Ethanol free gas
 

Just purchased my first new gas powered Yamaha. Looking for opinions on gas. I was under the impression that ethanol free gas is better for small engines. I noticed that they sell it at The Villages Golf store, but the price is over a dollar a gallon more expensive than regular gas. I noticed the other day that WaWa sell non ethanol gas for about 60 cent a gallon cheaper.

Rollie

I use regular gas in my small engines, use sta-bil for the ones that sit a lot. Don't want the ethanol to separate. My boat always has sta-bil, lawn mowers, golf carts when not using for a while.

Whichever fuel you choose stick with that type of fuel. Not good to mix, or to switch back and forth.

If it's a new cart look on the gas tank or the gas cap. If there is a sticker that says either E10 or E5 you can use regular pump gas.
Steve

Look at your owners manual. It states that fuels containing more than 10% ethanol are not recommended. "Regular" gas is 10% ethanol so you will be fine using "regular".

:agree:

Older small engines (and for that matter older cars, antiques) had components in the fuel system from the tank to the carburetor that did not tolerate fuels with ethanol which caused corrosion or problems with rubber components. Most if not all of the newer small engines will now toloerate fuels with some level of ethanol.

It really depends, if you are a full time resident and use your cart on a daily basis then fuel with ethanol is fine. If you are a part time resident, and your cart sits for long periods of time without being used, then it’s definitely worth it to use ethanol free gas. Over time ethanol separates from the gas and evaporates, leaving behind a gummy substance that clogs components in the fuel delivery system and can lead to expensive repairs. This problem can be minimized by consistently adding a good quality fuel stabilizer to ethanol gas. We are part time residents and never use fuel with ethanol in our carts. Our limited time in the Villages is so precious, I don’t want to wast any of that time dealing with golf cart problems.

If you run it regularly standard 10% ethanol is fine .For long periods of sitting I fill with non ethanol eliminates the chances of water condensation why spend the $$

Save your money.

Exactly. BTW, you can get ethanol free gas at the new Wawa (near Lowes) for about 40 cents per gallon more than regular. Much cheaper than Villages Carts.

Don't forget to bring your gate pass or you won't be able to get out of TV to get to Wawa.

drive to wawa to save a buck?

Then go to Aldies and spend it save more

Drove there Tuesday to check it out, could see Walmart from there.
:1rotfl:

I have a 2015 Yamaha cart which has about 3000 miles on it. I have been using 10% ethanol gas since I bought it second hand in 2016. I have seen the comments about Sta-Bil. That product appears to be a fuel stabilizer for long term storage. My question involves the use of Seafoam Gas Treatment which is used to clean gunk build up on the internals of small engine. Does anyone know if Seafoam can be used "safely" in a gas cart engine?

Most gas sold is a blend to include a small amount of ethanol. The blend is either 5% or 10% ethanol mixed in. That is the norm for most gas sold.
The NON ethanol gas, obviously doesnt contain ethanol and will produce slightly more energy when ignited (burned). Not enough for you to notice.

E85 gas is a blend of 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol. This type gas should not be used in cars that are not E85 capable nor golf carts or small engines.
Stainless steel tubing and other ss components are required for E85 gas due to its corrosive nature.

In summary, you are ok with the 5% or 10% blends normally sold when using in your golf cart and basically wasting a little cash if purchasing ethanol free gas.

Actually the reverse is true. E85 is 85% ethanol
Steve

I use regular gas in mine and Helene's golf cart. (Actually I don't put it in, my dear husband does) Anyhow this cart is a 2001 Yamaha. Gets us where we're going. Henry uses regular gas in his new Club Car.

What is the issue with your golf cart that you are trying to solve with Seafoam? If you don't have any issues then no remedy is required.

Yamaha salesman told me that as long as the gas is used up within a month, regular gas is fine. Yamaha's manual states regular gas. Have 2019 also.

Read your Manual . Regular(lowest price) 87Oct gas is perfectly ok for your GC. Any make. Sta Bil and gas additives are a marketing ploy and have very little real benefit (except for those in it's sale chain) Go on line and read the research. Paying a 30 per cent premium for no ethanol gas is bizarre . I have owned 4 Golf Carts over 10 years here. Always used regular gas. Never had even a minor engine problem
I average 300/350 miles a month over that time. think PT Barnum.

I’ve talked to a lot of small engine repair people about this and was told the following: Always use it in things that are used less frequently, gas lawn mowers, trimmers etc, most said that even though golf carts are used a lot it takes along time to use up the gas so if you can foot the bill get the ethanol free gas.

Just my experience: 4 carts over 10 years. Left many times unattended for 2/4 months at a time. No additives, regular 87 octane, No-none- engine problems . Instant start on return to use.

Using reg. gas is OK, if not sitting for any length of time! However, I always use a stabilizer in reg. fuel for small engines .

I'm feeling a little gassy.











.

I have worked on small engines, cars etc. and have seen the benefits of using a fuel stabilizer. You may get away with out using it, but why gamble for the price of a bottle.

Buy it, it’s recommened for our carts
I’m not close to wawa’s, I go to marathon and it’s a buck higher

Ohiobuckeye
 

Well, I don’t know if Ethanol is better or not but I bought a brand new 2013 Yamaha in Sept. of 2012 & in Dec. of 2017 I traded it in for a 2018 Yamaha & I had 26,000 miles on it & it still ran like new, no issues as far as gas. Just get it serviced regularly.

yes, I hate paying exorbitant price just for convenience

They don’t sell ethanol free gas where we live up north so whenever we drive to our villages home i always bring two 5 gallon cans of ethanol free gas back north. I use the ethanol free gas in my less frequently used small engines such as chainsaws, weed wackers, leaf blowers, etc... Before using ethanol free gas I was constantly cleaning out gummed up carburetors, since using only ethanol free fuel I have not had a single engine issue. It works great on any small engine, including golf carts, that are not used on a consistent basis.

I find that my Mercedes runs better and gets better Mileage with ethanol free gas, Remember that Ethanol collects water.

The energy difference between a gallon of gasoline (no ethanol) and a gallon of gasoline with 10% ethanol is 3%. For the maximum 3% increase in mileage you may wind up paying 30% more per gallon. You can impact your mileage more than 3% by changing your driving style. The collection of water is not an issue if you are using the car regularly.

Who, exactly, is recommending ethanol free gas for golf carts ? The manufacturers aren't. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the manufacturers' recommendation that 10% ethanol is OK.

Wow, some of this is confusing.
Ethanol-Free gas is regular gas. 87 octane pump gas containing 10% ethanol is also regular gas, so saying 'regular' gas is somewhat misleading in this thread.
I use ethanol-free gas in all of my small engines as they run a bit better and ethanol-free gas will store longer without degrading.
I use ethanol-free gas in my airplane, mainly because the FAA does not allow the use of ethanol containing gas in GA aircraft.
Most marinas sell ethanol-free gas for use in motorboats due to marginal compatibilit of ethanol containing gas with water and humid environments.
E85 fuel contains between 50% and 80% ethanol, not 15% ethanol. Do not use this fuel in anything but a flex-fuel vehicle.
If you use your golf cart regularly, ethanol containing gas is fine and most would probably not notice the slight difference in energy content between it and ethanol-free gas. This is not something you should worry about.
If you are storing ethanol containing gas for some period of time it is known that the ethanol may start to stratify out of the gasoline, especially in humid environments. Here is why that could be a problem. Ethanol has an octane rating of about 113 so when it is mixed with gasoline a lower octane gasoline is used - about 84 octane if memory serves - therefore, the 10% mix yields about 87 octane. If your gasoline has stratified after a long storage period you will be drawing a very low octane gasoling off of the bottom you your fuel tank. This could be a problem for some engines. Before starting pour a quantity of fresh gasoline to slightly mix what's in the tank.

Thanks all for your replies. As WaWa's is on our way to Walmart, I will be gassing up there. We may go a month or more without needing gas, so will use the ethanol free gas.

Rollie

In TV 13 years, gas carts 10 years. Always used regular gas with ethanol. No problems even when they have gone unused for a few months. Friends and neighbors with similar experiences with their gas carts whether old or new. Fore!

It is more of a preventive measure to remove any build up of combustion products.

Thousands of carts with no problems. Is it worth $1. per gallon (30percent upcharge) for a problem that has a very low probability of causing problems?

How would you know if there was any "build up of combustion products"? How would you know whether Seafoam removed any "combustion products"? Assuming there was some "build up of combustion products", what issues are they likely to cause? The auto parts stores are filled with products to address non existent problems. Gasolines already contain detergents to keep engines "clean". If you want to extend the life of your cart, change your oil regularly, replace your air filter when it is dirty, replace your spark plug every 20K miles, replace your differential oil every couple of years, maintain the appropriate tire pressures, and lube the zerk fittings on your clutches.