E85Forum.com

drmatera · Joined: 24 May 2008 Posts: 40 Location: Boca Raton, FL

i'v got one of those 150cc china scooters. ran a mix of e85/87 gas and all was well, then i went to straight e85 and now it's not so well. seems the e85 cleaned out the fuel system and dumped it into the carb. now the float sticks up and after a minute of running runs out fuel. oh well, it smelled good when it did run
_________________
1986 Porsche 911 Turbo - Corn Fed

E85 in South Florida
$2.49 per/gal

enyawix · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 130 Location: Tennessee

when you cut your grass do not put the clippings on the street for pickup. compost or burn it and feed it to your plants.
_________________
Twin T3 T4 T04E turbochargers .50 A/R Compressor, .63 A/R Turbine
Air to Water intercooler

351w: ARF 185 heads with 1.72 RR, ported GT40 intake, f303 roller cam, 75mm throttle body, 65lbs injectors, EDIS ignition.

Eric68 · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 331

Silly question here, but why all the "Reg Green" type solutions for converting a mower? A small engine carburetor is very simple -- my snow blower (4.5 HP Tecumseh) has a single fuel jet and a throttle blade. My Craftsman lawn mower appears to have the same carb (haven't had that one apart)

Why not just drill the main jet 30% bigger (area not diameter) and be done with it? If you wanted to get trick, you could drill and tap threads for a 6-32 set screw and have adjustable jets in case you go too far with the fuel and have to "drill it smaller."
_________________
E85 racer and E85 carb builder
www.horsepowerinnovations.com

E85 powered 68 Camaro street car
Best ET on motor 9.96 @ 133 MPH, 5.92 on N2O in the 1/8th

drmatera · Joined: 24 May 2008 Posts: 40 Location: Boca Raton, FL

yep, i'm going to pull the carb off my scooter this weekend and see what can be done to increase fuel flow

89shortbox · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 153 Location: Michigan

I was pondering this question the other day. All our small engine machines have governors on them. So basically they very rarely if ever reach full throttle load. So im thinking leave the jetting and stick 100% e85 in there a let it rip. If it has any stumble issues just open the jet until its gone. My .02
_________________
----------------------
89 S10
406 SBC Twin Turbo BT
Going E85 this coming season
HAHA, the season is alreay gone to another season.

Eric68 · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 331

PS. Not disrespecting Red Green either . . . any man that can convert a truck from manual to power windows using a cordless kitchen mixer has my vote Very Happy

_________________
E85 racer and E85 carb builder
www.horsepowerinnovations.com

E85 powered 68 Camaro street car
Best ET on motor 9.96 @ 133 MPH, 5.92 on N2O in the 1/8th

drmatera · Joined: 24 May 2008 Posts: 40 Location: Boca Raton, FL

am i missing something about Red Green, is that like Rube Goldberg or Jerry Rigging?

Eric68 · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 331

Red Green is a low budget PBS series about a goofy guy that fixes everything with duct tape. It's a comedy (like a low budget, low class version of Home Improvement) and can be funny at times but you have to be able to appreciate stuff that's a little weird. I don't watch it regularly, but always stop for a few minutes if I come across it while I'm surfing.
_________________
E85 racer and E85 carb builder
www.horsepowerinnovations.com

E85 powered 68 Camaro street car
Best ET on motor 9.96 @ 133 MPH, 5.92 on N2O in the 1/8th

E drifto · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 12

i've converted 2
the first was a briggs 4.5 i think, it had the flapper fuel pump & choking worked, but it stumped

i've got a craftsman 5.5 now:
@ first the fuel line disolved in like minutes
then the tank was full of crap & had to be flushed & the carb jet cleaned

then the choke method didn't allow for governor control since the throttle was choked all the way
so i reamed out the brass main jet with a safety pin
then my eyes were watering Embarassed

i was able to tamp the brass jet closed a little with needle nose plyers to get the af just right
runs like a dream, started on the third pull, after i sprayed the filter with brake cleaner this year

must be greener since it doesn't have a catalytic converter ??

EDIT: seems to be empty every time i go to use it

Eric68 · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 331

I have a 13 year old Craftsman push mower with the 6HP Briggs "gold" motor. I've filled it up with E85 many times. Other than being a royal pain to start and keep running when the engine is cold, it ran OK. It was definitely down on power but ran OK as long as my grass wasn't too thick. I could tell it was lean, but it ran OK.

Those carburetors have a single jet in them, if you wanted to convert it (as in permanent conversion) just take the carb apart and drill the jet to provide 30% more area (measure the jet and do the Pi*R^2 area formula times that by 1.3 then work it backwards to get the right diameter). That engine isn't that picky like a car engine that has to take various loads at various RPMs.
_________________
E85 racer and E85 carb builder
www.horsepowerinnovations.com

E85 powered 68 Camaro street car
Best ET on motor 9.96 @ 133 MPH, 5.92 on N2O in the 1/8th

E drifto · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 12

i've heard that running a mower for an hour has the same emissions as 40 automobiles Question

i have no idea what emissions they're talking about, but most of the mowers i've seen don't appear to have a catalytic converter....maybe i'm missing something

maybe someone could shed some light on this for me:

Is there an environmental advantage to running E85 in a push mower ?!?!

TIA joe
_________________
1987 16v Scirocco w P1SC-1 Procharger
recurved cis-e jetronic - flex fuel knob on the dash

Alcohol · Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 634 Location: Central Wisconsin

Most older mower engines are terribly inefficient. Many have the valves over on the side and a chamber above them leading to very low compression and very poor combustion. Poor combustion leads to emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulates, etc. E85 is very effective in cutting all three of these. While we may not think the particulates are a big deal- they get embedded in lungs and/or absorbed into the bloodsteam- hence this has been what has always been a major factor holding diesel engines out of the light duty more stringent car market- but gas engine emit them too, especially small engines, and even more so-2 stroke. E85 can reduce NOX or can add to it depending on temp and timing- thus may be less helpful. Aldehydes can increase with E85 (primarily at cold start) but in the overall picture- E85 is a clear winner.