If you haven't tried to start the sleds yet......

[bee]

I have put 4 miles on mine in the last couple days and it is running good.

[gamefisher]

Sure hope you guys all avoid this issue.  Just got off the phone with my sled guy and he said he couldn't believe how bad my carbs. were trashed from this ethanol stuff.  Being triples the were a little more work but atleast I'll have them for the big snows, picking them up tomorrow.

I sure hope they go back to letting us use the old stuff atleast for the toyz.

[THREECAR]

i was under the impression that the higher the octane the cooler it ran and the harder to ignight the fuel.

i was told it'd be counterproductive in the horsepower world unless you had high enough compression to need to combat pre-ignition. we run 110 sunoco from 55 gallon drum in the racecar and it works great 11-1 compression and have raced for over 2 hours straight without issues.
the lower the octane you can run without melting the pistons the higher the hp's will be.

but that's race fuel i don't know if its the same as aviation fuel.

Your basically right there Kimball  .

Higher octane fuels don't fry pistons. Lean mixtures and or advanced ingition timing do. The reason performance engines run higher octane fuels is that the fuel is more stable under higher compression ratios. It is less likely to pre-ignite under higher compression. What fries pistons is lean mixtures, which burn slow and hot. A mechanical linked carb which has varnished up from old fuel, will deliver less fuel per ignition cycle, yet the same amount of air, thus the lean mixture. What sucks about this scenario, is there is usually no warning. Unless you have a cylinder head temp gauge, or an exhaust temp gauge, your not going to know it's even happening until it's too late.

[gamefisher]

    Well, who has better luck with equip. than me.....   After last yr. of having ethanol issues by storing the sleds full with Marine Stabil I opted to empty them as best possible and had Startron in them.  Grabbed them from storage today, go to start them, and you guessed it, same exact problem.   Must have something to do with them being triples because the old sno scoot purred sweet.  Time to drain some pancake batter out of the carbs I guess, this is getting old real quick......and they are talking about going to 15% with this crap....

Check em boyz, hopefully you all fair better.

[teampar]

 Tough luck  Eric. I tend to agree about the triple. Must be too many spare parts on those!  

[stumper]

2nd pull for my tripple 600 2 days ago and it was purring .Spent the summer outside on a trailer,,used a little seafoam in the fuel when I parked it in march.

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

My neighbor and I stored ours the same way, at the same time. I started mine once or twice a month since i put it up at then end of last season, he didn't, mine started 2nd pull, his hasnt and needs some work (mines also 20 yrs older than his.)

I've always had good luck starting everything in the off season. Always sputters and chugs a little, but never had any major problems.

[surflizard]

"You dont wanna run the 105- they have two versions -ya wanna run the 85 octane"
Ditto on the 85 oct Das, I swapped to it this past spring and with a little Seafoam, Everything has cleared up, no more hard starting, sputtering or stalling ! I love it !  

[Coach]

Bought a New JD tractor over at the farm and the dealer told us that they are voting in the next couple of weeks to go up to 15% Ethanol for 2011.  He said that everyone would need to run 2007 and newer equipment to handle this crap.

[Sinnian]

Bought a New JD tractor over at the farm and the dealer told us that they are voting in the next couple of weeks to go up to 15% Ethanol for 2011.  He said that everyone would need to run 2007 and newer equipment to handle this crap.

They're gonna have to do a no timetable cash for clunker for everything then.

[mr.clean]

There was a thread in the General board awhile back on ethanol and it's problems. If you go to the website posted below you canenter your state and see where ethanol free gasoline is sold.
 Steve

                          http://pure-gas.com

[TinyTim]

None in Maine though, IMAGINE THAT!

[mr.clean]

Sorry to hear that Tiny ,thought I might be able to help some fellow members out.
 Steve

[FloatinWoody]

Where are you guy's getting the 85 AV gas ethanol free?  Generally speaking, if you fully drain the carbs in sinterized, or Summerized engines, there's nothing left to turn to Varnish. I do all my own work and have for years. If something goes into storage, carb get's drained, and Cyls. get fogged. Gas is treated with Startron. I don't have any issues. I can see how a triple can have more issues, but then again..If there is no gas left in the carbs, it shouldn't.

[Sinnian]

There is a store in Freedom NH, right over the Maine border in route 25 from Kezar Falls/Porter that sell E free gas.  It is more expensive, but an option.

[Five Trap Limit]

bought a new strikemaster last fall. love the machine! so...wanting to take care of it correctly i refered to the manufacturer for summerizing.
They said run it completely dry and no need for fogging.
I sure hope it was the right thing. I have never been  so impressed with an auger. fastest machine on the lake, quiet, and user friendly.
But It wont be worth squat if it doesnt run.
I was thinking about firing it up to see but I dont want gas sitting in it for another 2 months waiting for season.

[gamefisher]

Thanks for the input guys, truly hope you all fair better.  Question for Stumper or anyone else who might know the answer regarding this SeaFoam stuff.  Does it have any corrective powers, meaning, I can get the sleds to start but not idle unless I feather the gas.  If I ran this stuff through them, might it correct the problem when it get's to the carb. bowls   Thank you.

[stumper]

Yes it will clean gum out of the carbs. Get some fresh gas in the sled and add some seafoam. Run it long enough to fill the carbs and let it sit a few days. Repeat the process a few times and it should help. I did this with an old chainsaw that had gas in it for a couple yrs and it now runs great.I had  to flush the tank every time though cuz it was all varnished up as well.Good luck.

[icecruiser]

I stopped using seafoam when I learned it is 10-20 % isopropyl alcohol.  I am not adding more alcohol to any of my fuels.

I now am mixing my own version of seafoam without the alcohol.

You can search the net for it if you like.

John

[Sinnian]

I stopped using seafoam when I learned it is 10-20 % isopropyl alcohol.  I am not adding more alcohol to any of my fuels.

I now am mixing my own version of seafoam without the alcohol.

You can search the net for it if you like.

John

Isopropyl alcohol is nothing like Ethanol.  It is mainly "dry gas", and is relatively nontoxic (though the fumes will do you in) and evaporates quickly.

[jmayo]

i started using seafoam in the shop when we started having trouble even while using marine stabil. since switching over to seafoam everything is so much better than before it is my recomendation from here on out. both of my snowmobiles stored outside this summer with seafoam treated gas and not started since last march fired right up 3 weeks ago with just a few pulls. this is just my 2 cents but it does work alchol or not!

John

[gamefisher]

Thanks everyone, does anybody know where to get SeaFoam in the Waterville area?

[Davek]

     Try your local auto parts store,Auto Zone in my town has it.

[jmayo]

walmart caries it i have some but im not in waterville

[icecruiser]

I beg to differ with some of the opinions about the different alcohols.  I have nothing against seafoam and have used it for years.  I just did have a time this summer with some problems with water in my outboard.  I was saved by my Racor filter and carrying extra filters.  I think it actually was that I filled up and got some gas and some straight water. 

Ethanol is a solvent as are methanol and isopropyl alcohol or isopropanol.  Ethanol absorbs water readily as the whole problem with e10 fuels.  It also is a solvent.   Isopropyl absorbs water a bit more strongly than ethanol.  That is why it was used as a dry gas.  It was to absorb the water and let it get burned through the engine.   This was put into use before e10. 

However with the fuel containing 10% ethanol there is no reason in this world to add more alcohol of any sort.  What is it going to do?  Absorb more water?  That is already bound up with the ethanol.  You can search the web for lots of references as to this.  Most engines are reportedly not made to run on more than 10% ethanol.  I know my outboards all state not to run any higher than that.  I am just not going to add any more alcohols.  Now of course the wise government may be coming out with e15 anyway but I sure hope not.  If this is the case I bet there will be more questions about using fuel additives with alcohols in them.

I also realize that the amount of seafoam when added to fuel does not make up a large portion.  Probably not large enough to really impact the overall percentage of alcohol. 

I just have started making my own version of seafoam minus the alcohol.  It is much cheaper too. 

I am not opposed to seafoam but just think people might want to look closely at some of these additives.

John

[stumper]

Thats part of  WHY I use it, I want it to absorb the water, otherwise you get frozen fuel lines/carbs.

[icecruiser]

You want it to absorb water.  THe fuel already has 10% ethanol in it.  That can absorb way more water than any amount of isopropyl you can add to the fuel.  If you have 10 gallons of gas one gallon of it is ethanol and 9 of it is gasoline.  So you think adding a pint or smaller amount of isopropyl is going to absorb the water that is not absorbed by that gallon of ethanol?  

Stumper we can't buy gas without 10% ethanol in maine, I would use seafoam in an instant in fuel without ethanol. 

The problem with ethanol is that is absorbs and attracts water then also separates.  The point of fuel stabilization is to prevent separation.  Isopropyl does not do this.  

  
Take a look at this site
http://www.fuel-testers.com/index.html

Keep doing whatever works for you but just be aware of some of the issues.

John

[stumper]

The fuel I park it with has no ethanol in it at all.

[jacksmelt71]

the first yr. they came out w/ e-10 i used k-100 in my '06 skidoo all season and put her away with k-100.  beg. of next winter did the bog down thing for the first mile. had to choke er' to keep her running. did that several times then cleared up. switched to startron and havent had a problem since. buddy of mine used marine stabil in his all last season and both his skidoo and yamaha had to be drained and carbs cleaned this fall. mine started after the third pull. we gas at the same and only gas station in town. im sold on startron. marine stabil helps w/ the water problem but doesnt keep the fuel/ alcohol +water from separating at least thats what my bro. the mechanic said. gonna be interesting when they come out w/ e-15 at the pumps in dec. most cars on the road are made to burn 10% alcohol not 15%. someone should start a petition to stop these jack arses before all our engines are junk! if i knew how to start one i would!

[xcr440]

I always wait till the winter fuels are in. Which is usually early to mid nov. No issues as most winter blends have less than 1% of eth.