Ethanol may be to blame if your lawn mower is "sputtering."Since 2005, the use of ethanol has increased due to the federal government's decision to use more biofuels to decrease the reliance on foreign oil. An article from the Tuscaloosa News quotes Mallisham and Charlie Singley, owner of Singley Small Engine & Equipment, both saying they have seen poorer grades of gasoline since the hurricanes of 2005 devastated the oil refineries along the Gulf Coast.
So, what's the problem? Acid can do a lot of damage to plastic, especially the plastic found in a lawn mower. Ethanol is corrosive to plastics, especially if the gas mixture has been sitting in a container for a while, perhaps in the garage. Or when a gas station does not properly maintain it's tanks. The mixture will then separate, causing problems for mowers, chain-saws, leaf blowers, and gas-powered weed trimmers.
The good news? Ethanol is helping farms across the nation, rather than Texas oil refineries. Professor Daniel Kammen of UC Berkeley says "Ethanol provides a wonderful short-term option because we can use corn today to make it, and have significant savings in terms of off-setting gasoline, and modest savings on a greenhouse gas level," he says. "The big plus is it’s available today, so we could make this transition starting tomorrow, if we wanted."
For now, buy gasoline in small quantities, to limit the separation. Add in gas stabilizer, sold at most local repair shops.
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