E85 Fuel System Storage

[battery]

I have had mine sit for 4-6 months multiple times over the last 3 years without issue... Im lazy and draining the tank is too much effort, usually I just change the fuel filter and its good to go.

[Gareth87]

Hey Scotty,

Haven't had issues yet, but I don't want to come home and find something is stuffed because I let it sit. From what you have written in this post, I have certainly become less concerned about it that's for sure. I just want to be on the safe side. If you and most other people here feel that replacing the old E85 with new stuff will be ok... then I'll most likely do that. I am concerned about my fuel reg which is why I wanted to flush it with 98.

[sneakey pete]

Are people leaving their cars for 3-4 weeks with a full tank or empty tanks?

I appear to have had a Walbro 460Lph flog out on me and that's all i could come up with for a reason.

[scotty nm35]

I do... An empty tank may perhaps let moisture attack the inside of the pump, but I doubt it would cause it to fail completely in such a short time. I would leave it half full at least preferably. Have you even checked it works out of the tank before jumping to conclusions? Cut it open and see what exactly failed it it has actually seized.

I have had relays flog out trying to draw so much current, on many occasions. 30/40 amp my arse Jaycar. I only use the 70 amp relays now.

[battery]

Are people leaving their cars for 3-4 weeks with a full tank or empty tanks?

I appear to have had a Walbro 460Lph flog out on me and that's all i could come up with for a reason.

I usually leave it under 1/4 just so when I come to drive it I can top it off with fresh fuel.

Pull the pump and run it straight off a battery.. might be faulty wiring/relay.

Yeah had a jaycar relay fail too! I use 30A bosch for everything now.

[Blackkers]

shit I use a 25 amp relay from jaycar.

those 460s draw up around ~18A on boost right?

[XRATED]

My question is, why do you worry so much about it to flush with petrol? Have you had issues previously, or is it just down to the myths again? Straight Ethanol is stable long term from my experience, not sure about the additives United etc run with e85, but it doesn't turn to jelly in a jerry can or 44gal that's for sure.

Not saying you shouldn't flush it, but surely just replacing the e85 before you start it would suffice? Those with ev14 2000's would need to be more worried than most I guess.

Forgot to add I use stabilizer in the 98.

The e85 is hydroscopic and also drys out lines, tank, filters when empty. I put the 98 in to lube everything up and slow the moisture ingress.

If I drove the car every day... I wouldn't bother.

[gtr jet]

My cars been sitting for 3 weeks with half a tank. Fired 1st go this morning and drove to work. WIN!

[Mick_o]

Im with scotty i have NEVER had a drama with my cars being on E85.

Had the evo off the road for around 4 months while i installed catch cans and swapped turbos and no dramas.

The zeitronox ECA was reading the same ethanol content as when i parked it up.

I dont understand peoples logic about it "sitting around" it sits around when its in the tanks at the servo & even when you drive it its still "sitting around" in your fuel tank!

Sure the shit is hydroscopic and absorbs water. But water doesn't mysteriously appear in fuel tanks & it doesn't just suck moisture out of the air in my 5 years of use.

[sneakey pete]

Apparently being the key word. Still, the issue has to be with the fuel pump in some way for me, as the issue only happen below a certain level in the tank, regardless of other factors.

Ordered a replacement pump and once the old one is out I'll go over it with a fine tooth comb, and report back

[XRATED]

Im with scotty i have NEVER had a drama with my cars being on E85.

Had the evo off the road for around 4 months while i installed catch cans and swapped turbos and no dramas.

The zeitronox ECA was reading the same ethanol content as when i parked it up.

I dont understand peoples logic about it "sitting around" it sits around when its in the tanks at the servo & even when you drive it its still "sitting around" in your fuel tank!

Sure the shit is hydroscopic and absorbs water. But water doesn't mysteriously appear in fuel tanks & it doesn't just suck moisture out of the air in my 5 years of use.

I'm not saying it's all bad... it's just what I choose to do to protect my fuel system.

umm... the definition of hydroscopic is "(of a substance) tending to absorb moisture from the air." so yeah it does kinda "just suck moisture out of the air"

...and considering I don't keep a full tank of e85 and the tank isn't sealed... I take steps.

Not bashing e85, I love it! ... but every positive has a negative. E85 is cheaper, can produce more power and smells nice.... there must be a down side?

[SilverECR33]

sorry about digging up an old thread, but this came up on google and wanted to add my 2c.

Xrated is correct, it does suck it out of the air, also at the fuel station the tanks fuel gets moved, it does not remain stagnant. some stations have mixing processes, some just mix when the tanker tops up the tanks daily/weekly/monthly depending on the popularity of the station.

it doesn't matter what fuel it is really, any fuel sitting 'stagnent' for too long becomes bad and stabilizers are required. apparently E85 is a bit more volatile (like methanol) than other bowser fuels and as such has different characteristics. there is some good information on the internet like the U.S Department of Energy's release on storage you can find here ; http://www.afdc.energy.gov/uploads/publication/ethanol_handbook.pdf

like for example; my brothers VL was parked for a few years with 98 in it.. eventually the carbon separates and creates black silt everywhere which seized up and killed the almost brand new 044, which was left in it. now if he had used a stabilizer it may have been a different story, however I am not sure if the 044 can sit like that for that sort of duration and then work no idea about that but in this case it did not and we had to pull the entire fuel tank out and clean it and replace the pump, it was f*kt.

also on the moisture, E85 isn't the only one that does it, infact many years ago when we all used to play with carbys and v8s, with leaded fuel, we used to have to run water seperators/ w filters on the lines, so the carbs would run right as we would end up with water in the fuel as all the tanks were steel or alloy because not only was the fuel absorbing moisture on the muscle cars as they would sit for long periods, but the tanks would get condensation.

ps. no road car tanks are completely sealed, they all must have a breather.

[scotty nm35]

How much water do you think it can possibly suck in out of the atmosphere in a sealed system? Not enough to have any disastrous effects as I proved recently. (thanks for the free fuel Daz ) 2 year old e85 sitting in a 33 gtr tank with open fuel lines, it read almost exactly the same ethanol content and ran perfectly fine in my Evo. AFR's were stable, and the car didn't detonate, hesitate or show signs of fuel degradation. I know I can't say the same for 98, even with a stabiliser it won't last that long from my experiences. Not saying to run old e85 fuel at the track, but putting around town with the occasional squirt isn't going to kill the engine unless you shove the garden hose down the filler.

If your tune is so close to the limits that a 1 or 2 percent variation matters on boost, you have more important things to worry about imo, like how even your intake runners are flowing, dust buildup on your afm insulating the hotwire, or how well matched your injectors are at operating pressures with your particular engine loom. Tuners run e85 maps fairly fat on boost so it's unlikely to ever be an issue, in fact it absorbs any trace water and gets it out of your fuel system, so it doesn't build up in the bottom of the tank and cause the issues you mentioned with the carby car. Lean running ethanol would still run much cooler combustion/exhaust temps than a good petrol tune too if you did happen to leave the lid off in the rain.

Brake fluid is also hydroscopic, but some leave it there for 10+ years, and it's quality is much more important...