This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Too Much Alcohol
My very expensive Stihl “climbers” chainsaw won’t start. I yanked on it
till my arm hurt and then threw it in the back of the truck. I toss in
(the also expensive) back-pack blower that won’t start either. I go to
the repair place. The guy in the back, behind the grease-stained counter
has a grizzled look to him. He’s about 5’2”, 200 pounds, no hair to
speak of and chewing an old, unlit cigar. He looks at me and my handful
of machines and says, “What’s the matter, you can’t start em?”
I take this the wrong way and respond, “I’ve been starting these things for years. It ain’t me. It’s the damn machines!”
He eyes me and says, “Your problem is alcohol”.
Being pissed to begin with as a result of the sore arm, busted machines
and wasted time this took me over the top and I snapped back, “My drinking has nothing do with the fucking machines!”
He takes a second, grins, and comes back with, “No, I meant the alcohol in the gas. That’s why the motors won’t start. I see a dozen just like em every week”.
So I shuffle and back-peddle a bit and listen while this guy explains to
me that when alcohol exceeds 10% of regular gas it dissolves plastic
engine parts. Things like fuel-lines or float gaskets in the carburetor.
When the mixture is too rich the engine burns hot and wears out the
rings. He explains that the legal limit is 10% but that all the fuel
distributors cheat and mix in some extra alcohol so they can make a
buck. When the mix gets to 15% it’s toxic for two cycle engines. And
that is what killed my machines. He pulls off the gas line and shows me
that it has deteriorated to the point where it has fused shut.
Armed with this new found underground information I go online to see if
anyone else knows about this. Sure enough, it is all over the web. But
what gave me a laugh was this article today: (Bloomberg link)
Carmakers, Engine Makers Challenge Rule Allowing 15% Ethanol in Gas
The premature introduction of mid-level ethanol blends (as a general purpose fuel) could result in unintended adverse impacts on the 250 million Americans who own and operate over 400 million motor vehicles, motorcycles, lawnmowers, chainsaws, recreational boats, ATVs, etc.
The EPA granted a request from ethanol producers, including Decatur, Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Co., to increase concentrations of the corn-based fuel additive in gasoline
This bit spells out the problem with alcohol and gas. The EPA has now
proposed that all gas contain 15%. They want the subsidies for ethanol
to be expanded. Along the way they are going to shorten the life of all
the engines we use. Progress? Stupidity??
I’m thinking to myself that if the guy behind the greasy counter knows
this, why don’t the bright folks in D.C.? Or do they know it and
understand it, but they are doing it anyway because they have an axe to
grind? Either way, it’s a sorry state of affairs.
By the way, the repairs cost me 175 bucks.
»
- advertisements -
I think its all because the Mexican Landscapers Lobby keeps pushing for this, because it makes it almost impossible for an uneducated homeowner to maintain the equipment, so we end up hiring these guys who bring their own equipment.
Illegal Immigrant Mexican Landscape Lobby of which to be a supporting member, one must be married to an undocumented, illegal Mexican maid or strawberry picker in the central coast region of the Winter Home of the Great Satan, doing jobs that no American citizen will fucking even consider but bitch 24/7 about stealing jobs.
I know all about this, because my very own doctor, gastro-interologist, psychologist, lawyer, private pilot and brain surgeon were all squeezed out of damned good jobs by illegal undocumented transitory seasonal alcoholic drug using and pedaling immigrants.
Who are all going blind because they drink that ethanol lead gasoline and huff gold Krylon lead based spray-paint saved from the '50's and soon'll be in rehab or long term Obamacare.
Pass the Jello.
plus 40 proof
aren't the Bernanks printing presses gas powered?
I thought they were powered by the torment of the souls of children.
Close. It's the Ghost of Christmas Future.
Poor children
Tormented souls of poor, disadvantaged children, aka the common man's kids.
The future of our country, of democracy and truth, justice and the American way.
The very manhood destined to die for inexplicable causes in foreign lands in any case, so what the fuck's it matter anyhow?
and they use premium grade gas on the backs of future children to ensure printing continues.
I've thrown out a lawn mower every 2 years for the last 5 years. I have starting issues with my Stihl 290 chainsaw and Craftsman roto-tiller. All this has cost me >$500 and hours or frustration. I want to sue someone!!!
Class action law-suit time?
"Have you replaced a lightly used power tool in the last 3 years? If so, you may be eligable for compensation..."
Defendants?
I still have the lawn mower we bought in 97. Funny thing is I have only used premium in it since purchased. I keep ten gallons of fuel in the garage for my motorcycle, and since it is a premium only bike, that is what I keep.
So maybe there is something to that premium does not have ethanol.
Stihl is able to charge much higher prices based on their reputation for quality and longevity. Yet there are dozens of reports of these saws crapping out prematurely in this thread. This can't be good for the company; I wonder if Stihl haa anything to say on the subject?
.........cash out some gold coins and go to www.hire.landscaper. You'll be glad you did.
I have represented several gas stations and mechanics at this point, and they all say the same thing: don't put anything but premium fuel in what you own. You see, premium fuel is the only fuel that doesn't get the 10% (and soon to be 15%) alcohol/ethanol mix. Everything else is fair game, and will ruin your engine over the long run.
High octane gas burns up the motors faster than the alcohol does. Fucked either way...
Is this really true? For years drivers have used high-octane gas on the assumption that it contains more 'energy' whereas it actually is just less prone to premature combustion under high compression. This is what causes 'knocking' in high-performance engines, which more highly compress the gas-air mixture, when low-octane fuel is used. But it does not burn faster or hotter when ignited normally than low-octane pure gasoline. This doesn't disprove your assertion but I would like to hear from some fuel experts before I decide whether to switch grades.
Preignition (pinging) is not that much of a problem any longer since engines have been de-tuned to pussy cats. High compression engines required higher octane which would hold up and not "diesel". My 1966 Chevelle 396 (solid lifters, 10:1 compression) will not run on anything from the local gas stations -- I have to add octane boosters to the mix, but that is really all about advanced ignition timing. New engines are pretty much covered when it comes to corrosive properties of the new gasoline concoctions as well. Acetone can be added to gasoline to remove water that may have gotten into gas in the "old days" but it played hell with parts subject to the solvent aspect of acetone. There is a lot more to all of this, but the main consideration will be the age of the engine/fuel line parts. New engines should be fine under all conditions, but the fewer MPG with the alcohol is still a factor.
Acetone... Plastic engine parts... What could go wrong?
It's all about proportions. Don't put a gallon in your tank!
+++ I'm paying the extra $0.20 for premium from here on out.
++++ my neighbor first told me this, run only premie in your yard equipment
Shameful is right. This is just another example of converting useful assets into toxic unproductive assets (at least if one drinks too much) in order to stimulate the economy.
Another 21st century example of unplanned versus planned and mandated obsolescence.
Fill-er up with a bottle of Rasputin!
http://www.spirituosen-superbillig.com/Rasputin_Vodka_1_Liter__70__volume.html
Tito's; it's the only vodka I drink any more.
http://titos-handmade-vodka.com/
It's makes everything else taste like...ethanol.
Yeah, its the best! Only have one shop in my area that stocks it.
I think I'd rather drink the vodka and walk. Get hammered enough and it's close enough to time travel anyway.
And add this to the list,
Arnold Schwarzenegger indicates he would accept position in Obama administration as the "Energy and Environmentalism Czar"
make sure to buy those extended extended warranties - gotta pump up the GDP with insurance!!
Government stimulus is an oxymoron. It's a euphemism for waste.
it is in a badly run government. and we certainly have one now.
Working as designed.
Think of the stimulus! As they destroy our engines will will need to spend more money on repairs or new vehicles/engines. Hello broken window fallacy! Just wait till they mandate all dwellings be demolished ever 5 years to meet green standards. It's just a benny that corn ethanol is a total boondoggle. Wastes an insane amount of water and is negative for return on investment of energy. Worst of all worlds, so of course they are doing it.
Rory Gallagher- TOO MUCH ALCOHOl !!
Down on 31st street picked a jug o alcohol--and then we ROCK!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB4GWokyFGA
1. the Environmentalist lobby no llonger supports ethanol subsidies.
2. the long term mitigation costs from MTBE ground water pollution will reach over 140Billion dollars and take over 20 years by conservative and widely accepted estimates. That is some fine broken window stimulus package there for EPA employees,
3. ADM and the ethanol lobby built almost 100 new ethanol production plants throughout the corn belt in the US and Canada, ad most have gone bankrupt or are in financial limbo, the largest players with deepest pockets such as ADM can now swoop in and buy dozens of plants at well below replacement costs
4. We truly live in an Elma Chalmers world now, only worse, they are converting wheat acreage by the tens of thousands into energy production acreage, causing both greater starvation and food inflation without any notion of a benefit to the utlitiarian goals for the American population as a whole.
Thanks for this. Ayn wrote that in 1957. Some things never change.
Is the picture your garage, or the repairman's shop?
Thanks for posting this.My friends chainsaw nuked the other day, and I found evidence the fuel feed was dissolving.I positively loathe the oil companies so my revenge, since I must drive for my job, was to get a car that averages 43 to 52mpg.The variation is due to air temperature and different blends for the seasons.This summer my fuel economy plummeted to 38mpg...totally unacceptable, so I performed a little experiment.I had noticed the gasoline was becoming odorless, which indicates the aromatics were being skimped on.So I bought a gallon of xylene and poured it in the tank.And got 52mpg.
The aromatics have more energy per gallon, and they are expensive.One of the ways to get more gas from a barrel of oil is to reduce the aromatics and make the blend more paraffinic...and dilute it with alcohol.This reduces their cost and reduces your fuel economy, forcing you to buy more gas.The fuckers.Exxon premium seems a bit better here than most, but they all suck.Check the price of toluene and xylene per gallon and you get an idea of just how crappy gasoline is here now.
Again thanks....most people have no idea just how badly they are being taken advantage of.
It's not the Co2 that's killing the us!It's the additives in gas,
such as the aromatics, Xylene,Toulene. These are the very things we need to boycott.These aromatics are the real killers of life and poison all of us when they spew out of the exhaust system or through leaky fuel lines! Ever walk past a parked car and it stinks? Those aromatics are the things that stink and weaken all the fuel lines and rubber seals poisoning our local environment.
Also I dont' know why you guys in the States have such problems with ethonol/alcohol fuel? Over here the law was changed so that all new cars and macinery had better more resistant rubber seals, fuel lines,pumps and fuel filters to take either 100% ethonol or E85 which is gas with 15% ethanol. We have no such problems here there are busses that have been running 100% ethanol for decades here with no problems. 70% of taxi's are run on E85 no problems. Only older cars and machines who have not chnaged the rubber lines and seals etc, have problems. Though many older cars have problems anyway because there has always been ethanol in gas even when not stated which slowley destroys the old-fashioned rubber! So you poor Americans seem to have been tricked to fool you that ethanol is rubbish because you get cars and machines fitted with outdated cheap fuel lines and seals!
Oh my Jaguar XKR has been running on 100% ethanol for years approx 100.000 miles and its running as sweet as bird.
what you describe has been happening to two strokes long before ethanol. It's a mainstay of the small engine repair business. It might be somewhat worse now, due to the ethanol, but the main thing is to never let the gas sit for long periods of time. Either drain it, or start it at least twice a year.
Wow, this is unbelievable, there is no way the government officials don't know about this.
Great Article Bruce, you nailed it.
Big issue with boats. BIG
I can imagine what it would cost to have a fifty-foot troller towed back in from deep in the Gulf.
Does not apply...trawlers are diesel powered.
Hell yes. Ethanol also clogs up fuel injectors, which is why my jalopy needs injector cleaner toward the end of every summer. Tell your Congress Critter where they can shove these mandates.
Its funny you should say that, ethanol is corrosive, how exactly does it plug up injectors? I have an old truck that suffers from plugged injectors. If I run fuel without ethanol it starts suffering in a matter of days. If I run fuel with 10% ethanol, it never suffers a bit. Also you might look at the ingredient labels of "injector cleaners". A lot of them have some percentage of either ethanol or methanol in them.
I like Berryman's B-12, it has methanol, acetone and MEK as the main ingredients. If I buy gas without ethanol, I always add a 15 ounce can to the fuel. Been doing this for many years with no harm done by either the ethanol or the Berrymans.
Captcha, LOL. Blank plus fourteen equals 24. ;-)
Got to be the simplest one I've ever seen.
Ethanol damages engines.
Is an energy sink.
Raises food prices.
More use of taxpayer money for big business subsidies and campaign contributions.
None of this has been a mystery, form day one.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/11/22/gore-on-second-thought-i-was-just-pandering-to-the-farm-vote-on-ethanol/
Actually, its kind of worse. The net energy gained is pretty close to the energy input required to produce:
http://netenergy.theoildrum.com/node/6760
This is nothing but lobby power, pure and simple.
Cooter
.
I think it's more adverse central planning that brings this on.
Bribery, collusion and corruption rules
it's worth saying twice. government didn't do this one by itself. agribusiness started it.