Ethanol For My Ride On Mower?

[AngryRB]

searched and couldnt find answer i wanted..

So what would happen if i used ethanol in the Cox ride on mower, i know its not knock limited etc, but it would sure smell alot better and maybe run bit smoother.. and keep the internals cleaner? nothing worse than smelling toxic exhaust fumes when your wippersnipping or mowing..

what you guys think?

Edited September 29, 2012 by SliverS2

[scotty nm35]

4 stroke is fine, you would need to drill the carby jet out a little, then it could work. 2 strokes require castor oil to be mixed in also.

It will loose power though unless you strap a turbo on the side. (or up the compression)

[AngryRB]

whats the worst that can happen? will it just stall or run weak if its lean or will i damage the internals? as long as it doesnt loose much it would be better than smelling petrol ..

Edited September 29, 2012 by SliverS2

[AngryRB]

how much would i raise the comp to make this work well you think? would shaving the head about 1mm off do the job?

[luke gtr]

Is stick with normal fuel.

depending on the %, could run lean and do damage.

[scotty nm35]

how much would i raise the comp to make this work well you think? would shaving the head about 1mm off do the job?

If it is a side valve head you need to shave it on an angle, or the valves will hit.

Just need to drill the jet out to 30% larger and it will probably run fine. Without drilling the jet it will die quickly. (if you can even start it.) I was always too scared to ruin my trusty Honda.

[PN-Mad]

Lol.

No, no, no!

Petrol only bro, not even 10% ethanol.

Reason being, parts of the carbs in these machines are made of plastic and diaphragms made of rubber. Ethanol reacts badly with these components, causing in the case of the plastic, warping. This in turn breaks seals, and will cause the machine to not run properly. Classic case is the Briggs sprint motors. Warps the plastic carb on top of the tank, causes an air leak that in turn makes the machine run rich, and foul.

Tally so far, ive fixed 4 neighbours and friends mowers from this problem.

[scotty nm35]

Fuel injection bro.

[PN-Mad]

Fuel injection bro.

Can just see it - ask Haltech if they have a plug in harness for a ride-on.

Scotty can get you cheap 1000cc injectors, and your racing!

[iamhe77]

Lol.

No, no, no!

Petrol only bro, not even 10% ethanol.

Reason being, parts of the carbs in these machines are made of plastic and diaphragms made of rubber. Ethanol reacts badly with these components, causing in the case of the plastic, warping. This in turn breaks seals, and will cause the machine to not run properly. Classic case is the Briggs sprint motors. Warps the plastic carb on top of the tank, causes an air leak that in turn makes the machine run rich, and foul.

Tally so far, ive fixed 4 neighbours and friends mowers from this problem.

Alex, whilst it is not a Cox mower, 10% ethanol blend is recommended in the manual for my Kubota.

Briggs suck dirty arse though so I wouldn't be surprised if that happened on unleaded either

[PN-Mad]

Yup, agree b and s are dirty arse suckers. But they have also been round a long time and make a successful product. Your k-pop lawn mower probably has the internals and lines to deal with ethanol. Would I run it? Nope. Plus, you gotta work out what your saving, when you can just get 91 a few cents more expensive. The service and carb clean n refresh will be significantly more expensive!

[mad082]

Plus the fact that ethanol is a little bit more prone to absorbing water, so it has a shorter shelf life.

[AngryRB]

yeah i guess its not really worth doing then, i like the idea of having a cleaner smelling machine thats possibly a bit smoother and cleaner internally.. but i dont want to risk damaging it cause it runs well enough for my purposes.. its a 12hp b and s so upping compression would of also possibly given it an extra horse or two..if i was lucky..

[NYTSKY]

Can just see it - ask Haltech if they have a plug in harness for a ride-on.

Scotty can get you cheap 1000cc injectors, and your racing!

A friend of mine has a Haltech on his jetski lol

[PN-Mad]

yeah i guess its not really worth doing then, i like the idea of having a cleaner smelling machine thats possibly a bit smoother and cleaner internally.. but i dont want to risk damaging it cause it runs well enough for my purposes.. its a 12hp b and s so upping compression would of also possibly given it an extra horse or two..if i was lucky..

Generally if your actually planning to muck round with this thing, they are heavily restricted on the intake and exhaust side. They are also rev limited. That'll be where to look. Not internally. But it's a ride on......

A friend of mine has a Haltech on his jetski lol

I'd believe it, some of those have more technology than road cars these days!

[Nee-san]

tractor pulling anyone ?

[666DAN]

Haha the following have been through my mower in varying ratios from pure laziness. White spirits, ethanol, methanol, nitromethane, acetone, shellite, toluene....etc go the rover!