purplecatty
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Now that I finally have thread! I decided to bring up topic about E-85 which I was off topics on "What is your gas price" thread. Some are curious how Ethanol works with Lawnmower and small engine.
To some who don't know what's E-85 fuel. It's Alcohol by nature. It is a mixture of 85% Ethanol (Mostly corn alcohol, It's actually a "Moonshine" in layman's term) and 15% Gasoline (unleaded to "poison" Ethanol to prevent anyone from drinking it). I'm sure Refiner and Big Oil don't want you to know that LOL (kidding). It is about 108 octane (approximate). It is about 90,400 BTU, Burns cooler than Gasoline, 114,000 BTU
It's consider as a Renewable energy source from Corn. But not always corn, it can derive from several sources such grain, Algae, ect..
E-85 fuel are popping up at gas station across USA, Canada, and other countries. It's a cheap fuel source which is several dimes cheaper than Regular Unleaded (I may be wrong). More new cars and trucks are becoming E-85 compatible or called "Flex Fuel". Older vehicles or any vehicles that do not have Flex Fuel can be converted by buying a "black box" from Fullflex Gold, FlexTek ect. It's a coversation kit which take 15 minutes to do. That's only for Fuel Injected vehicles only (all vehicles already are). It just simply unplugging Fuel Injector jack and plug it to blackbox and jack from blackbox connects back to Fuel Injector. This allow it to "open" the injector longer to allow more Ethanol in Combustion chambers.
Word of Warning:
E-85 is corrosive by nature (it's not like battery acid tho). It can corrodes some metals, solder. It can "melt" some plastics. It can "eat" some rubbers.
Corrosion on metal... I dunno about it. Perhap takes about 300 years to entirely corrodes some metals. No one would keep cars or truck forever anyway.
"Melt" on plastics, Some plastics such as Leggs "egg shell" or hard clear plastic cups can "melt" if poured in and left it for few days. It become stretchy and soft (I'm not talking about stretchable Man Doll back in 70's). I've had this before 25 years ago. I poured hobby red paint (used for Radio Controlled Model) in Leggs shell and use it as a "paint can" and left it there for few days. the bottom became melted and soft. There are test to find out if Plastic gas tank in your vehicle resistant to Ethanol. You can rub E-85 on outside of tank and leave it there for a day or two. If it feels soft. Then don't use it on your tank. If it felt hard as the surrounding area, then it's okay. You will need to remember that SOME Fuel Pumps have plastic impeller (inward propeller) that may melt away by E-85. Fuel Pump can be upgraded if neccessary.
"Eat" rubbers. Just like Chlorine in water eat away your faucet's gasket over the year. Your faucet became leaky and Kitchen spray get clogged from eroded rubber gaskets. Same goes for vehicles. Some rubber hoses for fuel line are not resistant to E-85. It get eaten away and rubber hose or gasket become leaky. There are hoses and gaskets that are resistant to Ethanol to replace original one. Check with Auto Parts or Dealerships.
Most vehicles today have metal, plastic, and rubber that are resistant to Ethanol.
So you must do YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!! IT IS YOUR RISK!! I am not responsible for damage ect!! You decide!!
Now about Lawn mower I mentioned in other thread "what is your gas price". I decided to try experimenting it with Ethanol.
here's my story:
Today, I mowed the lawn w/ little unleaded fuel left in it's tank. After mower died, I filled it half tank with E85 while engine was HOT. I started it and it roars to life no problem. I noticed it was a bit weak (It's nothing tho cuz still cut grass great) and motor runs smoother and exhaust is clean, no smoke and smell nice (I think I smelled corn w/ butter smoke Hee Hee)!! When the bag was full, I set the mower to idle, it died slowly. I decide to tweak the idle setting so it would run normal idle with E85. Because E85 don't burns completely like gasoline.
After I finished mowing lawn, I parked it in garage and left it for an hour to let engine cool off completely for the purpose to test to see if it starts up with COLD engine. It was rather hard to start. I decide to put it in choke and pulled few times then move throttle halfway then start, it did run but died out (remmy that my mower is over 6 or 7 years old tho). My old mower need to have choke fixed cuz it's not fully closed. Also I might have to adjust the jet inside carburator (it may be capped permanently but worth try take out plug where jet screw hidden behind it.). Because E85 require a bit more fuel to combustion chamber to start and run (It runs no problem on HOT engine tho). I found one of blog from "Gas saver" and one guy mentioned that he use E85 on his mower for 5 years and never had problems, NO parts CONVERSION. He said it smells sweet.
I guess it's worth it! LOL
The trick is that be sure to fill 1/2 tank of E85 in mower. If you are having problem starting mower. Just fill another 1/2 with Gasoline and swish it (use handlebar and lift up and down or shake sideway to mix fuel). Then Mower should be able to start right up. It depend on make and model of mower. It's not GONNA to hurt tho. ~~Don't sue me for giving you advice~~!! It's your own risk tho.
Another post:
LOL. I found more information. I was correct on two things. To start mower, you must set it to FULL choke to fire up (you probably see throttle icon showing "choke" after full throttle in some model). Once it's warmed up, open it up to full throttle. If it start to be weak or dying, you can always bump it closer to Full throttle/Choke without closing choke completely. Secondly, If mower have jet on it's carburater side, you would need to tweak it by unscrew it about 1/2 turns or a bit more w/ motor running to acheive top speed and starts easier. IT's kinda technicial BUT good for those who know about engine. E85 on engine also may need to "advance" the timing a bit which is more technicial issue that I don't want to discuss further tho.
E85 do have issue with plastic, seal ect on mower. Because of it's alcohol by nature, it's corrosive to some metal, can "melt" some plastics or eat some rubbers. so best try on old mower you don't plan to keep.
Remember that your mower, tiller, generator, and anything runs by small engine designed differently.. So you must decide if you want to screw it or not.
To date: As I mentioned about choke in my mower was not fully closed. I fixed the problem. Now, my mower starts up instantly and ran great with choke closed. (My mower been in garage through the night and I got home from work and decide to fix the choke which is 10 min job.). The jet in carbuerator was plugged. I can see round tin thing capped on it. I decide not to bother with it for now since I got choke fixed. I will test mower today by cold starting the mower again. I did the inspection on the gas tank to see if plastic become softened or not. I prodded the bottom of tank with long screwdriver. It seem solid like it was before. I do not see any leaks coming out of fuel line either.
As for 2 cycle engines like weed eaters, chain saws, boat motors. ANYTHING that MIX with OIL.. It'll runs on that BUT!!!! Remember that Ethanol are like water and oil floats, if you allow sit there for a week, It'll become separated. You must shake it VIRGIOUSLY to RE-MIX the OIL/Fuel or pour it back in gas can and shake it hard and pour back in tank. It is like vegetable oil floating on water (Italian dressing). If you do not, You'll damage 2 cycle engine!!
Any questions?
Fire away!!
Catty
PS: I have been google searching for information and done my homework all night by using my work workstation hee hee hee (shhh!!).
To some who don't know what's E-85 fuel. It's Alcohol by nature. It is a mixture of 85% Ethanol (Mostly corn alcohol, It's actually a "Moonshine" in layman's term) and 15% Gasoline (unleaded to "poison" Ethanol to prevent anyone from drinking it). I'm sure Refiner and Big Oil don't want you to know that LOL (kidding). It is about 108 octane (approximate). It is about 90,400 BTU, Burns cooler than Gasoline, 114,000 BTU
It's consider as a Renewable energy source from Corn. But not always corn, it can derive from several sources such grain, Algae, ect..
E-85 fuel are popping up at gas station across USA, Canada, and other countries. It's a cheap fuel source which is several dimes cheaper than Regular Unleaded (I may be wrong). More new cars and trucks are becoming E-85 compatible or called "Flex Fuel". Older vehicles or any vehicles that do not have Flex Fuel can be converted by buying a "black box" from Fullflex Gold, FlexTek ect. It's a coversation kit which take 15 minutes to do. That's only for Fuel Injected vehicles only (all vehicles already are). It just simply unplugging Fuel Injector jack and plug it to blackbox and jack from blackbox connects back to Fuel Injector. This allow it to "open" the injector longer to allow more Ethanol in Combustion chambers.
Word of Warning:
E-85 is corrosive by nature (it's not like battery acid tho). It can corrodes some metals, solder. It can "melt" some plastics. It can "eat" some rubbers.
Corrosion on metal... I dunno about it. Perhap takes about 300 years to entirely corrodes some metals. No one would keep cars or truck forever anyway.
"Melt" on plastics, Some plastics such as Leggs "egg shell" or hard clear plastic cups can "melt" if poured in and left it for few days. It become stretchy and soft (I'm not talking about stretchable Man Doll back in 70's). I've had this before 25 years ago. I poured hobby red paint (used for Radio Controlled Model) in Leggs shell and use it as a "paint can" and left it there for few days. the bottom became melted and soft. There are test to find out if Plastic gas tank in your vehicle resistant to Ethanol. You can rub E-85 on outside of tank and leave it there for a day or two. If it feels soft. Then don't use it on your tank. If it felt hard as the surrounding area, then it's okay. You will need to remember that SOME Fuel Pumps have plastic impeller (inward propeller) that may melt away by E-85. Fuel Pump can be upgraded if neccessary.
"Eat" rubbers. Just like Chlorine in water eat away your faucet's gasket over the year. Your faucet became leaky and Kitchen spray get clogged from eroded rubber gaskets. Same goes for vehicles. Some rubber hoses for fuel line are not resistant to E-85. It get eaten away and rubber hose or gasket become leaky. There are hoses and gaskets that are resistant to Ethanol to replace original one. Check with Auto Parts or Dealerships.
Most vehicles today have metal, plastic, and rubber that are resistant to Ethanol.
So you must do YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!! IT IS YOUR RISK!! I am not responsible for damage ect!! You decide!!
Now about Lawn mower I mentioned in other thread "what is your gas price". I decided to try experimenting it with Ethanol.
here's my story:
Today, I mowed the lawn w/ little unleaded fuel left in it's tank. After mower died, I filled it half tank with E85 while engine was HOT. I started it and it roars to life no problem. I noticed it was a bit weak (It's nothing tho cuz still cut grass great) and motor runs smoother and exhaust is clean, no smoke and smell nice (I think I smelled corn w/ butter smoke Hee Hee)!! When the bag was full, I set the mower to idle, it died slowly. I decide to tweak the idle setting so it would run normal idle with E85. Because E85 don't burns completely like gasoline.
After I finished mowing lawn, I parked it in garage and left it for an hour to let engine cool off completely for the purpose to test to see if it starts up with COLD engine. It was rather hard to start. I decide to put it in choke and pulled few times then move throttle halfway then start, it did run but died out (remmy that my mower is over 6 or 7 years old tho). My old mower need to have choke fixed cuz it's not fully closed. Also I might have to adjust the jet inside carburator (it may be capped permanently but worth try take out plug where jet screw hidden behind it.). Because E85 require a bit more fuel to combustion chamber to start and run (It runs no problem on HOT engine tho). I found one of blog from "Gas saver" and one guy mentioned that he use E85 on his mower for 5 years and never had problems, NO parts CONVERSION. He said it smells sweet.
I guess it's worth it! LOL
The trick is that be sure to fill 1/2 tank of E85 in mower. If you are having problem starting mower. Just fill another 1/2 with Gasoline and swish it (use handlebar and lift up and down or shake sideway to mix fuel). Then Mower should be able to start right up. It depend on make and model of mower. It's not GONNA to hurt tho. ~~Don't sue me for giving you advice~~!! It's your own risk tho.
Another post:
LOL. I found more information. I was correct on two things. To start mower, you must set it to FULL choke to fire up (you probably see throttle icon showing "choke" after full throttle in some model). Once it's warmed up, open it up to full throttle. If it start to be weak or dying, you can always bump it closer to Full throttle/Choke without closing choke completely. Secondly, If mower have jet on it's carburater side, you would need to tweak it by unscrew it about 1/2 turns or a bit more w/ motor running to acheive top speed and starts easier. IT's kinda technicial BUT good for those who know about engine. E85 on engine also may need to "advance" the timing a bit which is more technicial issue that I don't want to discuss further tho.
E85 do have issue with plastic, seal ect on mower. Because of it's alcohol by nature, it's corrosive to some metal, can "melt" some plastics or eat some rubbers. so best try on old mower you don't plan to keep.
Remember that your mower, tiller, generator, and anything runs by small engine designed differently.. So you must decide if you want to screw it or not.
To date: As I mentioned about choke in my mower was not fully closed. I fixed the problem. Now, my mower starts up instantly and ran great with choke closed. (My mower been in garage through the night and I got home from work and decide to fix the choke which is 10 min job.). The jet in carbuerator was plugged. I can see round tin thing capped on it. I decide not to bother with it for now since I got choke fixed. I will test mower today by cold starting the mower again. I did the inspection on the gas tank to see if plastic become softened or not. I prodded the bottom of tank with long screwdriver. It seem solid like it was before. I do not see any leaks coming out of fuel line either.
As for 2 cycle engines like weed eaters, chain saws, boat motors. ANYTHING that MIX with OIL.. It'll runs on that BUT!!!! Remember that Ethanol are like water and oil floats, if you allow sit there for a week, It'll become separated. You must shake it VIRGIOUSLY to RE-MIX the OIL/Fuel or pour it back in gas can and shake it hard and pour back in tank. It is like vegetable oil floating on water (Italian dressing). If you do not, You'll damage 2 cycle engine!!
Any questions?
Fire away!!
Catty
PS: I have been google searching for information and done my homework all night by using my work workstation hee hee hee (shhh!!).
Last edited:
. I know replacing fuel Pump and some hoses to convert it to E85 BUT there are kits for E85 conversion such as FlexTek. That's for Non-E85 Fuel Injection cars and trucks only. All you have to do is to unplug FI jack and plug it to "black box" then "blackbox"'s jack to FI. This would allow FI to open longer to put in more E85 to combustion chamber. If any auto parts do not sell Fuel pump that is compatible with E85 for some model car or truck, I'm sure there are External fuel pump compatible with E85 that would take it's place. There will be wiring work for pump. That's only if anyone want to keep their precious car longer. 
Popcorn will skyrocket to $8.00 per bag