Video: removing ethanol from gasoline for vintage MC use

[Shorty]

This video showed up on my FB page. Interesting and easy way to remove ethanol from gasoline:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdDEL7WLN5U

[JC85]

This video showed up on my FB page. Interesting and easy way to remove ethanol from gasoline:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdDEL7WLN5U

Interesting. I'll have to give this a watch, after work. I normally just fill up with premium and put in a lead additive for my old Eldo.

[Ncdan]

Now that’s interesting information. Fortunately I have a gas station close  by that has  NON CORN fuel for the farmers.

[Rough Edge racing]

 Ok, does removing ethanol also remove some octane?

[RinkRat II]

Ok, does removing ethanol also remove some octane?

       Yes. 3 to 4 points depending on brand and percentage of ethanol.  Most pumps say up to XXX%

       Paul B

[MGrego]

I'm not a chemist but don't think he removed much ethanol. 

If he had 5 gallons of 10% ethanol gas then that's 64 ounces of ethanol or a half gallon of ethanol.  I would say he drew off maybe 12 ounces judging by how much over his original fill line he was.

Interesting though. 

-- Perhaps if you are adventurous you could take sips off the gallon jug !

[nc43bsa]

I don't bother removing ethanol from the gas I use in my car and trucks, but his method is similar to how I test the gas for my bikes and mower.

I use this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ethanol-test-kit-for-percentage-of-ethanol-in-gasoline-ethanol-tester/270606859688?hash=item3f016cfda8:g:8qwAAOSw6DtYVepg

There are several kits to accomplish the same results, I just randomly picked this one from fleabay.

[Tom]

On the Big Island, we just go to the non-ethanol pump.   

[oldbike54]

 First  off , it would be cheaper and easier to simply drive a few miles and purchase 5 gallons of non-ethanol than to go thru this process . Second , the story about starting a truck that had sat for 18 years sounds really suspect , even back then gasoline stored for that long would do what we referred to back then as "turn to varnish" , even if any of it had not evaporated .

 Dusty

[RinkRat II]

   So, inquiring minds gotta know. I went out and tested both non ethanol and 10% ethanol gasoline. In an Imhoff cone 10ml water and 100ml gas. Shaken and let settle for 15 minutes, and the results were .... non ethanol = 1% actual ethanol...  10% ethanol blend = 7% ethanol.  This is Northern Arizona  and your results may vary, however unless your getting avgas I believe all gas has some ethanol.  Test yours, it would be intersting to see the variations across the country.

      Paul B

[Vagrant]

but did you shake the crap out of the can / tank you got the fuel out of? one of the big problems is the ethanol like to settle out.

[RinkRat II]

      Just like  007   shaken, not stirred

           Paul B

[wrbix]

Other option is to burn AvGas...100LL...no EtOH, has lead...available at your friendly neighborhood General Aviation airport.
....or so I’m told 

[Rough Edge racing]

 We all have hear about and know many people using E10 in bikes and cars with zero problems. Some don't even know about the potential bad ...And then there is those who claim E10 made their engines blow up.....

[Ncdan]

One would think as long as the corn gas has been around now that all later model vehicles are designed to run fine on it. When out of town I run a good quality 93 octane and the bike and cars run fine. That being said, I will not run the stuff in my mower, weed eater, blowers and chain saws. It melts the gas tubes if any is left in them from season to season.

[kirkemon]

Bel Ray All in One: neutralizes ethanol's harmful effects
https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bel-ray-all-in-one-fuel-treatment

[wrbix]

And even though it is Low Lead (LL) it is LL as it relates to aircraft engines. LL fuel has more lead than what used to be stanard regular leaded gsoline. If you have a catalytic converter on your bike and run LL avaition fuel plan on replace it when it becomes blocked.

Not to mention that LL fuel is about $3 more per gallon than top tier gasoline. There is nothgin but negative return on you investment running 100 LL in you morotcycle unless it built to run on it.

Agreed....but we were (per original post) talking about vintage/ non-cat motorbikes.
I can get 100LL at $3.75/gal locally....not that I do  .....except in the AA5B.

[alanp]

One would think as long as the corn gas has been around now that all later model vehicles are designed to run fine on it. When out of town I run a good quality 93 octane and the bike and cars run fine. That being said, I will not run the stuff in my mower, weed eater, blowers and chain saws. It melts the gas tubes if any is left in them from season to season.

Funny, I have a 20 year old John Deere riding mower and a 15 year old cheap Briggs and Stratton powered push mower that have never seen anything but e10 and it just sits in them all winter.  Never an issue. 

[Tom]

On the big island you might go to an e-free pump but your still stuck on a patch of land as big as 1 or 2 counties when state side.

Given the choice I’ll take e-10 fuel and hundreds of thousands of miles around me

True but we do have the ocean to play in.  The rest of the world is 2 flights away.  My bikes in Phoenix are about $210 R/T and often I'll get 1st Class seating.  Not that much of a problem for me.

[Ncdan]

Funny, I have a 20 year old John Deere riding mower and a 15 year old cheap Briggs and Stratton powered push mower that have never seen anything but e10 and it just sits in them all winter.  Never an issue.

I’ve had to replace hoses in chainsaws, weed-eaters, and a generator. However no mowers. Come to think of it I don’t think mowers has the set up with the clear fuel lines

[not-fishing]

I'm not a chemist but don't think he removed much ethanol. 

If he had 5 gallons of 10% ethanol gas then that's 64 ounces of ethanol or a half gallon of ethanol.  I would say he drew off maybe 12 ounces judging by how much over his original fill line he was.

I did get a degree in chemistry and you're right.  This is a simple extraction that we all did in Organic.  The amount of extraction is based on the solubility quotient of what you're trying to get out (in this case ethanol) in your solvent (water).  To get really pure product you had to do the extraction multiple times. 

I always thought of it as purification by fractions (like 1/2).  First time you get 1/2 reduction, second time you get 1/2x1/2 or a 1/4 of the original.  So start with 10% first extraction gives you about 5%, second extraction gives you 2.5%.  It's really difficult to get it to zero with distillation or some other method being used.

Mark

[JC85]

We all have hear about and know many people using E10 in bikes and cars with zero problems. Some don't even know about the potential bad ...And then there is those who claim E10 made their engines blow up.....

Back I the late 90s, early 80s, in the early days of ethanol, my dad accidentally filled up our old motorhome with it on a family vacation. Didn't realize it until the tank was almost full, so figured oh well, hopefully it will be fine. We wound up on the side of the interstate, watching our motorhome burn to the ground, later that night....

[Rough Edge racing]

Back I the late 90s, early 80s, in the early days of ethanol, my dad accidentally filled up our old motorhome with it on a family vacation. Didn't realize it until the tank was almost full, so figured oh well, hopefully it will be fine. We wound up on the side of the interstate, watching our motorhome burn to the ground, later that night....

 What caused the fire?................... .......I have a ethanol fuel story that took a bit of investigation.....I n used to be involved in vintage Chevy PU trucks, like 30's to early 50's...In the late 90's when old truck discussion forums came onto the Internet it became obvious there was a common problem...Intake valves sticking and causing bent pushrods..This only occured on old worn engines...And on vehicles that were not used to often..I also had the problem on beat up old farm truck....When E10 fuel evaporates it can leave a sticky residue..The old worn  engines had sloppy intake valve guides that would get an oil and fuel on them...this would dry into a gummy mess and cause a stuck valve...At that time I was unaware E10 fuel was being used in NY state..I was not experiencing problems in chainsaws , small engines or the vintage british bikes I owned...
 Many complaints about cracked fuel hoses and such are a general lack of owner maintenance..I did notice the hoses on my several old trucks and bikes needed more frequent replacement...Howev er many never check out stuff until there's breakdown...or worse
  I don't doubt there are some who expereince real problems.. but at the same time many never have problms...

[Aaron D.]

I've said it before but-
My chainsaw, BCS, leafblower, trimmer, push mower, tractor, numerous bikes and scooters have sat with standard gas (E10 since they got rid of MTBE) and only a single incidence of a fiberglass tank problem.

I recently finished off a batch of premix that was about 3-4 years old, ran fine.

[Dilliw]

I've said it before but-
My chainsaw, BCS, leafblower, trimmer, push mower, tractor, numerous bikes and scooters have sat with standard gas (E10 since they got rid of MTBE) and only a single incidence of a fiberglass tank problem.

I recently finished off a batch of premix that was about 3-4 years old, ran fine.

I've never had a problem with the corn it except for the plastic tank on the Griso.  And as Hagan told me it would, the plastic "dimples" that developed all over my tank disappeared about a year after I quit letting it sit with ethanol gas in the tank.  I still use pump gas on the road; I just make sure I bring it back empty or use ethanol free on the last fill-up.

Everything else around the house seems to be fairly immune to the stuff.

[larrys]

I've said it before but-
My chainsaw, BCS, leafblower, trimmer, push mower, tractor, numerous bikes and scooters have sat with standard gas (E10 since they got rid of MTBE) and only a single incidence of a fiberglass tank problem.

I recently finished off a batch of premix that was about 3-4 years old, ran fine.

I had an issue with ethanol in '06 when CT first sold E10. The fibreglass tanks in my boat got eaten up to the point where one started to leak. Didn't notice that til I removed the tank. There was a brown varnish like material in the intake manifold of the engine and in the intake ports of the heads. I had to pull the engine, which had only 50 hours on it, take apart the heads and clean out the gunk. I was told by a marine mechanic that ethanol will dissolve the resin and it goes into solution in the gas, only to separate when the gas is atomized in the carburetor. Then the resin particles stick to the first surface they come into contact with. Eventually the stuff will gunk up an intake valve, causing it to stick, and your motor has a catastrophic failure.  Replaced the tanks (50 gal each) with polyethylene tanks, no worries now.
That being said, all my small engines, including my Guzzi have had no issues with ethanol gas. I always drain the tanks and run them dry if they're going to sit for any period of time. I get rid of old pre-mix by running it in my Cub Cadet, which runs year-round.
Larry

[Two Checks]

Using avgas in your road vehicles is illegal is some areas due to not paying road use tax on the fuel.
And its not formulated for high rpm engines. Its made for low, steady rpm.

[Rich A]

I did get a degree in chemistry and you're right.  This is a simple extraction that we all did in Organic.

Mark

You'd also extract some slightly-soluble organics into the water phase. Those would likely be higher volatility compounds, and removing them would affect the way the gas burns. You'd also have to deal with the contaminated water though the concentrations of organics wouldn't be very high.

Rich 

[britman]

In my newest vintage bike project I do plan on running non corn gas like I have always done in all of my old machines.   Fortunately it can be bought about five miles from my abode.  The one thing I found interesting is the suggestion of a little 2 cycle oil mixed with the gas for the valves.  This suggestion has been made on a number of vintage sites I frequent for British and Japanese machines and I think I am going to give it a try on this one. 

[Aaron D.]

A little 2 stroke also preserves the fuel.