Gasoline

[musicman]

I've been away awhile... lost a child, closed a business, got divorced, became a kid again, found another wonderful woman, and got married again. Life is still good. But, recently... I let my truck sit for some time because the carburetor was pumping fuel out after I shut it down. I rebuilt it this past weekend and the smell of that stale gas almost gagged me. Had a boat years ago with dual tanks... I found that running Amoco Ultimate 93 was stable enough to sit for years without going bad. Question is... is there a comparable gasoline on the market now? And..is it available without ethanol?!?

[rspears]

Welcome back, Musicman! Life takes twist & turns, but it sounds like you're doing OK again. Ethanol free gasolines are harder to find, but still out there in a lot of places. Around here only in the premium grade, and even then the nearest is about 15 miles away. Here's a link to a site that documents locations, and what's available state by state - Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada Stabil also makes an additive for ethanol blends (goldeneagle.com) that is supposed to keep it from separating, but I prefer 100% gasoline when I can get it.

[Bob Parmenter]

In a word...............no.
The culprit is oxygen attaching itself to unsaturated gasoline molecules.........oxidation. The processes that fuel companies have to employ today to comply with politician designed fuel standards results in lots of cracked molecules that are unsaturated, just waiting to capture oxygen molecules (which are handily introduced in greater quantities by oxygenates such as ethanol). Finding ethanol free fuel might help a bit, but not really a solution over a longer storage period.

[musicman]

Thanks... I was told that BP premium was the same as the old Amoco 93 white gas... hoping someone could shed some light on that. The only constant is change.

[rspears]

Everything I find about BP Ultimate and Amoco Clear 93 is dated information from the 2000 to 2002 range after the merger of BP and Amoco in 2000. Lots of hype out there. I'd say Uncle Bob's got it right with "No".

[musicman]

May be right... But I may be crazy. I'm gonna go buy a little and do a test!