CFI FUEL SYSTEM, INJECTORS, STORAGE,PLUMBING AND OUR CRAPY FUEL THESE DAYS

[mountainhorse]

Today's ethanol added gas and even gas last season that did not have ethanol is not the best quality and does not store very well...So bad that fire dept are switching to fuels like VP's SEF 94 for stability reasons and ability to store well.

Click here for VP's SEF-94.

With our crappy gas these days... and VERY short storage life before deposits form... IMO...At the end of the season... add marine grade stabil to the gas in the last month of riding (you really never know when the last ride is for the year)...

Fog the motor after you know you've done your last ride.

Then, drain the tank completely... run the pump in prime mode with the return line disconnected and into a bottle to get the old fuel out of the lines... disconnect the line at the fuel filter and blow out the fuel with DRY compressed air, or preferably nitrogen at 45 psi.

Then, hook everything back up... install a new filter and you are ready for the next season.

OR... Drain your system, install a new filter and run the SEF94 thru the system at the end of the year...

Personally, I'm going to pony up for some SEF 94 for the end of next season (building this season with new motor and injectors etc).

If you have an EFi sled... IMO.. you should send in your injectors to get cleaned and checked for flow/symmetry each summer so that you KNOW, absolutely, that the injectors are not your weak link.

The ethanol can carry water with it which can corrode the pintle/seat in the injector.

Running fuel system cleaners at the beginning of the season to try to deal with this can actually make your problems worse... they can loosen gums and varnish in the tank/plumbing and clog filters, pump rotors and injectors...plus they can soften some of the plastics used in the sleds fuel systems.

Not that cleaners don't have a purpose.. IMO... they are a good Maintenance "tool" that can be run through the season to keep things clean... but if your EFi system is dirty already...don't do it IMO.

Also, with many people fueling from gas-cans... a lot of dirt etc can get into the system... IMO...ALWAYS use a funnel filter and make sure that your cans are always sealed after each use and kept clean inside.... Dont use old fuel no matter how tempted you are.

I use Witch Hunter Performance in Wa. for my cleaning and flow testing of injectors.

I like to be able to depend on my equipment each year... and don't want to leave this stuff to chance.

Also, for you new sled owners out there with extended warranties..the warranty does NOT cover fuel related issues like gummed up injectors etc.
If your motor burns down from clogged injectors... YOU are on the hook for the repairs.

I'm sure some will chime in and say that "I've not had a problem...I never needed to do this..." which is good for them.

All I can say is that the gas HAS changed in the past year or so, it will probably get worse and my riding time is too important to worry about this stuff... Preventive maint can go a long way towards a happy season.

My 2 cents.

 

[CompFusion]

I've always preached the use of fuel stabilizer during the last half of the season. If you run it regularly then it's already in good shape for the summer. Thank god we don't have the ethanol issues here yet...but I expect it's coming sooner or later.

 

[NapaMatt]

Very Well Done Again!


I will say also..

SEF-94.. It is worth Every Penny!


Race Fuel will go Bad.. Just Normally takes longer..


My .02

 

[mountainhorse]

Thanks Matt!

Race Fuel will go Bad.. Just Normally takes longer..

Some race gas will go bad in a day if it gets too hot.

SEF 94 is much more stable than normal race gas... It really isn't a performance gas... mostly for storage... Better than pump gas by a long shot...but cost is about $9/gallon in 5 gallon pails.

 

[Jaynelson]

Just a footnote,

Ethanol fuel, by rights, should actually keep the fuel system *cleaner* if used from day one. It holds basically no water compared to straight gasoline, and is much better at preventing gum, varnish and deposits than traditional gas.

The biggest problem with ethanol, is converting an engine that has only run traditional gas. The ethanol will "clean" out all the water and deposits and take them with it downstream in the fuel system causing obvious problems along the way. If you are forced to run ethanol fuel in an engine that has never seen it, you definetly want to make sure your fuel system is as clean as possible beforehand.

An engine that has only seen ethanol from day 1 *should* have a cleaner life than the alternative, and really shouldn't give you any strange issues besides the storage concerns, which should be a consideration with any fuel.

 

[mountainhorse]

Good points..

Gas and water dont mix though...

Alcohol and water do.

Alcohol absorbs water from condensation in fuel storage tanks, transport, atmosphere, and condensation in the sled (black tank in the sun... cold at night etc).

The water in the alcohol will corrode the pintle/seat of the injector over time...especially if left to sit unused over a longer period of time.

Also.. the gas itself is not that stable because of the oxygenates in it... I stick to my summer storage plan... injectors and fuel systems in general are not something I want to worry about for $40 over the summer.

Here is a good one I gleaned along the way..

If moisture does get absorbed into Ethanol gasoline, the Ethanol becomes less soluble in the gasoline, and will settle out at the bottom of the tank. Not only is this Ethanol+water combination not combustible in the engine, the remaining gasoline sitting above this stuff in the tank has 3-4 octane LESS than it did before the moisture caused the Ethanol to drop out. So the remaining gasoline is also garbage, with an octane (for regular) of maybe 83-84.

As a side note: Ethanol contains 34% less energy/volume, so gasoline with 10% Ethanol will contain about 3.4% less energy than pure gasoline.

 

[mountainhorse]

For filling... even/especially from the pump...Use one of these to keep as much water out of your tank as possible.

Use it at the pump and when fueling from cans... make sure that you keep your on-sled can clean and use this to fill it.... be extra careful when fueling in the field so that you don't get snow/water in the tank during the transfer.

http://www.outerwearsracing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=11022

Also... to get out any water without running it thru the system (like with IsoHeet etc) .. I like to use Aquasocks

They are working on a smaller one for power sports, but the #12 works fine.

http://www.aquasocks.net/

I've used them in a lot of equipment and they are very simple and work... I like to clip a small fishing weight to the bottom. so it drops right down to the bottom.

Put it on a fishing line, drop it in the tank when not in use for a while.. It only absorbs water not gas.

I keep a plastic jar with screw lid on it to hold it between uses... remove it from the tank, squeeze it out into the catch can in the shop and store it in the jar...pretty easy

 

[mountainhorse]

One of the biggest problems with gasohol (Ethanol blended Gasoline) is that it is extremely hygroscopic (the ability to attract water molecules from the surrounding environment and to hold them either through absorption or adsorption.

E-10 Gasohol (Gasoline containing 10% Ethanol) can hold up to 3.8 teaspoons of water in solution in the fuel. This water can lead to corrosion, poor economy, drivability problems, and to phase separation leading to other much more serious problems.

To combat this hygroscopic problem it is vital that storage tanks be purged of all water before any fuel containing Ethanol is added. The use of dispersant additives to deal with any residual water is also beneficial.

Storage tanks will pick up water from condensation of moisture in the air due to the daily changes in temperature. A large storage tank can actually generate anywhere from several ounces to as much as a gallon of water per day. Normally this water would settle to the bottom of the tank; however the Ethanol will pick it up, blend with it, and hold it in suspension.

The addition of a Desiccant type filter in the vent system will dramatically reduce or eliminate this condensation. While this idea is relatively new in the US many other countries mandate the use of these filters to prevent water problems.

It is also vital to regularly check the storage tank with water finding paste to be certain that there is no separated water on the tank bottom. Another advantage to water finding paste is that it will begin to slightly change color or in some cases small colored dots will begin to appear on the paste. This indicates that the fuel mixture is approaching the saturation point where phase separation will happen.

Note: Many of the electronic monitoring systems used for tank water detection may not register properly with Ethanol blended fuels. Also we have seen many instances where the fuel tank sending unit becomes saturated with water and stops functioning properly. When this happens the device will show the last good reading indefinitely.

It should be expected that tanks containing Ethanol will require a significantly higher level of maintenance than those holding regular gasoline or diesel.
For more information on this and other fuel related issues visit: http://www.lcbamarketing.com

...

 

[mountainhorse]

Maybe this is what happened with lognomore on the forums here

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216943

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2008/jun/22/problem-ethanol/

Ethanol Dissolves Plastic
"Ethanol can dissolve some solid materials," says a June 2006 Yamaha advisory to dealers. That includes varnish and rust on steel and corrosion on aluminum tanks. The result is contaminated fuel.

"In some cases, ethanol has been known to dissolve components of the fuel system itself," said Willis.

"Some fuel tanks and fuel lines are made of plastic, and ethanol is eating away at the plastic," said Jimmi Fredricks, service manager at Freedom Marine in Lake Placid. "It turns into a jelly, and when you get to the bottom of the fuel tank, it starts sucking it in."

Maybe this is the problem with