I've been thinking about ethanol :-(

[tris]

SO .....

I guess that there's no dispute that given the right conditions the ethanol and water in the current fuels can phase separate

Also people operating stand by diesel gennys and marine engines are aware of the need to "polish" diesel to keep it fresh and remove any cr#p and bugs

So my thinking is that if we came up with a means of circulating the fuel while the bike is parked up - maybe as simple pumping it out and back into the tank would that make the problem "go away"

Discuss 

[beetle]

Don't use fuel with ethanol. No problem! 








Oh, that's right, not everyone lives in Australia.

[Penderic]

I think it is a very useful idea to have a fuel system that cleans or refines itself - even while riding.

You would need a large, easy accessible fuel filter, of at the most 3 microns, water removal and drain, and maybe even fuel heaters built into the filter manifolds just like diesel trucks have.

The fuel pump needs to have a pressure bypass, used at idle to return the fuel to the tank - might as well have it go through a set of customizable filters to deal with local fuel conditions.


Small version of the above system.

[Bill Hagan]

Don't use fuel with ethanol. No problem! 








Oh, that's right, not everyone lives in Australia.

Hmmmmmm.  An opportunity for increasing your corn crop.   

http://www.maizeaustralia.com.au/austoverview.html

 

Bill

[Aaron D.]

Outside of destroying my Bultaco tank, I have never had an issue with ethanol fuel. My chain saw and leaf blower can sit for a year, and start right up. Same with my tractor.

My motorcycles don't have trouble either. But hey-with all the corn inIowa, I ran across stations selling "real gas" along with the ethanol blend-and all of it 87 octane. What's with that?

And why is octane lower in the west?

[redrider]

What needs to happen is the removal of ethanol from the market. Its use reduces fuel economy because an engine actually consumes more gasoline to make up for the loss of energy that is required to do the same amount of work. Gruber was right.

[jackson]

I have personally tested the mpg of my motorcycles and cars, with & without ethanol and in every case, I got 10-12% better gas mileage with non-ethanol enhanced fuel.  The real stuff costs more but if you do the math, it actually costs no more to use the non-ethanol due to the improved gas mileage.

[bratman2]

Another no ethanol user here. I go out of my way and pay extra to avoid the stuff!

[rocker59]

And why is octane lower in the west?

Higher altitude.

[Wayne Orwig]

So my thinking is that if we came up with a means of circulating the fuel while the bike is parked up - maybe as simple pumping it out and back into the tank would that make the problem "go away"

I have over 300,000 miles on Guzzis. I use the cheapest gasoline I can find. I'm sure it has a good amount of ethanol. So what is this problem that needs to go away that I have never encountered?

Where is my tin foil hat. 

[jas67]

What needs to happen is the removal of ethanol from the market. Its use reduces fuel economy because an engine actually consumes more gasoline to make up for the loss of energy that is required to do the same amount of work. Gruber was right.

 :1: :1: :1: :1: :1: :1: :1: :1:

Another no ethanol user here. I go out of my way and pay extra to avoid the stuff!

VERY few stations in my area sell Ethanol free, and those that do, only sell it in 87 Octane, and charge about 30-35% more then Ethanol-contaminated 87 Octate.

I really wanted to try Ethanol free in my Monster 796, but, it requires at least 91 Octane, which, I can't buy in our area.

I should try the 87 "real gas" in my R100R when I get a chance.   Because of the much higher price, it doesn't make economic sense, but, it would be a good experiment.

[prof_stack]

There are 3 gasoline stations in Seattle, right now anyway, that sell non-ethanol fuel.  Two are rated at 90 octane, and the third station has three grades of non-ethanol fuel.  That's all I use in the little Breva, but the guys at MotoInt say that ethanol gasoline will not adversely affect my bike. 

[Lannis]

I have personally tested the mpg of my motorcycles and cars, with & without ethanol and in every case, I got 10-12% better gas mileage with non-ethanol enhanced fuel.  The real stuff costs more but if you do the math, it actually costs no more to use the non-ethanol due to the improved gas mileage.

I've done the same and gotten exactly the same results.

So effectively, putting 9 gallons of pure gas in my tank is the same as putting 10 gallons of "E10" in my tank.   

Which means that the ethanol is a totally non-value-added filler, as if I had put water in the tank with the gas .....

Lannis

[Two Checks]

The higher octane fuel burns slower, so with the lower compression, there is less power.

How's that?

[Penderic]

What a waste of farmland and tax money! Alcohol belongs in the passengers, not in the automobile ..... silly people!


Well, it may be OK for some people, my modern expensive fuel injection system cant stand fuel with any water or or grit or air bubbles or alcohol.

[slowmover]

pure-gas. org has all the locations in the U.S that have ethanol free fuel. Otherwise move to Australia but you'll have to deal with scorpions and drought.

[Arizona Wayne]

Since the real ? was what to do about water separating from the fuel in ethanol, just put in stabilizer(Stabil) and your issue is over. 

Ethanol will not hurt your 750 Breva other than cut down your mpg.

[LowRyter]

burn it through your tank and you're good to go.   

[wymple]

My car's computer (Grand Marquis, 4.6) showed an overall average of 21.2 mpg. On a long steady cruise I could get 24. Using non ethanol gasoline never gained me more than .2 mpg, as in 2/10ths of a mile per gallon. Ethanol allows a faster timing advance than does non ethanol fuels, which makes up, IMO, for the lower BTU value. The knock sensors retard the timing automatically via computer and kill any advantage to regular gasoline. While I don't leave ethanol sit all winter in my weed eater or lawn mower stuff, (it will collect water or separate over time) I use it in everything without issues. And a lot of my stuff is pretty old. You can argue the politics of the stuff all day long. The ethanol slogan in my book should be...not as dirty as regular, but still sending nitrates to the gulf. BTW, almost all gasolines in Iowa have ethanol in them, and Iowa has the nation's lowest average annual per car repair cost. The roads are not full of dead cars with melted parts.