E10 effects on carburetors in storage

[Snakeoil]

Yesterday, as I winterized my bikes, I also pulled out my S90 since it has not been run in 2 years. Decided to drop the bowl since I did not drain it when I put it away.

What I found was the bowl was empty, which is no surprise. There was a little residue in the bottom that stunk of old gas. Smelled more like an outboard motor float bowl than a bike. But regardless, I shot it with carb cleaner and it looked like new. No evidence of attack of any kind. There was a thick liquid clinging to the bottom of the floats which was a remnant of old gas. It too came off with a shot of carb cleaner and the floats looked fine.

I pulled the bowls on one other bike (CB160) which had been ridden this summer and it looked just as good as the S90.

My point is, I don't think, based on what I saw, that there is a lot of risk associated with not draining your float bowls for winter storage if is it only for 1 season. I don't drain any of my lawn equipment and it all fires right up in the spring.

I know it is only two datapoints, but both were very consistent.

I will add that the original carb on that S90 sat in a dealer showroom as a display piece for over 20 years. It appears that they just parked it and left it there with no prep work. Needless to say, E10 did not exist when that bike was parked. The float bowl on that carb was heavily attacked inside and there were actually pin holes thru the float bowl. So, I tend to think that it is not so much E10 that is the point of concern, but rather other stuff in the gasoline left behind when it evaporates and probably mixes with moisture in the air to do its dirty work.

regards,
Rob

[mike in idaho]

E10 gas is hydroscopic, it absorbs water from the air, with enough water content it will form a gel in the bottom of the float bowls. The alcohol in E10 will turn carbureter diaphrams, in chain saws and boat motors, into jelly while laid up for winter. We still have one source of non-ethanol gas in town, I keep a five gallon can of it at home(treated with gas stabilizer) for all my small engine needs. Every tank is filled with stabilized gas and every float bowl with a drain gets emptied in the fall around here, that way I have no problems next spring.

[Goodysnap]

Hello Rob,

I completely agree. I ussually run everthing empty and fill with fresh fuel come spring time and have no troubles. For peroids longer than 6 months storage, prevention is definately a good idea whatever method you use. The exposure to moisture is definately where the real damage occurs.

The shelf life seems to be drastically shortened since the addition of E10. Taking its toll on anything rubber in a very short amount of time.

Taking the proper steps before winter can mean much more ride time and less headache come spring.


Goody

[teazer]

Another alternative for storage is to empty the gas tank and run a few liters/pints of race gas or AvGas through the system. I wouldn't recommend running a bike on either, but they are fine for flushing E10 out of the carbs before letting your pride and joy sleep through the cold months.

We are lucky to have a race gas distributor close by and can get a couple of gallons out of a sealed 55 gallon drum at a reasonable price.

Be careful which race gas you get though as some cannot be left in a tank for any length of time and some are intended to be drained overnight.

Our race Hondas are drained and stored empty and breathing to dissipate gas fumes. Street bikes I tend to flush through with race gas and then drain carbs and tanks and seal the gas container or use it in a snowblower or the truck which is so old that it basically predates emissions laws. ;-)

[Hahnda]

Quite a few times I have seen E10 fuel turn into green crystal-like substance in the float bowl, in the jets, on the float, etc. Short term can be ok but the off season in Wisconsin can be from Oct to May for some people. Luckily we still have quite a few gas stations that still sell ethanol free gas.