Randy sent me this, which I didn't know about: >Hi Keith > >a long time ago. > > When leaded gasoline was still sold under the label 'Regular', the >gasoline would leave a varnish inside of the gas tank and fuel >lines. High octane gasoline was called Ethyl, because of the >additive tetra ethyl lead. These additives left deposits inside >containers. > >In the early 1980's, when regular gasoline was disappearing from >availability, and there were still older cars that required high >octane gasoline to operate right, 10 percent ethanol / gasoline >blends started appearing. This was also during the time of Arab oil >embargos and gasoline rationing and the first occurance of high fule >prices in the United States. The higher octane ratings attracted the >consumers driving mid 70's vehicles and when they started >running ethanol blended fuels, the ethanol acted as a cleaning >solvent and deposited the varnish in the fuel filter. It also >plugged up more than one small engine fuel filter because they were >often stored over winter with gasoline in their tanks The varnish >would build up pretty thick and come out in a thick slime. > >also the neoprene floats inside of carburetors would soak up the >ethanol and become very 'heavy'. The hollow copper or brass floats >were uneffected. It took the industry about a year to fix the >chemical formula for the neoprene. But now adays with fuel >injected gasoline engines, the floats are eliminated from the >assembly. > >Newer varieties of unleaded gasoline do not seem to leave the same >residue. Since the late 1970's / early 1980's all new gasoline >powered cars leaving Detroit are required to burn unleaded gas. So >the new fuel tanks are not coated with the same gunk as they were >before. These are 'old' problems. 'antiquers' who still run vintage >60's and 70's era and earlier automobiles and trucks rememeber about >how they had to change fuel filters. > >thought you would like to know. > > >-- I have heard once or twice before something about fuel filters, so > >I have asked the questions honestly, because I had heard them. > >Specifically, I think I have read sometimes that since ethanol > >sometimes has a cleaning effect where it might loosen up deposits > >which might then clog the fuel filter, then this might be a one-time > >easily fixed effect, after which the car would theoretically run > >better, but during which things would be worse, and appear much worse > >to a driver unaware of all this. That, anyway, is my recollection of > >the scenario. > >Aren't you talking of biodiesel? That's a well-known issue with >biodiesel, often discussed here. Petro-diesel lays down a deposit >that biodiesel frees, clogging filters at first. But I don't think >gasoline lays down such a deposit and I've never heard of filter >issues with ethanol.
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