So, we get no starts in the shop all the time. This one we got in yesterday and it had us scratching our heads until the customer told us all about what actually happened. Basically it wouldn't start, had spark, air and fuel. So, it should start, but it wasn't. We pulled a fuel sample and it was milky white. Basically what happens when you get any moisture in e-10 or greater (about 3tsp) to be exact it will actually cause the gas itself to separate into multiple layers, Ethanol, Gas, and Moisture, the problem is that two things can go wrong, A) good kind of go wrong... all that happens is to separate the ethanol, from the gas, gas gets too low of an octane rating, can't combust, no start die on the road etc. This is fixable, not without a little work, as you should drain the entire fuel system, of the contaminated stuff, and drop the tank, and dump the "phase" out of the tank by tipping it over. B) The bad kind of go wrong, Fuel pump sucks up the layer of water, you shoot water into the engine and get "Hydro lock" With ethanol it is a lot more difficult to avoid these problems, mostly because, the small amount of moisture wouldn't have caused any problems with conventional Long story short, be more careful in ethanol, and check what you put into your gas tank before hand. No one is happy when they have to have a car towed to us.
so with that said? Is it easer for this to happen with E85? I am planning on running my 383 stroker off of it this spring.
85% of e85 is ethanol, as with any ethanol, you run the risk of doing damage, but as long as you keep moisture out of it. and prepared to get even worse mileage with that thing then even you will expect. And make sure your hoses are designed to handle e85, other than that you should be good.
that's primarily if it were straight ethanol, pump gas ethanol is a blend so it depends on a lot of different factors. What I can say is that it usually will have an octane rating of roughly 105 in perfect conditions. But octane is just resistance to spark knock. so in theory yes But to accurately answer your questions, you are better off talking to a bio-fuels expert in the area, because all I know it will do to an engine for e10 or lower. Not one designed for it so don't take my word for it cause I could be wrong I know I'm almost no help, Terribly sorry
no it's fine. Thank you though. My machinist said e85 would make good power so I wanted your opinion is all.
A machinist is a mechanic with more experience, they know how to make things work better, and we know how to make it work when it stops working, if you get my drift. So yeah, go with what he said, and also make sure it is setup for e85 and you shouldn't have any problems.
