Thoughts on recreation fuel

Is it a good idea or is it a bad idea to use recreation fuel in these old tractors (1943-54)? Is there harm or benefit from the additives in modern gasoline? Dave

What is recreation fuel?

Alky free E0, may have a higher octane

I just run normal pump fuel. E10 or whatever they offer. But it won't hurt if you want to use rec gas except for the added $$

if your talking clear gas compared to dyed farm gas , its only a different color. and that is all.

I think it is a benefit. When was the last time you had any water in your gas. E 10 is great.

I run E10 in my car and pickup. I try to stick with branded stores but have been know to put no name gasoline from Sams club when I am there because of the reduced cost.

There is a no name station nearby that sells non ethanol 87 octane that I use in all my small engines.

For my 4 stroke outboard on my boat I spring for the recreation fuel (90 octane non ethanol) not for the added octane but because it is sold by a EXXON station so I get the added benefit of the Exxon fuel additives with no ethanol.

For your tractor I would use regular E10 if you use it often.
If it sits for more than a week or it takes you months to burn through a tank of gas I would use non ethanol. If the only way you can get non ethanol is recreation fuel (90 octane) then I would go with that.

(quoted from post at 17:54:06 10/22/23) Is it a good idea or is it a bad idea to use recreation fuel in these old tractors (1943-54)? Is there harm or benefit from the additives in modern gasoline? Dave
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto165100.jpg>

Click to expand...

here is nothing wrong with non-alcohol gas. There is something wrong with alcohol in gas. Alcohol is added to reduce emissions, but aside from that it causes a number of problems.

Alcohol causes the gas to 'go bad' if it stays in the tank for more than a month. That is not to say exactly one month under all conditions, just that it can't be trusted not to cause some problems after around a month. Small engines, especially 2-strokes are more sensitive. "On old machinery, seals and hoses on engines and fuel systems tend to be weak and susceptible to degradation. Ethanol in gasoline can cause them to deteriorate, shrink, or swell, resulting in leaks." If enough of the seals have been replaced over the years, they should be OK.

If you are using the tractor enough to keep the gasoline reasonably fresh, then the 10% won't have time to go bad, but if you are not going to use the tractor for over a month, you should not leave the alky in the tank. A fuel stabilizer such as Sta-bil will help keep it from degrading as fast, and should be used for storage especially with alcohol laced fuel.

Here is a website for no alky gas: Welcome to the definitive list of stations that sell ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada!


Yale, which is no bastion of conservative thought, even opposes additional ethanol in the gas: https://e360.yale.edu/features/the_case_against_ethanol_bad_for_environment

Don't get me started on pump gas of today . In my area we have a ton of small family farms that do not have newer stuff , many USE to milk small dairy herds , They are all gone now , the last to go was one of my old customers . They ran OLD tractors and many of them were Gas powered , many of them bought tractors i sold all good tractors till they went and changed the gas AGAIN . Some of these guys i serviced , fixed and kept running for over 25 years. They liked a couple GAS tractors around when winter came , they needed to haul manure, grind feed move bales , and run the generator when the power went out . They knew that one tractor was going to start no matter how cold it was and it had the pony power for any job needed . Myself i hobby farmed over a hundred acres with a gas tractor and combine , (1) THEY COST FAR LESS TO BUY, They did the work at hand , they were easy up keep and ready to go when i had time to play . I could fill my truck and fuel tank for the tractor while i was getting gas for the truck . Till about what 6-7 years ago when around here they changed the gas and one after the other tractor went down , each and everyone went down with burnt pistons and scored sleeves , all with in about a day or two . Now all these tractors were built from 1963 on thru 1967 and according to the ORG owners manual it clearly states they need a minim of 93 Octane gas . So lets step back to 1958to 1962 those tractors need a minim of 89 Octane gas . YOUR 450's and back To M's will run on good MOONSHINE or what ever .

All the alcohol gas argument is nonsense. I buy about 2 200 gallon fills per year with it setting till it is gone or nearly so before refilling and done in when ever the tanks is low. Never have a problem with the one tractor running and always starts whether cold or warm winter and summer. I use the same gas in my chainsaws with no problems there one has been used for 20 years like that the other only a year and is not with the fancy electronic fuel injection on it.

I run E10 or E15 in everything with a spark plug. Have tractors that'll sit for 6 months or more with it in the carb. They fire right up every time. Run the cheapest gas you can find and keep it fairly fresh. You'll be just fine.
AaronSEIA

I have never seen recreational fuel in MN, we have E-10, and 91 with and without ethanol. I use E10 in all our 4 stroke engines with no problems, but I do buy 91 non-ethanol for all 2-stroke engines, but not over 5 gallons a year. I don't use Stabil, but occasionally some Seafoam. All of our equipment sits for 5 months and start and run with no problems.

I think the rec fuel is a bit of a gimmick. I'll use it in my boat, but when you've got twenty grand tied up in a outboard the incremental cost of rec fuel is peanuts.

Sure, rec fuel doesn't have any ethanol in it, but what is it's Reid Vapor Pressure? There's no spec for rec fuel, so who knows? I assume it's the same as for E10, although the EPA allows E10 an extra psi of RVP over ethanol-free gas. And it's vapor pressure that determines the shelf life of gasoline. Most stations that carry rec fuel don't sell a lot of it, so that gas could have been in their tanks for months. So it's entirely possible that the summer-grade E10 at a station is better gas than the old winter-grade rec fuel that's been sitting in their tank for six months.

WELL you have your problems and i dont have any been using the 10% stuff
like for 50yrs now no problems

First time I have heard of "recreation fuel" but like the others I assume that it is aviation gas. My personal opinion is that nearly all problems are due to gas tanks sitting for months half full drawing condensation in. Methanol gas will absorb a little water but no where near what people expect.

What "rubber parts" in an antique tractor fuel system? Steel tank. Pot metal sediment bowl. Brass fittings. Steel fuel line. Pot metal carburetor. Paper gaskets.... There's virtually NO rubber anywhere in an antique tractor's fuel system for the ethanol to "destroy" if that was even a thing.

Most of the so-called problems with ethanol are myths. Ethanol gas "goes bad" in a month, yet we age all manner of ethanol-containing beverages for YEARS before consuming them. That's just the beginning of the debunking.

"Recreation fuel" is a term used to exploit a loophole in the law in some states, allowing the sale of non-ethanol fuel because it's not for road-going vehicles. There's no "gas pump police" so nobody says anything when you pump it into your car or truck.

> First time I have heard of recreation fuel but like the others I assume that it is aviation gas.

No, rec fuel and avgas are totally different. 100LL avgas is 100 octane leaded gasoline with a maximum Reid Vapor Pressure of 7.0 psi. It is not legal for use in highway vehicles. So-called recreation fuel is unleaded ethanol-free gasoline, typically around 90 octane. It's legal to burn in highway vehicles, although it's mostly used in boats, off-road vehicles and small engines. It sells at a significant premium over regular unleaded gas, a dollar a gallon or more. The exact label for rec fuel varies from state to state; here in Michigan it's usually called REC-90.

I use regular gas in my old tractor, though I might add Seafoam. Just use the tractor regularly, every month or so, so the gas doesn't turn to varnish. By recreation gas I assume you mean non-ethanol gas. I also call it lawn mower gas. I use that in all my small engines, lawn mower, chain saw, tiller, and have a lot less problems. One thought on the old tractors, if you have a show only tractor, the non-ethanol gas may be a good idea because it will not be used much, and sitting is where new gas causes its problems.

(quoted from post at 05:07:47 10/23/23) It's legal to burn in highway vehicles

Click to expand...

Depends on the state, but that's not always true. Just because you can pump it in your vehicle and nobody jumps out of the bushes and slaps the cuffs on you, does not mean that it's legal.

As I said above it's a legal loophole in many states: If it's not going in a road vehicle it doesn't have to have ethanol in it.

Here in NY I don't think there's a legal term "recreational fuel." Some stations call it "recreational" others "non-ethanol."

Sounds perhaps like a sales gimmick at least in part, Ive used old farm tractors for yearssssssssssss and ALWAYS ran regular 87 octane from the pump and NOT any so called recreational fuel etc etc.

I don't know if we have any petroleum engineers here ???? but hopefully some of fine gents have or will Google the term and post their findings as to its definition, uses and results, that's NOT me Ive never had to use it myself and got by just fine..

To each their own as to what fuel to use

John T