Non-Ethanol Gas Station in CT?

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I have tested it, and cleaned out and replaced too many carbs to believe you.

Definitely do what works for you, but my experience is that ethanol gasoline smells noticeably different in a month, runs different in less than six months, and after a year will require carb rebuilding or replacement. 5+ years old and it's got more in common with sour milk than gasoline, not even flammable anymore.

Non ethanol premium with a double dose of Stabil smells a little different, and still runs fine after two years. I don't plan to store it any longer than that.

I am trying to figure out why so many people have mixed experiences. I would think exactly what you said. I have done my share of second hand chainsaw repairs and subsequently keep a nice big coil of fuel line in my workshop which sees a lot of use. But I drain all my saws so I have not ever seen it happen. What octane gas do you use and do you add anything to it?
 


Lawn mowers are low compression compared to chainsaws. How would that effect the fuel viability?

I use non ethanol because when I needed a generator the inside of the carb was full of crystals. It had sat about a year.
 
Most stations here say the gas may contain up to 10% ethanol. So you may get 2% one time and 10 the next .

Case in point my 77 Suburban I stored it over the winter after coming back from a road trip . Never thought about the gas but when I took it out the next spring truck would start and move but under load it stumbled and missed. The gas was totally ****ed up . Forgot the last fuel stop was in pa so i got ethanol gas . All my other vehicles had non ethonal and ran fine . Had to drain 20 gallons of stale cloudy gas . Used it in the fuel injected cars 5 gallons at a time lesson learned. Guess which is ethanol . Truck had a new SS gas tank all new lines fuel pump and rebuilt carb the year before as it had sat for 15 years prior to my ownership
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I'm surprised there aren't more marinas shown selling it along LI Sound. Around here in VA, every marina sells 89 octane non-ethanol gas.

ETA: Never mind -- I couldn't believe there were only 2 non-ethanol gas stations in CT, looks like there are more than 30 here:

https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=CT
Pretty much everything on that list is selling canned fuel. Didn't see much for pump gas.
 
Just fired up the mighty Shindiawa T-27. Sat all winter in an unheated shop with a tank full of (wait for it) 10% ETOH fuel. Hit second pull and ran like a champ. Touched off the FS-130R. Same scenario cept it hit first pull. Same story for the FS-250 and FS-250R. I just don’t know what I am doing wrong. These machines have not been used in almost eight months. They should all need new carbs and have tanks full of orange juice jones.

Years ago, I bought into the ETOH boogeyman hype. I used to dump out fuel and run things dry for storage but one year I forgot to drain a trimmer and it sat all winter with a tank full of ethanol fuel. In the spring I discovered the error. Horrified, I dumped the fuel out expecting to see milk and honey, layers of separation, ungodly smells etc. To my astonishment, none of that occurred. Further, the fuel I dumped out looked and smelt better than the fresh fuel I put back in. I said to myself, “self, you got rocks in your head draining these stupid things”. I have not drained trimmer, blower, tiller or saw since and that was a long time ago. I have even used 3-year-old forgotten mix (dated) to do a spring cleanup. I ran gallons of that mix through the big Red Max blower. Never even hiccupped. Sorry but I cannot tow the “ETOH bad “mantra. I have not had one failure I can contribute directly to ETOH fuel.

Definitely do what works for you. Your experience 100% does not match mine, but if it works for you, rock on.

The last time I forgot to winterize a saw that I was running E10 in, a year later it required a carb rebuild to get it operational again. Last year when I was done with my pressure washer, I shut off the fuel but forgot to fire it back up and drain the carb. Sat over the winter with fuel in the carb and wouldn't start this year. I had to give it a shot of carb cleaner to prime it, and once it got running on the prime it was able to clear itself, but that was with non ethanol premium and a double dose of Stabil.

E10, it would have been toast.

I am trying to figure out why so many people have mixed experiences. I would think exactly what you said. I have done my share of second hand chainsaw repairs and subsequently keep a nice big coil of fuel line in my workshop which sees a lot of use. But I drain all my saws so I have not ever seen it happen. What octane gas do you use and do you add anything to it?

Humidity levels in the area? Now I use and store non ethanol premium, with a double dose of Stabil, for the generator and pressure washer. Previous to that it was premium E10, drain tanks and carbs religiously, and no storing. I run Trufuel in my saws; they're my only two strokes and I burn less two stroke mix all year than a lot of guys burn in a day. Between having a battery electric saw and a four stroke saw, that's now going to be even less two stroke fuel used.
 
Most stations here say the gas may contain up to 10% ethanol. So you may get 2% one time and 10 the next .

Case in point my 77 Suburban I stored it over the winter after coming back from a road trip . Never thought about the gas but when I took it out the next spring truck would start and move but under load it stumbled and missed. The gas was totally ****ed up . Forgot the last fuel stop was in pa so i got ethanol gas . All my other vehicles had non ethonal and ran fine . Had to drain 20 gallons of stale cloudy gas . Used it in the fuel injected cars 5 gallons at a time lesson learned. Guess which is ethanol . Truck had a new SS gas tank all new lines fuel pump and rebuilt carb the year before as it had sat for 15 years prior to my ownership
View attachment 904805
Girlfriend's spare car, which gets driven 2x/yr at the moment, gets non ethanol premium only, for this exact reason.
 
Definitely do what works for you. Your experience 100% does not match mine, but if it works for you, rock on.

The last time I forgot to winterize a saw that I was running E10 in, a year later it required a carb rebuild to get it operational again. Last year when I was done with my pressure washer, I shut off the fuel but forgot to fire it back up and drain the carb. Sat over the winter with fuel in the carb and wouldn't start this year. I had to give it a shot of carb cleaner to prime it, and once it got running on the prime it was able to clear itself, but that was with non ethanol premium and a double dose of Stabil.

E10, it would have been toast.



Humidity levels in the area? Now I use and store non ethanol premium, with a double dose of Stabil, for the generator and pressure washer. Previous to that it was premium E10, drain tanks and carbs religiously, and no storing. I run Trufuel in my saws; they're my only two strokes and I burn less two stroke mix all year than a lot of guys burn in a day. Between having a battery electric saw and a four stroke saw, that's now going to be even less two stroke fuel used.
Don’t know what is going on. Perhaps fuel here in the NE is different from other areas in the country. I almost always use Sunoco Ultra 94 mixed 50:1 with stihl hp ultra or Amsoil saber (smurf juice). No other additives or stabilizers. The pump indicates the fuel may contain up to 10% ETOH. I have never actually measured the ethanol content. Fuel storage for mix are the old style non-venting plastic tanks. I still believe the synthetic oil itself helps “stabilize” the fuel and prevents corrosion to the carbs/lines.
 
Ya its a little silly to take the posted octane rating and ethnanol % as gospel truth. A person knows when their carburetor fails from bad fuel but as far as what comes out of the pump for automotive use could be anything. Also dont some airports sell unleaded 100 octane?
 
Don’t know what is going on. Perhaps fuel here in the NE is different from other areas in the country. I almost always use Sunoco Ultra 94 mixed 50:1 with stihl hp ultra or Amsoil saber (smurf juice). No other additives or stabilizers. The pump indicates the fuel may contain up to 10% ETOH. I have never actually measured the ethanol content. Fuel storage for mix are the old style non-venting plastic tanks. I still believe the synthetic oil itself helps “stabilize” the fuel and prevents corrosion to the carbs/lines.
I don't have problems either. Run regular out of the pump with 40:1 synthetic. I've never understood the hoops people jump threw for non ethanol gas.
 
Your best chance for E-free is to call your local marinas, or race tracks and ask. E-free 87/91 at the pumps doesn't exist in New England. Although, there are a few Sunoco gas stations that sell leaded 110 octane at the pump, which usually has no ethanol.
 
89 octane non ethanol is 15 miles away at the Southern States fuel station, 11 miles away for unbranded 87 octane non ethanol. Since I switched to non ETOH gas I am seeing less fuel used to cut the grass than before. It takes two hours or more to cut all the grass with a 48" deck so it's not a minor expense. I finished wearing out a "95 Merc GM on a 95 miles daily commute. When the local stations switched to ethanol I lost 2 mpg on the commute. That was the best car we had, nice ride and enough power.
 
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