Fuel won't flow

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yesterday I was pouring gas into my car from a 2 gallon red plastic gas can and it didn't seem to be flowing from the spout. When I removed the spout to check the filter screen, this is what I saw. I tried to lightly brush away the green scum, but the ethanol had so corroded the brass screen that it fell apart from the outer glued part.

The carb float is the brass float in my Tillotson motorbike carb.

I'm showing these pictures not to start another ethanol debate, because we already know how bad it is and what a waste of money it is, but to show the importance of not storing crap gas in small engines and limit the time it is stored in containers. I know a lot of us carry spare gas for the Model A and I hope it's the good gas if you store it for more than a month.

[mantta]

It is sad that our government is doing this, especially because it costs less to produce a gallon of gasoline than it does to produce a gallon of ethanol.

[Mitch//pa]

how about using seafoam in your gas can to stabilize the fuel longer and also run it in your small engines to help prevent those nasty effects

[MikeK]

Very interesting, and a fuel stabilizer will not prevent this. Three things are needed to produce this verdigris. Free oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water. The green is a mixture of copper hydroxide and copper carbonate.
2 Cu + H2O + CO2 + O2 → Cu(OH)2 + CuCO3. A fuel stabilizer will prevent phase separation, but will not prevent the ethanol from absorbing water from the air. Atmospheric CO2 + O2 dissolve into solution in E10 and you have the perfect mix to make a verdigris copper patina over time. The architectural copper sheet metal guys would be jealous. They pay $50 a gallon for 'soup' to put that patina on copper. Ready for E15?

[29restorod]

This winter I saw a new product, made for stabilizing ethanol fuel. This product was found at the Muscle Car muesum in Punta Gorda Florida. The claim was," it is better than Seafoam, or Stabil". Sorry I can't remember the name. It was made locally in Florida. I did not buy any because I have not had any problems while using Seafoam. In my Model A, I leave the tank half full with Seafoam. I run the engine,then turn off the fuel, and run the carb dry. I do the same with my other two rods that have electric fuel pumps. In my small engines, I also use Seafoam, and then run the engine dry.

[sethkestenbaum]

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Way to break out the science MikeK!

[H. L. Chauvin]

Tom,

Had similar experience with a "new" steel fuel tank flame arrestor.

The cadmium coating on the steel screen turned white & began to disintegrate thus exposing the steel which began to rust.

The holes in the screen filled in with white corrosion & dropped white particles in the bottom of the fuel tank -- such a mess, threw the flame arrestor away.

[Purdy Swoft]

Thank goodness that we finally got a Shell station that sells ethanol free gas. I was pouring gas in the roadster yesterday and spilled a bunch of it on the tank and hood. I figured I had really played hell but it wiped right off without any damage to my acrylic lacquer paint. The ethanol adultrated gas that we had to use before would ruin a lacquer finish before I could wipe it off.

[Patrick L.]

Hmmm, the only times I've seen crap like that was when someone 'soaped' a gas tank.