Never seen this before!

[meadowfield 2,570]

Project C4 has worked pretty flawlessly for the last 7-8 years. The tractor was overhauled and painted 10 years ago and the carb rebuilt and new fuel line, etc. 
Fast forward to now, I’ve just tried to start it and it struggled. Ran for a bit and died, I think last time it moved I had to keep it on half choke. 
so I’ve pulled the carb to clean it up... 

 

WTF!!!!

 

 

the bowl is full of a wax substance and it’s a slimy mess!

 

Thoughts? 

[squonk 41,155]

What kind of fuel being used? Any additives added? 

[pacer 3,173]

Ewww! that thing is a mess! Here in the states we would quickly say that it was the wonderful ethanol laced fuel we have --

 

Do you folks have ethanol in your 'petrol'?

[ebinmaine 67,612]

Yep. That is the standard issue ethanol pearls right there.

 

 

[EricF 589]

Yep, looks like what happens when alcohol (Ethanol) and deposits from old fuel mix. Yuk.

[ri702bill 8,336]

Yes sir - been there, done that!! A while back, I visited my local Ariens Dealer to get parts for my trusty 1972 Sno-Thro. I asked if he had many problems with ethanol fuel. He pulls out a carburetor bowl sitting on the lower shelf in his display case - he asked me if I could correctly identify the 2 different foreign objects in the bowl - one was a pile of fine gray dust, the other long strands of what looked like fine glass fibers.

I answered "Ethanol?" - he said I was close. The gray dust is Silica Sand, the other is Corn silk. The sand is used in the process to break down the corn kernels, the silk goes along for the ride. He sold that machine new 3 seasons ago and the owner was using 89 Octane discount Tier II fuel. Seems the 89 is not finely filtered - good enough for modern fuel injected cars, horrible for carburetors.

Bill

[EricF 589]

Did a little checking -- sees like the UK is going to E10 (fuel with 10% ethanol) as a standard now.

E10 petrol explained - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

The US has used the 10% blend for years now, which is why you hear us all complaining about it. E10 is supposed to be safe for "all vehicles" -- but you can see what happens especially when it's first introduced.

E15 (15%) ethanol is becoming a thing here, although they're supposed to keep it separated at the pumps because it's not certified for vehicles older than 2001.

 

Basically, with E10 coming into the supply chain, you'll see problems with older rubber fuel lines and filters until they're replaced with ethanol-resistant ones. And there will still be problems when there's gunk and varnish in older fuel systems that gets partially dissolved out by the alcohol content -- it will make its way into filters and carburetors and be a general pain in the neck until it's all cleaned out. Small engine repair shops might see a bit more business coming their way...

[Lee1977 6,666]

It will also rust a metal gas tank. Eat up rubber gasket and fuel line like you see in that carb. Nothing good about E.10. 

[chip61 658]

I got an Allis Chalmers B112 from a friend about 12 years ago. I'm pretty sure it had never seen ethanol fuel because it had been sitting for several years prior. At the time, I wasn't really familiar with the problems caused by ethanol. I got it running easily but no matter how much I cleaned the fuel system I kept getting these fine black particles in the fuel bowl causing running issues. Finally I figured out the ethanol was eating the old fuel line from the inside out. I replaced the line with newer line designed for ethanol and all was good.

Have gone out of my way to use non-ethanol fuel since.

[Handy Don 12,235]

6 minutes ago, chip61 said:

Have gone out of my way to use non-ethanol fuel since

Not at all easy to come by in the NY metro area. Not enough demand.

Some marinas used to carry it but the ones near me have refocused on higher octane E-10 as there are fewer and fewer old boats in their clientele. Older boats continue to have problems with ethanol eating holes in the fuel tanks integrated into the hulls (in case you thought a hole in a WH fuel tank was a pain)!

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

24 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Not enough demand.

 

I believe that here in the lovely state of NJ non-ethanol fuel has been 'outlawed'.

 

They still sell it at local airports and such, but they will NOT dispense into a container.  ONLY into an airplane.

 

Marinas?  The several I have checked only sell E10.

[Pollack Pete 2,273]

I've got a friend that is a member of the New York State Gasoline Retailers Association.He tells me that the gasoline producers have been sneaking as much as 20 % ethanol into the gasoline when it should be in fact,not greater than 10%.I buy nothing but ethanol free gas for all my small engines,but I gotta tell ya,that gas is pretty darnn crappy too.Not much of a shelf life at all.If you don't keep the can tightly sealed,it evaporates pretty quickly too.

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

The only ethanol free gas we get here is Stihl motomix 4T but at 20$ a gallon, no thanks. Luckily we have E5! We use nothing else in all our vehicles. Have seen carbs, filled with green sh*it, gas tanks paint letting go and rusting out.

[EricF 589]

11 minutes ago, Pollack Pete said:

I've got a friend that is a member of the New York State Gasoline Retailers Association.He tells me that the gasoline producers have been sneaking as much as 20 % ethanol into the gasoline when it should be in fact,not greater than 10%.I buy nothing but ethanol free gas for all my small engines,but I gotta tell ya,that gas is pretty darnn crappy too.Not much of a shelf life at all.If you don't keep the can tightly sealed,it evaporates pretty quickly too.

That sounds like something Indiana would pull! Huge lobby to sell corn into ethanol production. Since moving here, the wife has complained a few times about her van's gas mileage being off sometimes. (Ethanol can improve Hp output, but at cost of lower MPG.) I noticed when we first got to the area in the winter, my diesel truck had issues with the higher level of biodiesel blended into the fuel -- turns out that's a thing out here too, also driven by agriculture production lobbies. Have to keep more anti-gel additive in the tank now through the cold months.

 

I don't have any issue with supporting agriculture out here, but indiscriminately pushing fuel mixes that are hard on engines and fuel systems just isn't a good solution long-term.

[Stormin 9,981]

 I agree with the above, Mark. How long ago was it last run? I tend to run mine every now and then if not being used. So far I've never had problems.  Maybe I shouldn't have said the last sentence.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Stormin

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I'd blame it on ethanol too.  Might not be but I'd still blame it!  Lousy crap!

[squonk 41,155]

A friend of mine just came back from a trip from Kentucky to NY. He got better mileage from the KY gas. NY was 2nd and PA was the worst. All supposedly the same E-10

 

I use Premium 93 Non E in my C-160 mower. The occasional 857 used get The same until all the spring  yard work is done then it gets VP94 that SC sells. 1075 and 1467 get the VP and the 953 waiting for the next snowfall is treated with the VP. Expensive yes but I have no fuel issues and if you want to play you gotta pay! 

[Herder 2,354]

You got your hands on some good old American gasoline.  When you remove the bowl, it looks like scrambled eggs.   

[meadowfield 2,570]

17 hours ago, squonk said:

What kind of fuel being used? Any additives added? 

 

regular UK E5 unleaded petrol. (gasoline to you guys) . no additive

[meadowfield 2,570]

17 hours ago, pacer said:

Ewww! that thing is a mess! Here in the states we would quickly say that it was the wonderful ethanol laced fuel we have --

 

Do you folks have ethanol in your 'petrol'?

 

yes 5% - soon to be 10%

[meadowfield 2,570]

14 hours ago, Stormin said:

 I agree with the above, Mark. How long ago was it last run? I tend to run mine every now and then if not being used. So far I've never had problems.  Maybe I shouldn't have said the last sentence.

 

run a bit at xmas, then has a run out about 4 weeks ago.  I'm thinking what state are all my others in!!!!  and my quads, are they full of this ****!  they get more use, so maybe it dilutes and breaks up better!

[953 nut 55,317]

I am fortunate enough to have non-ethanol gas and use it all the time. When I have purchased engines that run rough due to fuel problems I have found that Seafoam fuel additive is very helpful, I add it to every can of gas I buy.

[EricF 589]

With a transition going on from E5 to E10, and with both types to be available from (what should be) fuel pumps, I'd say what happened was that something went wrong on a fuel delivery. The wrong mix was probably dispensed into the storage tank during a delivery. It probably wasn't the first time, and probably won't be the last time, either. 

[peter lena 8,634]

since adding a bottle neck full of  STA BIL , to all my gas refills I  have had zero issues , even doing a fuel inspection for issues has not found and fuel related problems . has been a simple additive to stop problems for me, pete

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

 I have been watching Scotty Kilmer lately, and he talks about fuel system cleaner. There is an additive to the stuff that contains nitrogen. Gumout has the highest concentration.and turns the nitrogen test strips the brightest shade of red. Seafoam has none. But fuel system cleaner may be more related to fuel injectors. I do not know just what exactly Seafoam contains, but it smells exactly like lacquer thinner, which positively will dissolve completely the varnish in the old school 20 year old straight gas left to rot in antique motorcycle tanks.