Golf Cart Gas
 

Hello ..I'm here visiting my parents. They recently bought a gas golf cart. That salesman told them it's best to get gas at the Villages Golf Cart store because it's pure ethanol and no additives. Is this true? Can they use regular gas from any station? Is premium gas better? Thanks, Perl

The gas at the Golf Store is non-ethanol; it is just gasoline. Several service stations in the area carry Non-Ethanol gasoline also. Some people will say we can use regular gasoline with alcohol like we put in our autos. Others will say it best to follow the advice to use Non-ethanol gas.

The instructions on our Yamaha say E10 gas, so that is what I use

You'll get a bunch of different opinions on this topic. I've used ethanol-free in my cart since 2013. In addition, I use ethanol-free on all of my gasoline powered equipment, which sometimes sits for months on end without being used. I've never had an issue with start ups.

My gas cart is a 2019 Yamaha. The manual says E10 ("regular" gas) is fine. Three years with no problems for me.

It's not "pure ethanol," it's "ethanol-free" meaning it has no ethanol in it at all. Ethanol-free gas is the recommended for most gas golf carts. It will extend the life of the engine a year or two.

HOWEVER: if you don't plan on owning your gas cart for more than 15 years, it won't really make that much of a difference. Those engines can last a LONG time, no matter which gas you use. You would use "regular" gas, never premium or high-octane.

I vote for no ethanol!!!
 

I'm no expert but I did get an A in Organic Chemistry and had an understanding of some chemical reactions.....along with a lifetime of running and repairing my small engines. First let's agree that the golf cars engines are small engines like the ones that are on my lawn tractors or log splitter. It's essentially a fancy go cart. It's not an automobile engine.

Gasoline by itself does not have the affinity to attract water. Ethanol mixes nicely with water. Think bourbon rocks or scotch and water. Water contains oxygen which oxidizes and ruins a lot of stuff. Ethanol by it's self oxidizes and breaks down rubber over time. Think how your wine doesn't taste as good hours after its opened. Gasoline without ethanol can help with engine maintenance by not attracting H2O into the engine. Remember how humid it is here. If you let the small engine sit with ethanol Gasoline you'll end up with inconvenient but common issues with ethanol gas. I think the Villages Golf Cars recommended ethanol free gas because there are so many folks that are not full time in TV, so their cars will sit and have "bad gas" over time. It seems plausible that ethanol free could pay towards it's cost by increased mileage and less destructive properties over time. If you are running that engine every day then any gas will work but if pure gasoline is available.....then why not? It's a luxury that I've never had where I've lived forever, but having relaced multiple carburetors due to ethanol gas, I will definitely spend a few extra coins to make me and my new toy happy.

This is not correct. All modern power equipment is made to run on regular gas, including golf carts.
If ethanol free was required it would be in the owners manual, which it is not for a Yamaha. Besides they would never require something that is not readily available everywhere.

My brother is a longtime powersports dealer in Indiana. He sells Polaris and Kawasaki. None require non ethanol gas. They don't even sell it there.
And the engines and fuel injection on those are much more high tech than a single cylinder golf cart engine. It's a waste of money to buy NE gas.

I've had many different dirtbikes, SxS's and four wheelers over the years. Some carb and many fuel injected. Always ran pump gas and I've never had a fuel related issue.

I have always used regular gas and I add the appropriate amount of Sta-Bil marine fuel stabilizer based on a the gallons of gas that I buy. Fuel stabilizer was recommended by the Yamaha dealer and there has never been a problem.

50 or more years and counting using regular gas.....no problems.....yet!

I'd be careful saying all power equipment. Some people include small engine stuff like lawnmowers, weed wackers, and chain saws as "power equipment". Those should not have ethanol. But I only got a C+ in organic chemistry so who knows.

I suspect there are far, far more small engines running on E10 than on non-ethanol. E10 has been around for quite a while now. While there may have been issues with older equipment (I never had problems with mine), newer equipment has been built with E10 in mind.

Never took organic chemistry, just put a lot of fuel through a lot of engines.

And the opinions and confusion continues.

Well not gonna hurt anything by using non ethanol gas. It’s a bit more money but at least it’s easy to find. Not so easy in Massachusetts where I live most of the year.

The Villages Golf cart store told your parents to buy their gas from "their store" because they want to take more money from them. They do not have to buy gas from TV golf cart stations. That is another ripoff, just like when they bought the cart. You can buy the proper gas at any number of stations for a lower price, just like they could have bought the same cart for much less elsewhere. Don't fall into that Koolaid thinking.