Gasoline without ethanol in Western Massachusetts

[Imbeek]

With winter approaching, I'm thinking of trying to do more than add blue Stabil to crap gas with ethanol for everything with a gas engine that won't be running for a while (like motorcycles, boats, mowers, weed wackers, leaf blowers, chain saws, log splitters, and power washers...DANG thats a lot of carbs to clog!)(and doesn't even include the snow blower that's probably clogged from sitting since last winter when it was hardly used)

Anyone know of a place near Southwick, MA that sells gasoline without ethanol? I'm thinking I might just try to get in the habit of ALWAYS filling my gas cans and small engines with "real" gas.

Sincerely thinking that corn makes good food, but not fuel,

Gary

[stoinkythepig]

I can't help you with ethanol-free gas, but I can recommend just running all your carburetors dry whenever you plan to store an engine for more than a couple of months. I've been doing so for years with no problems at all. If you don't have fuel shut-offs on your fuel lines, they are easy enough to add to any engine that has a fuel line. I dump the fuel back into the can from my leaf blower, chain saws, and string trimmer. I run my rototiller and mower engine out of gas at the end of the season since there's no place to install a shut-off and no convenient way to drain them. I use my tractor year-round so it always has gas in the carb.

[markbvt]

Even up here in northern Vermont, our supply of nonethanol gas has disappeared. It's fairly easy to find nonethanol premium during the summer, but as soon as the switch is made to the winter gas blend it becomes unavailable.

Next year, fill a few gas cans with nonethanol in late August or early September to prepare; for this year, just use whatever gas you've got available, but add a good ethanol-specific treatment to it (not just Stabil blue). Something like Startron or K100 should do a pretty good job of keeping your small engines safe.

--mark

[nt650hawk]

easy solution

get as much fuel out of the small equipment and run em dry = no gas in the bowls.

[AVI8_636]

If you really want something without ethanol in it, you can always get 100LL from the airport. Draining the carbs sounds like a better idea though

[TIMMYDUCK]

One of the only places I know with ethanol - free at the pump.

http://www.vermontgasprices.com/Whit...205/index.aspx

[Stromper]

I had the idea that I would go to the airport and get av gas

The attendant said it was EPA illegal to pump av gas into containers

I am not sure about Marine fuel but probably not

The real problem is air being drawn in and expelled as the temperature cycles. If tanks are filled to the brim to eliminate air space OR the container is sealed it kinda is an unproblem. I do dump long storage stuff like chain saws though.

[TIMMYDUCK]

Here is a nationwide list of stations.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=VT

P.S. Mass is not on the list .

No ethanol free gas for you in that state.

[B440]

Storage fuels from VP Racing: http://www.vpracingfuels.com/storagefuels

[Imbeek]

easy solution

get as much fuel out of the small equipment and run em dry = no gas in the bowls.

This is the hassle which I am trying to avoid, permanently, because it is hard to know when will be the last time each season every tool will be used, hard to know how much gas to put into each tool based on how long you intend to use it, and a pain in the ass (Not to mention dangerous) to be splashing gas around emptying out of tanks back into a can.

Also, is it really enough to just get fuel out of the bowls? (By shutting off a petcock and running the carb dry, but not draining the tank?) If the normal venting of a gas tank is letting air into the tank, wont that turn the gas in the tank into crap as well? Or rust the inside of the tank if drained, due to condensation of moisture in the air?

One of the reasons I would rather just start buying ethanol free gas, if I can, is: I figure if ethanol free gas is available, and I buy it, and so do other people, it will be more likely to continue to be available.

I dunno, it's just one of my pet peeves that a bunch of politicians who likely never used, never mind wrenched, their own power equipment are the ones who make policy changes which put a ridiculously short shelf life on gasoline, and risk fouling up countless carburetors as a result.

Who legislated that it was okay to put 10% ethanol into gas, when that 10% makes gas an incredibly less useful product because of the short shelflife? And if they're going to allow ethanol which shortens the shelflife, shouldn't they require that the additives that (re)extend shelflife be added too? In other words, if Texaco can make more money by selling me 10% corn in the gas, then let them supply the stabil or whatever additive is required to get back to the shelflife it used to be, and let them mix it into the gas before I buy so I don't have to go to the trouble and expense.

I am not that old, but I feel old to be the guy saying "gee, I remember when you could just put gas in your lawnmower and use it whenever you got around to using it, even if it was next season" (without having to buy expensive additives and remember to add them to everything). I remember before all this ethanol crap started, being able to start vehicles that had been sitting with the same gas, without additives, for three or four years!

I originally posed this question because I did hear that ethanol free gas was available in Vermont. It is a bummer to hear that it might not be available all year round. it seems illogical that it would not be available in the fall, when arguably you would want it most!

Hopefully the market will speak. I'm going to keep trying to find ethanol free gas and buy it. If a lot of others do the same, perhaps it will become a lot more common. If it is available locally, it seems a lot easier to just choose to buy it there than it is to do the whole additive and/or draining thing.

[Imbeek]

Here is a nationwide list of stations.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=VT

P.S. Mass is not on the list .

No ethanol free gas for you in that state.

Thanks for this link Timmy, looks like I will be throwing gas cans in my truck on my next trip snowboarding if it is available in the winter (didn't see your link before sending my last post)

[AVI8_636]

I had the idea that I would go to the airport and get av gas

The attendant said it was EPA illegal to pump av gas into containers

I worked line service for a few years, and people would come in almost on a daily basis to buy avgas for their lawn mowers, dirt bikes, street bikes etc. I've never heard of it being illegal to pump avgas into a container, it's just a fuel. Out of all the training I went through to get certified with Shell there was NEVER any mention of not filling containers. In fact many pilots who are working on their planes have no other way of getting fuel into their tanks other than filling containers.

[markbvt]

Here is a nationwide list of stations.

http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=VT

That list is not accurate anymore. As I stated above, while most/all of those stations (and additional ones) have nonethanol premium available in the summer, they can't get it once the switch to the winter gas blend takes place (in September). They currently only have E10, though they seem pretty committed to getting nonethanol back as soon as they can in the spring. Also, WAGS, in Addison near the Champlain Bridge, treats their E10 with the marine-formula Stabil.

--mark

[Imbeek]

What is a winter gas blend? Does it have some dry gas added or something?

[Kurlon]

That list is not accurate anymore. As I stated above, while most/all of those stations (and additional ones) have nonethanol premium available in the summer, they can't get it once the switch to the winter gas blend takes place (in September). They currently only have E15, though they seem pretty committed to getting nonethanol back as soon as they can in the spring. Also, WAGS, in Addison near the Champlain Bridge, treats their E15 with the marine-formula Stabil.

--mark

Whoa, are you saying some stations are selling E15 out of regular pumps right now? That's not supposed to be legal.

[G21forme]

Whoa, are you saying some stations are selling E15 out of regular pumps right now? That's not supposed to be legal.

This, WTF?

[TIMMYDUCK]

That list is not accurate anymore. As I stated above, while most/all of those stations (and additional ones) have nonethanol premium available in the summer, they can't get it once the switch to the winter gas blend takes place (in September). They currently only have E15, though they seem pretty committed to getting nonethanol back as soon as they can in the spring. Also, WAGS, in Addison near the Champlain Bridge, treats their E15 with the marine-formula Stabil.

--mark

I take no responsibility for the content .

I Just linked it in brawww....

[markbvt]

Whoa, are you saying some stations are selling E15 out of regular pumps right now? That's not supposed to be legal.

D'oh, sorry, brain fart. I meant E10, of course. Fixed it in my post above.

--mark