Seems about a year ago I read on this very site something about 3020 & 4020 GAS tractors being hard to start in the winter if using premium grade gasoline. Maybe I recall it all wrong but I thought it recommended NOT using the higher grade fuels because the LOWER the octane rating the easier it is to light assuming they're equally fresh fuels. Slight knocking on 87 goes away with an 89 or 92 rated fuel because the higher the octane rating of the gasoline, the harder it is to light it thus eliminating the knock. I know a guy that swears this is true because he thought he was being nice to his immaculately rebuilt '37 A when he put some 93 in it. Ran great on it BUT.... with the 93 in it he usually had to pull it to start it. Oh it would start on the 93 but he was pooped after all the cranking! Got it home after the show he was at, drained it, poured in some cheap gas he had in the garage for his lawn mower & it started right up. Runs 87 in it all the time now & rarely has any trouble with it starting. As for how MY tractors behave on different fuels through the year... The only thing I notice is the tendency for gasohol to take on water & separate more so than other fuels. When that happens I have to choke the devil out of them to get 'em going & usually have to open the carb needles considerably until it's burned up. I use 87 rated fuel. Then again only my B's are gas tractors. With the exception of the 70 D all the rest are all fuels & they were happy with about anything runny enough to flow through the fuel lines! For a breakdown of all the things in Gasoline (it is a real stew of various chemicals) take a look at www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/ bulletin/aviationfuel/pdfs/chapter10.pdf or www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp72-c3.pdf. Octane (eight carbon atoms in the molecule) is one of the heavier parts of the mix in gasoline. The higher the octane rating, the 'heavier' the fuel. After all is said & done I cheap out & buy the cheapest 87 I can find in town! Doesn't make either right or wrong, just sayin that's what I do. Later.
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