Sta-Bil

[Aerofoam]

JIm, I believe that even though the pumps will have a tag or sticker on them that states " This gasoline MAY contain up to 10 percent ethanol " that sometimes it doesn't have any ethanol in it. Especially the 93 octane premium gas.

It might be a pain in the butt, but if you have time, you can always take a water bottle with you to the gas station and test the fuel out of the pump to check. You might find some non ethanol gas that is marked as normal ethanol laced gas...

Here is a link to a way to do the test.

You would have to probably pump a gallon or two of gas into your car or truck to get rid of any lower octane fuel out of the hose before your getting the premium gas, assuming the station you stop at is the type that has one hose / noozle for all grades of fuel. And you might have to drive to several stations before finding one that has non ethanol...

And obviously, just cause you found one that today has non ethanol... You would need to test for ethanol again next time you come if their tanks have been refilled since you bought fuel last.

I have never seen a pump with a single hose that distributes multiple fuels. is that an Eastern thing???

 

[Sv.grainne]

I have never seen a pump with a single hose that distributes multiple fuels. is that an Eastern thing???

Very Common here - 1 hose for 3 grades of Mogas and 1 hose for Diesel.

 

[Aerofoam]

Very Common here - 1 hose for 3 grades of Mogas and 1 hose for Diesel.

Ok, I misunderstood, I drive "diseasels" and was thinking about that sharing a hose!

 

[GyroRon]

Ok, I misunderstood, I drive "diseasels" and was thinking about that sharing a hose!

Yes around here it is pretty normal to pull up to a gas pump and it having one hose / noozle for 87,89 and 93 octane gasoline. Then possibly a second hose for diesel. Occasionally a pump might have the one hose for gas, and instead of a second hose for diesel it will have the second hose for non ethanol 89 or 90 octane gasoline.

In some rare cases, some stations will have several hoses with a multitude of different grades, including E-85 and whatnot.

If its a pump like we have around here, where the one hose distributes 87-93 octane, whatever was last dispensed will be what comes out for the first gallon or two. So in other words if the last person to use the pump got 87 octane, and you selected 93... you will still only get 87 for the first gallon or two before the 93 starts to come through the hose. Usually the numbers from the last sale are displayed on the pump, so if your good with math, you can usually figure out what was pumped last by dividing the price shown by gallons pumped, if the numbers calculate that the last person got 93 then you will get 93 right off the bat out of that hose.

But yeah, it is very possible that the 93 gas will have very little to no ethanol in it. But the pump will be labeled that it COULD have up to 10 percent in it... And they do that to cover their butts in case the gas they bring out to the station has it in there.

Its real easy to take a water bottle and dump out 2/3'rds of the water out, make a line with a magic marker, then fill the water bottle up to within a inch or two of the top with gas, screw on the cap and shake up the bottle real good then set it down somewhere and let it settle for a minute or two and then look at the " water " that is in the bottom of the bottle and see if the water is still at the line you drew with the marker. If the " water " is now higher than the mark, then it has ethanol in the fuel. If it doesn't move then you just got straight gas.

There are more sophisticated " bottles " that you can run the same test on, that will not only tell you if there is ethanol, but also how much ethanol is in the fuel. With one of these, you might find some gas that does have ethanol but only a very very low percentage.

But you have to remember, its more expensive for them to actually put ethanol in the gas, then to just deliver straight gas. Ethanol is a government mandated thing, its not something the gas companies WANT to put in the fuel. I am not sure they have to put it in premium grade fuel, so I think sometimes they don't. Trick is to find it.

 

[Aerofoam]

Most of the places I go have a line for diesel and 2 for gas, I believe I have seen a couple with shared gas nozzle.
Almost got in trouble in Mexico, the gasoline nozzles were green!!!!
You would think the color coding would be universal.....

 

[Sv.grainne]

I burn 93 so tested it today, no ethanol. I'll post a photo later. Zoom in and you can see the line where I marked original water level.

 

[AviomaniaTexas]

I burn 93 so tested it today, no ethanol. I'll post a photo later.

What brand fuel?

 

[Sv.grainne]

Circle K. Valero

 

[Sv.grainne]

Photo added to my earlier post. No ethanol today!

 

[Mayfield]

Thanks Ron and Bobby. I'm surprised at how much the level changed. Costco premium gas.

 

[Sv.grainne]

Wow, big difference! I buy 14 gals at a time and have a 25ml graduated cylinder. I'm going to test at each fuel stop and see if any ethanol shows up.

 

[Mayfield]

Wow, big difference! I buy 14 gals at a time and have a 25ml graduated cylinder. I'm going to test at each fuel stop and see if any ethanol shows up.

Yes, it is. I'm not sure I have a problem. Everything seems to be running great. The ethanol thing is a puzzlement to me, and I don't care for puzzles in my aviation endeavors. If I have to, I can run 100LL and change the oil every 25 hours. Even with Decalin and frequent oil changes, the valve seats and the gearbox may not like that course of action although that is what I'm doing with my airplane.

 

[Sv.grainne]

Yes, it is. I'm not sure I have a problem. Everything seems to be running great. The ethanol thing is a puzzlement to me, and I don't care for puzzles in my aviation endeavors. If I have to, I can run 100LL and change the oil every 25 hours. Even with Decalin and frequent oil changes, the valve seats and the gearbox may not like that course of action although that is what I'm doing with my airplane.

If you fly regularly you should be fine, my issue with fuel with ethanol added is that things gum up pretty quickly.

Sump often and check the fuel.

 

[GyroRon]

Thanks Ron and Bobby. I'm surprised at how much the level changed. Costco premium gas.

Like I said, finding non ethanol gas when its marked as " May contain ethanol " will take some work. You will have to try multiple stations till you find it. And there is the possibility that you don't find any in your local area.

 

[Mayfield]

Thanks Ron,

As Bobby pointed out, there are Marinas in the Phoenix area that carry E0. Unfortunately the drive is pretty long to get there.

I measured the gas out of the pump and the water added, and it looks like right at 10% Ethanol.

I'll probably start using Seafoam and check the fuel filter, gasolator, and carb bowls more often.

Jim

 

[ultracruiser41]

I’ve been running 100 LL in everything for years with no issues at all.
I do have a question though……I’ve always used TCP but am thinking of switching to Decalin…..are TCP and Decalin compatible or should I purge out all the RCP first?

 

[VWPower]

If you use no ethanol fuel it's 90 octane. The Rotax manufacture recommends 93 octane or higher. Could that be a problem for the Rotax912.

 

[Sv.grainne]

If you use no ethanol fuel it's 90 octane. The Rotax manufacture recommends 93 octane or higher. Could that be a problem for the Rotax912.

I started out using 90 octane ethanol free fuel then switched to 93 octane not concerned about ethanol because I fly a LOT. I HAVE NO ISSUES WITH THE 93 Octane and just discovered my last 14 gals of 93 octane were ethanol free!

 

[Aerofoam]

my last 14 gals of 93 octane were ethanol free!

Does that mean they didn't charge you for the ethanol?

 

[Sv.grainne]

Does that mean they didn't charge you for the ethanol?

Actually I think I got a discount! Ethanol free 90 octane has been over $4 per gallon. I got the 93 octane for less than that!