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Older gas


Lefebvre
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2 hours ago, faussy said:

No, id only worry after a year or 2, but if you're having to scrimp on a litre or 2 of fuel then things must be tight in canada

The question is just to know how long fuel can sit in the tank. Not a money question as fuel is cheap in Canada. Some say fuel should be removed after 5 to 6 weeks as it affects the carb, others say they drain their carb after each ride, some like you say not to worry, some others say residues in the carb could be very bad if it sits there for weeks...Thanks for your input.

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I find that if I let the fuel in the float bowl evaporate (which doesn't take long here), the next time I ride, the pilot circuit misbehaves for the first few minutes. The fuel in the tank seems fine though for at least a month. I'm not game to leave the fuel tap turned on to prevent the bowl drying out, so to avoid the problem I usually run the float bowl out of fuel before parking the bike if it's going to be a couple of weeks to the next ride. I think if it was a colder place it might take longer for the fuel to evaporate from the float bowl. I imagine that a heated storage in Canada would also evaporate the fuel in the float bowl in a couple of weeks.

I expect it would take many months for fuel to start turning to goo (polymerising) in the tank, but its combustion properties will begin to deteriorate as soon as you put it in a vented container (the fuel tank) due to evaporation of the lighter components.

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  • 2 weeks later...
 
 
6 hours ago, trapezeartist said:

Sorry for the slightly tangential thought. We all know Americans call petrol “gas”, but what do they call gas? ?

I have always wondered where the "gas" name for US car fuel came from, but there is nothing strange about how they identify gas. Gases are identified by name, same as everywhere else.

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On 2/24/2019 at 11:14 AM, trapezeartist said:

We all know Americans call petrol “gas”, but what do they call gas? ?

Our "natural" gas is mostly methane.  It's also called CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) depending on how it's stored/transported.

Propane is also know as LP (liquefied petroleum) gas.

+1 for Cat Stevens.

Edited by konrad
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7 hours ago, konrad said:

Our "natural" gas is mostly methane. 

I know mine is. The biggest problem is the ethanol. Without the ethanol the most likely problem is losing some of the lighter hydrocarbons changing the fuel vaporization characteristics but nothing should harm the engine. Just make it a bit of a pain to start. It’s less of an issue when it’s cold and when it’s really cold even the light hydrocarbons pretty much stay put. I usually leave VP ethanol free fuel in my tank all winter and since some will evapoarte just top off before the first ride and go. It’ll smoke a bit more because the ratio has changed from the evaporated fuel but it won’t harm anything.

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13 hours ago, dan williams said:

The biggest problem is the ethanol. Without the ethanol the most likely problem is losing some of the lighter hydrocarbons changing the fuel vaporization characteristics....

Below is a graph from SAE paper 790429 that shows exactly that.  Although, somehow, they labeled the units of Reid Vapor Pressure in pounds instead of psi.  

But this does not seem to cause much of a problem if the system is sealed.  For example, I leave E10 in my chainsaw (in a cool garage) all winter without ill effects.  I also over-winter gallons of E10 in a sealed plastic container for use in a 4T backup generator.   You would think that if all the light ends had gotten out, it would affect cold starting, but I really don't notice anything.

BTW, I read your clutch fix a long time ago (a friend showed it to me when she was having trouble with a Beta clutch).  The format gave me the idea to make .pdf files for use on message boards.  So, thanks for that!  Here is a link to my thoughts on ethanol (and lead) in gasoline.

 

SAE 790429 Fig. 5.jpg

Edited by konrad
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