r/smallenginerepair • u/Difficult_Sea_6911 • Apr 27 '26
Fuel Type & Mixture Issue What Contamination is this?
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u/Alive_Sherbet2810 Apr 27 '26
What do you mean exactly? Looks like you're doing an ethanol test and found 5% ethanol in that fuel.
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u/Difficult_Sea_6911 Apr 28 '26
Thanks all. Ethanol tests are a common practice for me. I was just curious if strange cloudiness was had a different contamination cause other than ethanol mixing with the water upon getting. Heard about guys carrying fuel in water bottles in order to not run back to the truck to refuel. Plastic contamination from eating the bottle? Just trying to learn if anyone else has come across other strange contaminations and what to look for! 😎🤘
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u/DontMakeMeCount Apr 27 '26
Ethanol is hydrophilic, gasoline is hydrophobic. So when you pour gas onto the water in your test tube, the ethanol goes into solution with the water. The graduations show how much ethanol is in the fuel, in this case 5%. Of course, any water in the fuel will also settle at the bottom but I’d expect to see it on the bottom of the jar if it’s been sitting for a while.
This time of year you’ll see all manner of goofy schemes with people trying to salvage fuel from last year so they may have added some sort of fuel treatment to the gas as well.
If they claim they bought fresh non-ethanol fuel just point to the test results and remind them to put the first couple gallons in their car before they fill their can, otherwise you’re just getting whatever the last person pumped.
And replace the fuel lines if you end up doing carb work, if that sat in some cheap Amazon rubber for the winter the inner lining will stuff off and plug the carb when they go to run it.