Gas?
 

I was at a landscape equipment store yesterday, the owner said, do not leave gas in any equipment, lawnmower, leaf blower etc. for over a month. Should that be the same rule with The Model A, since all gas here has 10% Ethanol? I do use Sta-bil additive, does that help if its over a month in the tank?

Re: Gas?
 

1929,
Some winters I've used Sta-bil and some winters I haven't. It doesn't seem to make any difference. I've driven my car for 26 years. I guess it's your choice.
Marty

Re: Gas?
 

We try to leave as little gas as possible in our car when we put it away, also Sta-bil. November to May and in over 40 years never a problem.

With our mowers, generator, and tractor. Also use Sta-bil. Run carburetors dry. Enjoy.

Re: Gas?
 

Sta-bil is not the only product which will prolong the "life" of gasoline with ethanol. There are several on the market however I've not seen anything about which one is supposed to be the best......

Re: Gas?
 

Take a quart jar and fill it with E gas, put the lid on loosely, and set it on a shelf. In a month or so look at it. It will have collected moisture out of the air which will bond with the alcohol and settle out. When you start the A thats the crud you will be pulling into the carb first. Some will swear that they have no problems, some just swear... :)

Re: Gas?
 

A lot of it depends on the average relative humidity in your area.

Re: Gas?
 

Here is some reading material for you.


http://www.fuel-testers.com/review_g..._products.html


Personally I store over Winter with the tank full, with Stabil Marine in it, and ethanol free from a Station here in town that sells only ethanol free. I turn off the fuel shutoff, run the carb dry, empty the sediment bulb, and drain the carb. Run ethanol free during driving season with 2-3 oz. of Marvel Mystery oil per tankful.

Re: Gas?
 

Marvel mystery oil that's all!!

Re: Gas?
 

I would recommend just the opposite. I fill my tank to the very brim. (Although shutting off the fuel and running the carb dry is a good idea.) An empty tank is an invitation for condensation and rust in your gas tank. With the tank full there is no air in the tank, and no condensation. When I used to work on the flight line at Conn. Air Service during college we would top off all the flight school's aircraft every night before putting them in the hanger to avoid condensation.

Even with ethanol in the gas, if there is no air in contact with the gas in the tank, then the ethanol can't draw moisture out of it.

Re: Gas?
 

A model A gas tank is vented to the atmosphere.

Re: Gas?
 

How do you think rust got in tanks that never had modern gas in them? Condensation. Modern gas or not you can still have condensation.

Re: Gas?
 

Here’s what I have done the last two years...

Completely fill Model A tank right before storage. I cut a spare firewall/carb fuel line in half and put flexible fuel line on the cut end. Attach to sediment bulb. I use this hose and the gas shut-off valve to fill a gas can for my snowblower. If the A drops below 1/2 tank, I take the five gallon can down to the station and fill it and put it in the A. This allows me to always have enough snowblower gas, I reduce the possibility of tank condensation, my shut-off valve gets used, and I always have fresh gas for spring startup.

Re: Gas?
 

There is still ethanol free available here, it's all I use for small engines and classics.
I use 1 oz per gallon of Seafoam, and keep tanks full and carbs dry.
A small amount of fuel in a tank full of air will go bad a lot faster than a full tank with no room for air to "breath" in through the vent with temp changes.

Re: Gas?
 

In fact, with gas that doesn't contain ethanol, any condensation that develops does not mix with the gas but goes immediately to the bottom of the tank and starts working on it. Gas floats on water.

With E10, the condensation mixes with the ethanol and stays in suspension...to a point. When the ethanol becomes saturated with water, the water will ultimately precipitate out. Up until that point, you will not notice the water that is mixed with the E10. You will immediately notice any water mixed with the non E10 fuel since it will be at the bottom of the tank and will be the first liquid that goes to the carb.

Re: Gas?
 

Small engines have very small passages in the little plastic carburetors so if they get varnish or crud build up, eventually they will no longer pass gasoline properly. This makes it a very good idea to store small engines with no fuel in them.

Modern fuel is a lot different than it was 30 or 40 years ago. It has a tendency to deteriorate with any outside air contact. It will turn to a mixture that smells like turpentine within 6-months. The best fuels available at the pump are those that are marketed as 93 octane since it is a more stable fuel but also more expensive. Fuel with ethanol deteriorates faster than fuel with no ethanol. The ethanol absorbs the condense and becomes more dense so it rolls around in the bottom of the tank and picks up old crud plus it can suffer from some microbial growth making the mixture like fuzzy blobs that roll around in the tank with motion or movement from normal driving conditions. The stuff also tends to get acidic and can create more problems with the fuel system over time.

Avoid ethanol fuel or use premium fuel. That's about all you can do to slow fuel deterioration to a minimum.

Model A fuel tanks will still have an area on top inside that will condense water out under the right conditions even when full. It's very hard to stop condensation unless you control the climate in your garage.

Re: Gas?
 

I live in an area that has some pretty harsh winter weather. I drain the fuel out of the tanks of my mowers, line trimmers etc... and run the carburetors dry.
For my Model AA I keep the tank full and drive it every chance I get when the roads are dry.
No putting it away for the winter for me.

Re: Gas?
 

I was once told by an older mechanic to fill to full with Non-ethanol, and then put a plastic bag under the gas cap and tighten the gap down. Said it would help condensate from getting in through the cap vent holes.


Any truth to this? I don't know.

Re: Gas?
 

You can also use a non vented radiator cap during the long road salt season.

Re: Gas?
 

Good to see not everyone on this forum is a cry baby.

Re: Gas?
 

So according to the fuel-testers products like Sta-bil don't really do what they say they do? I don't believe that to be true because I've used the product and others of the same type in my small engines and have not had the starting problems caused by stale gas that I did in the past.