Often neglected item

[Ricky-D]

During the cold months when the climate is some times below freezing an often neglected maintenance step could be the difference between starting and not starting.

An occasional draining of the carburetor bowls is especially important when the temperature gets down to freezing or below.

Reason being that the water in the bowls can freeze and keep the jets from allowing gasoline to pass.

You could keep water from collecting from a simple 10 minute exercise.

If this is not your cup of tea, a substitute would be to put a can of gasoline antifreeze or the like in your gas tank.

A little bit of water collected in the float bowls can make your motor run rough and foul out a plug or two if the water causes some carbon to dislodge and short a plug.

Just sayin'

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[alph]

Excellent point!

In our neck of the woods you can’t find gasoline that is 100% gas.  Every gas product I can find has 10% ethanol.  Ethanol attracts moisture in the air, and after a while that moisture accumulates and settles in the lowest point of the system, which in our case is the float bowls of our carburetors.  Well, we all know what happens to water when it gets below 32*. 

Great point Rick 

[Hoser]

Did you know that fuel antifreeze is mostly alcohol?  The alcohol absorbs the moisture, and the engine burns it.  It does not settle to the lowest point. If you use E10, you should not need fuel antifreeze.  There may be disadvantages to E10, but carburator freezing is not one of them. hoser

[Farther]

For the first 38 years of my life I lived in South Dakota and we were no stranger to gas line freeze.  We used Heet to keep moisture out of the fuel.  Heet comes in two versions, ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol.  Both work very good.  Now that fuel is 10% ethanol there is no need for Heet.  The only time you get moisture contaminated ethanol fuels is very long term storage in high humidity environments such as marine environments.  The solution to long term storage in colder climates is fresh oil in the motor, Stabil in the fuel tank and trickle charger on the battery.

[MP]

I love the answer:  Put heet into the gas, because it fixes the moisture ethano causes!  Heet IS ethanol!

Ethanol does not cause water to settle out of gas!  As hoser said, it absorbs water, and allows it to be burned, versus settling out in OLD, REGULAR gas.  Those of us up here where it freezes know that.

Since ethanol has come around, no one uses Heet anymore.  We used to have problems with water settling out in vehicles,and freezing them up.  No more.

Knock ethanol all you want, but this one is FALSE!

MP

[Ricky-D]

I still can get non-ethanol gasoline up the street at the zippy mart.  Gas stations around here put out signs stating that exact fact.

Seems there's no one wanting that ethanol enriched gasoline and the smart gasoline retailers know it.

I did have the water that settled out in the carburetors freeze in the low side carbs and the motor ran like crap. That's how I discovered when I drained each carburetor into an individual cup and saw the water. About 1/2 teaspoon out of each plus some very small finely grained particles. Made a remarkable difference afterwards when running.

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[Farther]

I still can get non-ethanol gasoline .......... I did have the water that settled out in the carburetors .

Use 10% stuff and you won't have that problem.

[alph]

I’ve never been a fan of ethanol blended fuel.  I know for a fact that I get better gas mileage when ever I can get my hands on 100% regular unleaded gasoline.  I also know that leaving fuel in a carburetor that has ethanol in it will cause moisture build up.  Ethanol might pull the moisture out of the gas, but unless your engine is running, it aint going anywhere!  Guess what, I’m not a fan of those fuel stabilizers either!  I whole heartedly believe that the best way to store your vehicle in the winter time is to completely drain your fuel and empty your float bowls.  I’ve been storing engines for the last 25 years and every single one of them starts up with no sputtering, or hesitation.  My snow blower starts with the first pull, lawn mowers the same way.  Didn’t have any problems with the cycle this year, started right up.  

This is one of those arguments you can’t win with some people, kinda like the one regarding “wind chill” but I won’t get into that one 'cause that one really gets me rilled up!!

[Spirited-6]

Just like "BELLY BUTTONS" everyone has one. 

[fudgie]

Just like "BELLY BUTTONS" everyone has one. 

Some just look better then others! 

[fudgie]

I love E-10!  Cant wait to cross the Mississippi to get it.

[PharmBoy]

Ethanol burns slower and at a lower temperature than gasoline.  Translation is less power and less MPG.  In my part of the country, I have no need for it in my gasoline.  Besides, there are a lot better uses for it...JTL