Fuel for my M37

[Wayne64]

I hate Ethanol. For my boat engine, lawn mower, Chainsaw, generators and basically everything that is not OBII computer driven. This is not a rant as I have accepted the fact that the tree huggers, lobbyists and politicians have worn me down. I am now going to buy at least 60 gals. of Av-gas which is both corn free and has lead. My question is, even though I don't need the 100 octane for the truck would it hurt anything? Thinking the lead would be a plus. Since pure gasoline stores for at least a year compared to the 3 month average of E10 I can use the truck as the storage supply for my other small engines. The added cost won't break the bank for the peace of mind it would give me. Opinions welcome
And BTW I HATE ETHANOL IN MY FUEL

[HingsingM37]

I run a 50/50 mix of pump gas and 100LL. Here in Ohio there are still many stations that do not have ethanol in the fuel, or at least it is not posted. As far as ill-effects of running straight avgas all of the time in these long stroke flat heads, it has to be better than using lead substitute IMHO. My plugs are always very clean and my engine seems to love my 50/50 blend. Maybe someone will weigh in on the more technical side.

[T. Highway]

Wayne,

Not sure if you have tried looking at this site for "E" free fuel. http://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NY

Bert

[Wayne64]

Thanks Bert,
Been to that site before. Problem is the closest place is about a 4 hour drive. I will check NJ and Pa. as my Son's get there from time to time. Living in downstate NY is the worse, an example is a CCP is issued upstate for life unless revoked. Downstate I have to pay $200 every 5 years for a renewal. It's all BS around the anthill.

[Kaegi]

the mix is the way to go. even running 1/3rd av gas to 2/3 pump is great. Av gas has WAAAY more lead in it than the leaded gas we used to run in cars so when you cut it down its about right. Also if you run it straight you can actually lose power because the high amounts of lead and super high octane slow down the burning of the fuel too much. mostly because of the high lead levels. in an airplane they run 1 rpm all the time so it doesnt matter. in a vehicel you want quick acceleration etc.

[52 M-42]

Thanks for that website, Bert! There is a place just a couple of miles from my house that has REAL GASOLINE and another place on the lake where I think I can get AV GAS.

Never would have known about the real gas station without that website.

Thanks again!

52 M-42

[T. Highway]

I've been using that website for a couple of years to find real gas stations in my area. My bike, boat, M and small engines run much better on the real gas.

Glad I could help.

Bert

[jimmy_stikx]

I might have to go to the local airfield to get a jerry can of av gas if the M's like the lead then. There unfortunately are no stations out here in my part of cali that don't have ethanol in the gas.

[Wayne64]

Best move I've made in a long time. Lucked out and met a fellow that owns and flies a WWII fighter trainer. I scored 22 gals. @ $5 per. Mixed 10 gals. with the 6 gals. approx. of E10 that was left in the tank. As soon as the new mix hit the carb the engine flat out ran smoother. I'm now playing with my college Chemistry and washing 93 octane E10 to remove the Ethanol. Should drop the octane to around 88 and then with a mix of av-gasI should be good for all my equipment. The chainsaw mix will be just 50:1 to the washed gas.
As an additional plus I might get a ride in that aircraft, as my buddy tells me it leaves the ground a couple of times a week.

[powerwagontim]

Hi Wayne,
How do you wash the ethanol out of the gas?
Tim

[jimmy_stikx]

Apparently desert airfields aren't open during the weekend. I wonder how camp fuel would go over...

[Wayne64]

Hi Wayne,
How do you wash the ethanol out of the gas?
Tim

Tree Huggers close your eyes, or find something to puke in.
How I used to do it.
First off is the container to use. For a low buck try get a Poland spring 5 gal. water bottle and cap. This will be the quick and dirty way. Add 1 gal of water, next add 4 gals of 93 E10. Stay with me as it gets weird. With a capped bottle shake the hell out of your mix. Let it sit for an hour. Shake the mix again and let it phase separate over night. What is now on the bottom is both the original water 1 gal and the Ethanol you now pulled out of the Gasoline. Mark the bottle first after the water is added and after the mix settles you will see an increase in the water mix level. To show even more the difference add a few drops of food coloring. If the Ethanol is out of the Gas than only the water layer will take on the color. Next in the low tech method is to siphon out the gas (10% less approx than 4 gals) that is floating on the water. I do it a bit different and can post pics in a few day's.
But wait your not done yet, add Sti-Bil to the Ethanol free gas which is now less Octane than 93 and it can now have a much longer shelf life than E10. Maybe 2 years compared to 3 months.
If you have anything that is a 2 stroke, get the Ethanol out. I also wouldn't use it in anything pre 2004 as the lines, rubber diaphragms, fuel pumps etc. weren't designed to work with Ethanol. Why do you think Av-Gas has none? If it did the small planes would be dropping like snow flakes. BTW, I HATE ETHANOL and why am I paying tax on a gallon of gas when 10% is something else?

[powerwagontim]

Hi Warren,
That is wild! It seems like a lot of work for a daily driver, but very worthwhile to make up a batch for all of the assorted small engines around here. I would love to see the pictures if you get them posted.
Thanks,
Tim

[retiredguy]

My 2cents. Higher octane will never hurt an engine mechanically. Too much octane will cause less power. Octane is a flame retardent. The higher the octane the slower the flash in the combustion chamber. Hence less detonation (pinging) with higher octane. I learnt this when I had a race engine on the dyno some time ago. Whe had 540 HP on 105 octane and when we went to 114 octane we lost 10HP. This was done without changing anything on the engine exept the fuel type. of course lead is better too but not for emissions... just my 2 cents

[Wayne64]

Tim, The first picture is my washing rig doing it's phase separation thing. The container is a VP racing fuel 5 gal jug. The red you see is the 1 gallon of both water and Ethanol dyed red. Above that is less 4 gals. of E free gasoline. In the next picture is the re worked top cap. The cap is already tapped 3/4" NPt that I use for the drain. The other capped line is a 1/8" NPT nipple I added that has a piece of 3/16" tubing that goes to the bottom of the jug. That is needed to vent the jug while draining off the water/Ethanol mix. Dyeing the water helps as you see when the color leave the clear drain hose you have E free fuel left.