottom layer (yellow chunky orange juice looking) off and it would not ignite/burn.

if we can put aside the known lobbyists for corn fuel and big oil for a minute, and have a discussion about what causes this, I would really appreciate it I'm looking to keep this small engine running for many decades (the kids first bike) and want to know how to eliminate this kind of contamination in the future.... alone with the reasons for the contamination.

my guess:

ethanol in the fuel is going from low humidity (garage) to high humidity (riding) and soaking up tons of water from the air... then congealing in the bottom of the tank after the bike sits.

we push it out of the garage, bounce it down the road and mix up the contamination along the way, then the bike runs cert poorly if at all, until it's jammed up with the badly contaminated fuel, and dies.

I know I can run pure gasoline in the tank and cut this process down considerably.

I'm curious if the above scenario is logical, and how to prevent the ethanol from contaminating the fuel in the future, if the availability of real (pure) gasoline is no longer available.

I really don't want this stuff in my Prius tank it my small engines, and if I have to pull it off the bottom of the fuel, do you know how the octane rating will be effected ?


thanks !

 

less than a week from the pump to this contamination.

it's a 4t oil cooled 125cc engine.

it's vented through the gas cap, with a piece of fuel line that runs down through the triple tree. the vent is clear and free. the cap is clear and free. the carb was cleaned before this happened, this was pulled from the float bowl, then half a cup was flushed through the bowl and splashed out with fresh fuel.

 

this is from the motorcycle fuel tank.

 

agreed. I haven't seen this problem with gasoline. I am concerned about the very short period between the pump an this contamination of ethanol fuel.

I'm hoping that it's possible to drain off the lower orange juice looking contamination and still use the upper fuel... not for today but in case this becomes the norm from ethanol contamination in humid climates.

 

I've heard the tuner (turbo users) like it for it's resistance to detonation, but I'm not in those crowds, so I can't confirm.

yup, which is why I was puzzled it did not burn. I assumed the ethanol pulled a lot of water from the air and made it unusable/not flammable, but I really don't see how that could happen in a week or less.

as far as sugar/evil things happening... that's possible. the evil person would have to get past the camera(s), very protective furry beast, protected garages, and maze of other vehicles to find this one. the last time it happened was 200+ miles from home... so if it's one of the family members that love using this small engine I would be surprised.

I was showing the kids how water looks like orange juice jelly in the bottom, and explained how it would prevent the fuel from traveling up the needle, and they asked where the water came from. I had to admit I wasn't sure, as I didn't think that much could condense from the air in a week.

 

yes, it's openly vented to atmosphere through the top of the tank.

hmm, to do the champs thing I would have to use a gas can (portable) and then do not know that into the motorcycle through the filter. I don't wanna accidentally end up with a spill at someone's station if I screw up the filtering (ham fisted goober over here) or have a smelly rag in their garbage for the next guy.

I had thought about using an in line filter, but in the past they always had flow issues in fuel systems that weren't pressurized. maybe I need one for inspection at least

 

correct, they're stored inside, usually around 70F. no, there is no gas smell in the garage.

since this machine is 4t I normally just fill it up at the pump. the 2t machines get filled from (sealed) gas cans that sit in the weather. those cans balloon up and shrink down according to temperature. I haven't had an issue with their absorbtion of water.... but there are two factors that slips prevent that:
they only hold pure gas (and premix oil)
they are sealed

 

agreed. the contamination in the fuel tank is from an outside source... as I've flushed it with gasoline and blasted it out with compressed air. it's as cleaned as a container can be, without starting over with a fresh taboo removed from it's blow mold.

I believe what you're seeing in the external links might be "AdSense" links. they're added by your browser/operating system. I'm running Mac os on a 'hackintosh' regular PC for a desktop operating system, and Android/iOS for mobile operating systems... so I'm not really concerned with viruses or nasty links. I'll just block them at my router or in the 'blocked sites' section and move on. honestly I haven't seen those in a few years, if you're having trouble with them, you may want to do some anti virus scanning checks.... I'm really not familiar with what is current for getting rid of bad stuff on Windows anymore, we changed over about 16 years ago and, well I'm just really bad put of date on that stuff.

 

filling with pure gas would add 20 miles to the return trip, so I've avoided that. it's not a bad idea though, so it will be ready for the next run.... I guess keeping 5 gallons of pure gas in a sealed can for refilling after the fun is the best idea so far.

I'm looking for causes for the contamination more than ways to clear it... clearing it is simple but time consuming and nasty. I'd much rather avoid buying and keeping up with extra bottles of "fixer"... and of course eliminate those sources of trash/waste also.