E-85 Fuel Experiments on Mower

rockdrummer said:
:popcorn:Popcorn will skyrocket to $8.00 per bag:popcorn:
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Lol I doubt it'll gonna happen. There's another alternative than corn. There's plenty of Algae everywhere in lake and ponds. Owners or Park dept would happily get rid of it.

Why not try CNG (Compressed Natual Gas)?? It's cheaper than Ethanol lol. All you need to convert ur engine to work w/ CNG. If you don't want to see $8 popcorn (more likely at movie theater)
Lol
 
my 89 chevy C-10 short bed pick up truck got over 171k miles 350 cid engine I tried full E-85 in it's hum just fine but noticed little slower tho...but re-jet little bigger jets in Rochster 4 barrels carburetor , new spark plugs then "de"- gap it at .010 less than it's gap specs then try mix regular 87 octune w E-85 it seem improved but I got to knocked catalytic coverter out it seem worked little better I used about a year now it still hum fine . I tried it about 164k miles ago so good 7k miles so far now still running daily delivering parts and ran through salvage yard everyday:whistle:
 
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Deaf Mater said:
my 89 chevy C-10 short bed pick up truck got over 171k miles 350 cid engine I tried full E-85 in it's hum just fine but noticed little slower tho...but re-jet little bigger jets in Rochster 4 barrels carburetor , new spark plugs then "de"- gap it at .010 less than it's gap specs then try mix regular 87 octune w E-85 it seem improved but I got to knocked catalytic coverter out it seem worked little better I used about a year now it still hum fine . I tried it about 164k miles ago so good 7k miles so far now still running daily delivering parts and ran through salvage yard everyday:whistle:
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LOL cool! Whatever it runs, it runs!! LOL
 
E85 Mower experiment...

Yesterday, I finally mowed both lawn and my mower seem okay in front yard because I mowed front yard last week (Wednesday) but not in back yard. The rain just came in time when I was about to move mower to backyard.. Oh well!! So I had to wait out till the grass are dry. Yesterday (Tuesday), I went ahead and mow front yard again. The mower runs okay and I had to bump throttle to 1/2 choke to allow more fuel in and proceed mowing. After I'm done with mowing front yard. I decided to see if I can adjust jet that was capped on carb like I mentioned before. I drilled hole and cap just came out on the drill bit. I checked the hole and it turned out no jet, Just three tiny holes. I began to wonder what was it for. I fired up the mower. It runs and I do not see any leak. I covered the hole and it seem it had no effect. So I left it alone and proceed to mow backyard which was tall and thick. My mower nearly died at full throttle (It seem wussy to me than gasoline). I had to bump it to 1/2 choke and try again. I had to do it slowly and finished the lawn in an hour.

I filled 2 tank worth of E85 on mower contrast to 1 1/2 tank of gasoline for entire lawn. E85 of course have low mileage. I didn't care much. As long as I got my lawn mowed tho. I will have to take cover off the mower and see if there any jet hidden on other side of carb. If there's no jet then forget it. I would just finish off E85 then fill it with Gasoline tho.

Result on Experiment, The mower seem running weaker because there are no jet to adjust to make it stronger. 1/2 choke would help increase power but still when it hit thick patch of grass or even tall grass, it slowed and nearly died (if you act fast to stop and lift the mower and hit throttle to choke then bump it back to original position to let it rev up. If not then it'll die tho).

I would use E85 as my last option if there's no gasoline in the area (if there are crisis LOL). It be nice if mower have jet on carb that I can adjust. I can find old mower carb with jet on it and swap it to new mower and modify if neccessary.. It makes no difference if the carb is different but same size as original one.

So far the tank and hose ect did not melt or eaten away from Ethanol.

Thanks
Catty
 
purplecatty said:
E85 Mower experiment...

Yesterday, I finally mowed both lawn and my mower seem okay in front yard because I mowed front yard last week (Wednesday) but not in back yard. The rain just came in time when I was about to move mower to backyard.. Oh well!! So I had to wait out till the grass are dry. Yesterday (Tuesday), I went ahead and mow front yard again. The mower runs okay and I had to bump throttle to 1/2 choke to allow more fuel in and proceed mowing. After I'm done with mowing front yard. I decided to see if I can adjust jet that was capped on carb like I mentioned before. I drilled hole and cap just came out on the drill bit. I checked the hole and it turned out no jet, Just three tiny holes. I began to wonder what was it for. I fired up the mower. It runs and I do not see any leak. I covered the hole and it seem it had no effect. So I left it alone and proceed to mow backyard which was tall and thick. My mower nearly died at full throttle (It seem wussy to me than gasoline). I had to bump it to 1/2 choke and try again. I had to do it slowly and finished the lawn in an hour.

I filled 2 tank worth of E85 on mower contrast to 1 1/2 tank of gasoline for entire lawn. E85 of course have low mileage. I didn't care much. As long as I got my lawn mowed tho. I will have to take cover off the mower and see if there any jet hidden on other side of carb. If there's no jet then forget it. I would just finish off E85 then fill it with Gasoline tho.

Result on Experiment, The mower seem running weaker because there are no jet to adjust to make it stronger. 1/2 choke would help increase power but still when it hit thick patch of grass or even tall grass, it slowed and nearly died (if you act fast to stop and lift the mower and hit throttle to choke then bump it back to original position to let it rev up. If not then it'll die tho).

I would use E85 as my last option if there's no gasoline in the area (if there are crisis LOL). It be nice if mower have jet on carb that I can adjust. I can find old mower carb with jet on it and swap it to new mower and modify if neccessary.. It makes no difference if the carb is different but same size as original one.

So far the tank and hose ect did not melt or eaten away from Ethanol.

Thanks
Catty
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Now I found the Carb Jet!! It was well hidden in dirt and grimes. I cleaned out with WD-40 (I didn't have carb spray tho). I should have done that the first place!! Guess I got lazy. I am going to adjust to see any difference and wait till next week for grass to be ready for mowing. I will have to re-try my experiment. I will have to repair the drilled cap and put it back on the carb

So disregard what I mentioned about experiment recently Sorry!! LOL:dunno2::dunno2::giggle:.

Catty
 
I just repaired the cap by flatten the center hole that have drill burr on it. then solder the hole on cap. Then I tapped the cap back on carb side hole snugly. Now that I can start working on carb jet!!

Will let you know how it runs.

Catty
 
I just adjusted the jet on carb and now mower runs normally just like Unleaded gasoline. The idle runs great now. That's the relief!!. I bumped the throttle to full and it runs strong now, don't need 1/2 choke anymore. So I'm going to re-try experiment next week.

Catty
 
purplecatty said:
Lol I doubt it'll gonna happen. There's another alternative than corn. There's plenty of Algae everywhere in lake and ponds. Owners or Park dept would happily get rid of it.

Why not try CNG (Compressed Natual Gas)?? It's cheaper than Ethanol lol. All you need to convert ur engine to work w/ CNG. If you don't want to see $8 popcorn (more likely at movie theater)
Lol
Click to expand...
Slow down.... Algae plays a vital role in eco systems and should not be harvested for fuel purposes.

The Role of Algae in Aquatic Ecosystems,

CNG sounds good but it's still a fossle fuel which is what we need to get off of in order to save the environment. Think water. 2/3 of the earth is covered in water. It's a huge resource
 
rockdrummer said:
Slow down.... Algae plays a vital role in eco systems and should not be harvested for fuel purposes.

The Role of Algae in Aquatic Ecosystems,

CNG sounds good but it's still a fossle fuel which is what we need to get off of in order to save the environment. Think water. 2/3 of the earth is covered in water. It's a huge resource
Click to expand...

LOL, Algae will regrow quickly near fertilized land through rainfall. I know it's benefical for ponds and lake. they can clear out 2/3 of Algae and leave 1/3 in. At lake block away from my home. Algae just bloomed just in 3 weeks. It grows quickly and covering 1/4 of lake now. It's messy when fishing at Algae area.

Yes, Hydrogen is plentiful. They found a way to produce it without using tank. But they haven't started mainstreaming it. They have to work around kinks and problems with Hydrogen system before entering mainstream. Once they finally fixed the problems, Water will be much cleaner and air too will be much cleaner. San Franciso will finally see mountain from distance. China do need that badly.

Catty
 
Success!! Now this time!! I just mowed lawn w/ E85 after re-jet the carb. It ran WONDERFULLY!! Mower run happily with E85 and Engine doesn't die on thick spot or tall grass!! It was sooo much better than my first experiment!!

2nd time a Charm!! I don't even notice any difference on my mower when I mowed both sides of lawn.

So It passed E85 Experiment.

No more 1/2 Choke to keep it running!!! YUPPEE:rockon::rockon::dance2:

Just Re-jet carbuerator and adjust Idle screw to keep it running smooth.

That's about it!!

The ONLY downside as usual, E85 have low mileage than Gasoline. :dunno2:

Catty
 
Catty Congrats! yes u'r right about noticable low fuel mileage but not much ... thanks for sharin...
 
purplecatty said:
Success!! Now this time!! I just mowed lawn w/ E85 after re-jet the carb. It ran WONDERFULLY!! Mower run happily with E85 and Engine doesn't die on thick spot or tall grass!! It was sooo much better than my first experiment!!



2nd time a Charm!! I don't even notice any difference on my mower when I mowed both sides of lawn.

So It passed E85 Experiment.

No more 1/2 Choke to keep it running!!! YUPPEE:rockon::rockon::dance2:

Just Re-jet carbuerator and adjust Idle screw to keep it running smooth.

That's about it!!

The ONLY downside as usual, E85 have low mileage than Gasoline. :dunno2:

Catty
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I believe the reason why your mower doesn't stall is because E-85 is more efficent, which is more complete combustion (less hydrocarbons emissions) and gives more torque to cut the grass. That is probably why it uses more fuel.
 
sequoias said:
I believe the reason why your mower doesn't stall is because E-85 is more efficent, which is more complete combustion (less hydrocarbons emissions) and gives more torque to cut the grass. That is probably why it uses more fuel.
Click to expand...


Yup that's why I had to open up the jet a bit more to allow more fuel and smooth power. I had to play with the jet till I get it right (for starter, close the jet and open up 2 1/2 turns then mess around a bit to find sweet spot).

At least I proved that mower can run on E85 with minor adjustment.

Catty
 
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