EU1000 stumbles

[safari 28]

A product that over the years has been just incredible is Lucas fuel treatment. I use it in my boat every year in the spring. Tank has been filled and fuel conditioner from the dealer installed in the fall, but the gas is just old. This stuff makes it seem like fresh gas. It also works as a cleaner/lube for fuel injection systems. I use in all my kids cars, really helped in high altitude applications where older fuel injectors are clogging due to lack of air.

For my 10 kw back up generator at the house, I keep the tank filled and apply the Lucas. I run the unit monthly for 20 minutes under load/ when home??. I never use Stabil, had problems big time before I was turned on to this Lucas fuel conditioner. Once/ year I drain what is left if not used and start with a fresh tank.

[henw]

All gasoline in Fla will now be 10% ethanol. The only exception will be at Marinas as the alcohol can damage fiberglass tanks on boats. But, the marinas are having a hard time in finding the real stuff. It does run hotter. And, I am concerned about what it will do to my generators.

Tom

[Pick]

Solved all those problems by converting mine to propane! Really glad I did after reading this thread. My EU2000 is 7 years old, probably has about 250-300 hours on it.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

if you test the gas in all 50 states you might find as many as 100 different blends. The blend of additives and the new addition of corn to our gas makes for a very inconsistent product. Small engines have a hard time coping with the drastically different blends.

[ts8501]

I know it is counter intuitive (low Octane, no Stab-bil, run gas til empty). I use Sta-bil in everything, but not the Honda any more. I never usd to run fuel all the way out for just two weeks of storage. I now run out all gas in the EU1000. Lastly, it runs great on the lower Octane Unleaded (MN is also 10% Ethenol in all fuels). So I understand the head scratching. All I can say is that when I run mine in this manner, it runs like a champ. When I thought I knew better, and went back to my way, I was back to cleaning out the jets as it idled like a bad Model T. Do note that I have a 5 years old EU 1000. I believe they updated to model since then, so I cannot speak to whether the newer model requires the same treatment.

[DFord79]

I have used Sta-bil for 30 years. NO problems of any kind. I have many small engines from mowers, tillers etc. They always start easy for me in the spring. I just keep them clean and maintained and full of gas treated with Sta-bil over the winter.

YOU DO NOT NEED PREMIUM....in anything that is not specifically designed for premium. There are NO benifits. NOT my opionion but the advice of all manufacturers and information from Gas companys back up this.

Ethenol in an engine that is not designed for it causes problems with gaskets and fuel lines. My auto manual for my late model Ford Thunderbird say's DO NOT RUN MORE THAN 5% ethanol. My old truck started leaking fuel from the fuel lines just before that fuel tank. They were spongy and buldging. When I replaced the lines with new ones I took the old ones to a friend who works for Chevron. He told me the problem is ethanol in the gas I was burning. He was correct. I was using a cut rate gas with 10% ethanol. I stopped using that fuel and no more gas line deterioration. The newer cars that are flexfuel cars have fuel lines that will handle Ethanol without deterioration.

This all applies to small engines such as the Honda genny's.

One of the ways some gas is cheaper than others is they add ethanol to the limit allowed by the local or state regulations. Nothing wrong with ethanol of course as long as your vehicle/engine is designed for it. Ethanol also burns cleaner.

My friend at Chevron told me a rule of thumb is cheaper cut rate gas has more Ethanol in it. Also I found out that (all of us know) cut rate gas has the minimum additives allowed for the specific area it is sold in. This is the ONLY difference between cut rate and say...Chevron of Shell. But in the long run these cut rate gasses MIGHT????? cause some issues with clogged injectors and, and in my case with an old vehicle, some fuel line deterioration and dried up gaskets.

[Beginner]

I can see that.
I have been buying Price Club Gas (COSTCO) for a couple of years. A friend that has a body shop tole me that he tried BP because of where the money goes (England Europe predominately).
He then noticed better milage and smother idle.
I got caught in a pinch Sunday and for the heck of it filled up at BP. Whin a couple of minutes I noticed a difference.
Today the 84 Camaro starts better and idles smother.
I'll let you know about the gas milage. Currently I get between 220 miles and 240 miles per fill up. We will see.

[Pappy]

I have a 3 year old Honda Eu2000i which I start once a week.
I used some gas that had STA-BIL in it that was fresh and it stumbled.
The only way it would run was partial choke eco setting off. I let it
run for about 2 hours but it wouldn't run without partial choke. Dumped
the gas put in fresh ran it partially choked for about an hour now it runs
fine. I think there is something to the fact that STA-BIL seems to be
suspect here. For me no more STA-BIL in the Honda generator.

My 2 cents.

Pappy

[safari 28]

Just a heads up. I burn e85 in our 08 f150 and have all the locations nationwide in my handheld computer. The ethanol industry is pushing for what they call e20 and e30 and possibly e40. In a nutshell you now get e10 or a max of 10% ethanol in your unleaded and you really have no choice. If they can get the car builders to agree that this higher percentage will not void warranties, then it is coming. If what this thread is saying, that would really mess up these honda generators.

They did a test running a 2000 Tahoe over 100k miles on e85, it was not designed to burn this high % ethanol. They tore the engine apart and no damage. E85 has lots of oxygen so it activated the 02 sensor and check engine light but nothing else. Fuel lines were perfect and the engine had much less carbon build up than normal.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by safari 28

.

They did a test running a 2000 Tahoe....

Who they?.....


e85=15% doesn't it?

[Beginner]

Thats all well and good, however, check the BTU content of the E enhansed fuel. Its substancially lower than the real fuel.
Bottom line more fuel consumption, more money for more expensive fuel.
Beginner

[safari 28]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Who they?.....


e85=15% doesn't it?

It was either American Coalition for Ethanol : Home or the national coalition for ethanol. I tried to look it up but lost the article. Very interesting however and more of the corn fuel comin your way, like it or not.

[safari 28]

it could also be www. ethanol. org

[mustang]

The ethonal funny car doesnt burn ethenal ????

[flitzwhopper]

Okay - so after running up and down highway 1 from Oregon to Carmel in June I put the EU2000 up without draining the gas. Dumb. Wouldn't run without the choke on. Consulted this thread. Tried Techroline and let it run for a couple of hours and didn't cure the stumbling.... Dumber. Then went ahead and removed the carb, cleaned the jet and other orifices. Put it back together and fired it up. It ran right away on econo throttle and things seemed perfect. But no... gasoline started flowing out the bottom of the casing. WTF? (why the flames or...). After some inspection, it became obvious that the other set of tubes from the float bowl were the source of the fuel. Out came the carb again and inspecting the little beast revealed that the tubes were the float bowl overflow circuit. You're getting ahead of me... but yes Bunky, the incorrect reassembly of the float left the shut off stem out of place. Dumber than that. Corrected the assembly. Put everything back together and it runs better than it has in awhile. Moral of the story... Drain the freaking gas out if the generator isn't going to be used for more than a month. Mea culpa... Mea culpa... Mea maxima culpa.

[ROBERT CROSS]

We can no longer can get ethanol free here in WNY...all that is available 10%.

Plays havoc with anything stored.

I follow these recommendations for all our Winter stored stuff, haven't found it necessary to drain gas from anything, boat, Ford, or 2000i.

"The introduction of water on E-10 fuel can be disastrous. E-10 can hold up to four teaspoons of water in suspension per gallon. Once this saturation point is exceeded, the solution separates and the gas floats on top while the ethanol and water mix on the bottom. This event is called "phase separation". Ethanol fuel can absorb enough water to reach it's phase separation point in just over 3 months at 70% humidity.

While the phase separation slurry in itself can cause problems by clogging fuel systems, the more immediate problem is that the remaining gasoline has now lost it's original octane value which can cause poor running and in some cases engine damage. When phase separation occurs, the fuel should be drained and replaced.

Fuel storage and winterization has to be handled differently when using E-10 fuels. Manufacturers are warning that fuels need to be stabilized if un-used for as little as 2 weeks. Not all stabilizers are known to be E-10 compatible. Non-alcohol based fuel stabilizer additives are a must for ethanol fuel."

Fuel Stabilizers
STA-BIL 32 oz Fuel Sta…
STA-BIL
$15.97STA-BIL 22208 Fuel St…
STA-BIL
$6.95CRC 6162 Marine Fuel S…
CRC
$4.14K & W Manufacturing 4…
K & W Manufacturing
$13.97Star brite Star Tron En…
Star Brite (Jun 11, 2009)
$28.19Star-Brite STAR TRON …
Star Brite
$10.46Star-Brite STAR TRON …
Star Brite
$22.78Gold Eagle 22208 Fuel …
Gold Eagle
$7.30STA-BIL 22214 Fuel St…
STA-BIL
$13.72Star brite Star Tron En…
Star Brite (Jun 11, 2009)
$16.84STA-BIL FUEL STABILI…
GOLD EAGLE PRODUCT…
$42.5112>

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

We can no longer can get ethanol free here in WNY...all that is available 10%. Plays havoc with anything stored....

same here bob (this thread WAS 2 years old) there is moonshine in all of it NOW...

except for the race fuel at the track...

so i'm now routinely adding the red stuff to all gasoline/jugs as well.

cheers
2air'

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

same here bob (this thread WAS 2 years old) there is moonshine in all of it NOW...

except for the race fuel at the track...

so i'm now routinely adding the red stuff to all gasoline/jugs as well.

cheers
2air'

Yeah...it's especially a pain with the boat, the newer 2cycle, oil and fuel injected engines and fuel systems can be hard to stay on top of. The hi-perf outboard crowd has been using this to treat the 10% stuff and to address the water problem and stabilize octane. Not cheap but worth the piece of mind. Go with the red stuff for Winter though.

[Wabbiteer]

Minnesota has recreational use gas which is high test without any ethanol, even the traces they sneak in to raise octane. What it comes down to is giving boaters and personal sport vehicle owners the safety margin of un-cut gas to face summer storms or -40° nights. Check your local Marinas to see if they have off-road blended fuels that might be all petroleum, we here have some normal stations with rec gas as well.

[azflycaster]

Since this thread started with my problem I thought I would post an update. My generator has run without any issue for the past (almost) two years. I do mix in the red stuff and run the generator every month.