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

[xc6rider]

Todays fuels are horrible, and especially on small engines. I'm getting sick of going through fuel systems on all of our toys at the fire station. Every tool is run on average, three times a week, and it's still not enough.

I'm definitly going to look into the fuel you mention!!

Problem is, we have to get our fuel from the city's supply, which is all ethanol blend. We could get around it by buying our own supply of the above fuel.

 

[Arcteryx]

Ogden

Keller Strauss in Ogden still has ethanol free fuel as of now. So does the Exonerate in Far West. These are the only 2 places I could find in Ogden area but I did confirm it. They both said to watch the pump for the sticker as the first load of ethanoled fuel would require them to post.

X2 on the sea foam, at least for a bike. Used it in my Honda and it cleared up a few problems.

 

[rmk727]

As usual here this is great stuff. But I can't say enough about doing a good job fogging these things, take the fact that the gas sucks then add injectors spraying it on the rods while oil consumption has been halfed and that is a scary place for a motor to be, personally i put in a quart of oil in my last tank of fuel, will do the fuel stabilizer; then fog; then drain tank to near empty, I've seen to many none fogged motors with the $2800.00 tune up needed. $9.00 a gallon for a couple gals is cheap compared to that tune up special

 

[hiwayman]

I first read about the Fich fuel catalyst's in snow Tech. magazine. I have used them in my sleds tanks since 2002 and they have never given me any issues. I should add that I live in minnesota where we have had (corn gas) for many years. I add sea foam to the tank before putting the sleds away for the summer and run them 2 or 3 times just to get them warmed up over the summer. I have never had a fuel related issue with any of my sleds since using this method and I've owned 8 different 2 strokes since '02 including 3 CFI'd sleds. So MH, I'm not much of a believer in Snake oil sales pitchs either, but the fich, for whatever reason does work.

 

[hiwayman]

I should add that I have a 5 year old Mercury Opti max treated the same way for storage and never an issue with it either. But, I have the tanks down to less than a quarter full for storage and add fresh when brought out of storage.

 

[cobaltpilot]

FICHT

You're skeptical???

Metal alloy fuel catalysts are well known to prevent varnish formation and they have independent ASTM test results to prove it (even our military uses them!). My background is chemistry and chemical engineering. Some of the other claims Fitch makes are stretching things but NOT for prevention of varnish formation!!!

Have FUN!

G MAN

Believe it or not, I have had good experience w/ the FICHT drop in fuel catalyst on a Harley Twin Cam 88 that I had built up.

I had the HeadQuarters 95" kit put into my Harley with their high compression heads. Also had intake and exhaust done. Even with 94 octane non-ethanol that engine would ping when whacking it open at low RPM.

As a last ditch effort before ordering the low compression heads I dropped the FICHT catalyst into the fuel tank and after a day the pinging was gone.

I don't know how it worked. I was 110% skeptical myself but had nothing to lose as I wasn't able to get higher octane at any of the local gas stations where I live. It worked. Go figure...

I don't know how this experience translates to 2-stroke applications, but I thought I'd share it with the forum.

B.

 

[mountainhorse]

I would not drain the tank or let the fuel rail be left dry, the seals will dry out and next season you will be replacing the pump and injectors, or atleast the o-rings.
been there done that.

I have some Sincere questions...

What seals are you talking about drying and cracking?

I believe that the Walbro PFA assembly and the Millennium fuel lines are using Viton or Chlorinated rubber o-rings... It was my understanding that this type of o-ring does not soak up gas (or solvents) and soften over time like natural rubbers and therefore don't dry out... Maybe someone with more experience on this topic could chime in.

Also, the pump/fuel pressure regulator etc hang at the top of the tank... with only two hoses and the Walbro smart-valve pickup screens and urethane hoses laying in the bottom part of the tank

Have you had o-rings or other parts dry out or crack on a modern CFI Polaris/Walbro PFA or hose assembly?

 

[xcpolaris]

I had the the hose's that lay in the bottom of the tank dry out and fell apart on 2 different sleds last winter both 600's an 08 & 09 RMK and Switchback
all caused by pump gas

 

[mountainhorse]

I had the the hose's that lay in the bottom of the tank dry out and fell apart on 2 different sleds last winter both 600's an 08 & 09 RMK and Switchback
all caused by pump gas

xcpolaris: Did they dry out because they were not lying in any gas (completely empty tank)??

I've seen some of the fuel line assemblies go bad like you describe, but this was during the season with gas in the tank... probably additives in the local fuel or something that was put in the tank.

 

[xcpolaris]

happend mid season

 

[mountainhorse]

Here is a photos that lognomore posted in this thread that showed the decompostion of his fuel lines in the tank of his IQ.

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

 

[Matte Murder]

Great thread. The Grange across from I90 Motorsports in Issaquah has real gas. That is the only thing I run in my sleds. It's clear and even smells good. I forgot what real gas smells like. Ethanol is the work of the devil. Made a mess of my generator, couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run for crap even though I put fresh gas(ethanol) stabilized with Stabil. I bought a drum with an electric pump that has a really nice filter set up so I can use this gas on longer trips. Again, I HATE ETHANOL! We can thank the Greenies for that nightmare.

 

[jim9006]

X2 thats where I've bought my gas since the sled was new, and I've never had a problem with my '09 dragon. Racing and jetting dirt bikes for over 20years has taught me ehtanol = problems.

Great thread. The Grange across from I90 Motorsports in Issaquah has real gas. That is the only thing I run in my sleds. It's clear and even smells good. I forgot what real gas smells like. Ethanol is the work of the devil. Made a mess of my generator, couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run for crap even though I put fresh gas(ethanol) stabilized with Stabil. I bought a drum with an electric pump that has a really nice filter set up so I can use this gas on longer trips. Again, I HATE ETHANOL! We can thank the Greenies for that nightmare.

 

[mountainhorse]

I moved the posts (including my own) on on the political economic aspects of Ethanol in our Gasoline to this thread here for further discussion and not take away from this thread which is more about the technical aspects.

See this Thread:

http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233921

 

[mountainhorse]

This year, I'll be storing my sled with VP C9 Storage-Fuel , Blowing out all the lines/hoses/PFA ... and spending the $40 to send the injectors in to get cleaned and checked for flow.

Yes, it is a bit expensive, but it can save me big, costly, problems next year. The price of this fuel, to me, is worth it in the long run... especially since I'm only doing this once a year.

Starting up the sled over the summer is still a good idea once a month to keep the internal parts coated with oil, but I simply fog the engine well, and do a full prep (and mouse proof) for summer storage, the whole maintenance schedule in fact, like pulling out the skid, cleaning out all the corrosion, dirt and old grease, reassemble with new super high quality cold-weather compatible synthetic grease (including the spindles)... and any prep cleaning for the next season.

AND it has better shelf life than 100LL (AKA: "AV-GAS")and runs better next fall with this fuel that the 104 Motor-Octane 100LL. The C9 is a much more compatible 92 octane... on a stock compression motor. Heck... it would be good for storage for you turbo guys that are mixing 25% 110 Race to pump (25% race-110/pump-91 comes out to about 91.8 MON)

.

 

[snowmoherb]

Great thread. The Grange across from I90 Motorsports in Issaquah has real gas. That is the only thing I run in my sleds. It's clear and even smells good. I forgot what real gas smells like. Ethanol is the work of the devil. Made a mess of my generator, couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run for crap even though I put fresh gas(ethanol) stabilized with Stabil. I bought a drum with an electric pump that has a really nice filter set up so I can use this gas on longer trips. Again, I HATE ETHANOL! We can thank the Greenies for that nightmare.

That's where I get my gas when headed to the I-90 play areas, when I'm heading to Baker, I get Non-Ethanol gas at the 76 Station on the west side of I-5 in Conway.

Three years now, and no fuel related problems... *knocks on head*

 

[DYEMAN]

Summer storage

V/P is a very good product , but 100ll has greater over site as to fuel quality ,the FAA has very strict rule on fuel quality ! When storing fuel in plastic type tanks , lites in fuel evaporates ! 92 octane ??ethnol?? Thank for the VP tip !:f

 

[POLZIN]

IM going to dissemble my sled. Perform autoclave sterilization of each nut and bolt and individually hermetically seal each piece. I will store the components in a under ground bunker encapsulated in a Faraday cage.

Oh I almost for got about the belt washing. Gotta have that .0001% gain

 

[6Mile]

In Minnesota, we have been dealing with e10 or higher fuels since the early late 80's. One of the pains of living in a progressive state i guess. This is my routine that go through every year, and it is done twice a year for me as I have boats to deal with as well as sleds.

First thing is to try and get non oxy fuel in the tank last ride of season. It can be had in MN but it will take a bit to track it down sometimes. Add Sea-Foam in the proper amount listed on the can.

When you are done with the final ride, fog the engine with a fogging oil, doing this on a Pro is not that fun, explain to the neighbors that your garage is not on fire and all is under control. Then explain to your buddies on the fire department that just arrived in the first responders truck that your garage is not on fire, and send the back to the fire station with a case of cold beer.

Once the smoke has cleared from fogging the engine and the argument with the neighbors, go to the local fuel station that has non-oxy fuel with a few 5 gallon cans to fill up, and also at that time add a bit of sea-foam to the cans while you are filling them. Once back home fill the tank of the sled to the top. Grease and cover the sled and then push it into the corner of the garage.

Then in the fall when you are completely ready to go for a ride pull the sled out of the corner of the garage. Do your normal Pm work. For me that is pulling the shocks and rear skid for inspection and rebuild. I rebuild my own shocks and fall is the time I do it. Then drain the chain case pull the cover and inspect the guts re-assemble and fill. Inspect and clean the clutches.

Then drain the fuel and put it in the truck and the take the gas cans to the non-oxy fuel station add some sea foam to the cans and fill with fresh gas. Fill the sled with the new fuel. Fire up the sled and let it warm up completely, while explaining to your neighbors there is no reason to call the fire department.

The it cool down a bit and then take it for a rip on the grass in the empty lots behind my place ensuring the neighbors suspicion that I truly am a nut job.

Mission Accomplished...

Oh and this method has prevented any issues related to fuel during off season storage.

 

[mountainhorse]

Kreg,

I think you should wipe it down with hand sanitizer as well!!





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