gas tractors and bad gas

LarryH · May 30, 2016

we are having problems with a couple of gas tractors on discbines as it gets hotter tried 1 gallon of diesel---clothespins alum foil anyone got better ideas

504 · May 30, 2016

What tractors?

David G · May 30, 2016

I would concur, what tractors and what issues?

I have never heard of adding diesel to correct issues.

RBoots · May 30, 2016

Is your gas boiling in the tank Larry?

Ross

gene bender · May 30, 2016

clothespins and alum foil what does that have to do with gas.

markct · May 30, 2016

I was wondering exactly the same thing!

Stephen Newell · May 30, 2016

I thought the solution was drain the bad gas and replace with fresh.

fixerupper · May 30, 2016

So do you think the tractors are vapor locking? That might explain the the use of tin foil and clothes pins.

notjustair · May 30, 2016

I'll throw my hat in the race. Why not?

Clothes pins were an old trick to help vapor lock. I've also seen folks slit rubber fuel line lengthwise and put it over the metal line to keep it cooler.

I'm not saying it's not possible, but as most gas tractors are gravity fed, vapor lock is unlikely. There is one thing, though. I grind feed with a Farmall M. I have to keep the tank more than half full. There is something about the harmonics of the grinder that makes a vibration in the fuel tank that makes the fuel appear to boil. It doesn't feed into the sediment bowl well and will get air in the line. Maybe that's the case. Are all of the fuel lines on your tractor run in the factory location with factory materials? If someone tried to fix something or improve it they may have made it worse.

Russ from MN · May 30, 2016

You are not describing the symptoms very well, so it's hard to help! My brother-in-law used to add a little diesel to his chain saw gas in hot weather, probably raised the boiling point. When you use a saw hard in hot weather sometimes the gas will boil in the tank. I add a little diesel to the gas in our Farmall C, it seems to run smoother and it might reduce corrosion in the tank, as I run 10% ethanol.

Dean · May 30, 2016

Bingo.

By definition, gravity flow fuel systems cannot vapor lock. All of the clothes pins and tin foil in the world will not help.

What may help is gasoline without ethanol.

Dean

old · May 30, 2016

Lack of info makes it impossible for us to help you help your self.
One one tractor the way the fuel line is run and what has been done to it can cause problems.
On another it can be due to a heat shield missing that will cause problems.
Or a fuel tank vent clogged will cause problems.
Of if it has a fuel pump a bad fuel pump and the list can go on and on so we need you to tell us the make and model of the tractor and other such info. One word or 100 words cost the same here

big jt · May 31, 2016

If boiling gas or vaporlock is your problem there is one other possibility that hasn't been mentioned.

Are you using gas that was bought in the winter? Somewhat little known fact is Gasoline changes blends for winter months and summer months. It is done to prevent vaporization in the summer and thusly pollution. I have never experienced it as a problem in the summer but come winter I try to be careful what I put in my garden tractor with the snowblower. Little Onan won't run on summer fuel when the temps drop, the fuel just won't vaporize well enough to get it started. Try fresh fuel that you bought within the past month or two.

Easy way to tell when the change over is there will be a spike in price due to short term supply shortage during the change over.

jt

dzc3 · May 31, 2016

Adding the diesel fuel slows down the "rate" of burn and helps with pre-ignition ping. I use about a gallon in a 48 gallon tank.

Geo-TH,In · May 31, 2016

Larry,
When I first bought my jubilee, the coating inside the tank started flaking off. The coating would choke up the screens, some would get by and into the carb. I installed in line gas filter, paper inside, clear plastic can see the gas.

When the fuel temp, heated by the radiator and exhaust, got around 145 I cold see an air bubble form inside the filter, fuel flow would stop, and soon after the fuel inside carb ran out and engine died. It took about 10 minutes for fuel in gas tank to cool enough, the air bubble in filter went away and fuel would flow. I thought it was gas line getting to hot, so I installed a new gas hose, not steel, routing it away from engine. Didn't work.

I bought a new tank, got rid of old tank and filter, vapor lock gone. Nothing to do with bad gas.
geo

01gentdc · May 31, 2016

yep , my 511 b case did that crap couple yrs ago ,,. I posted here and got few valuable answers except to buy a green tractor or Kubota ,,. NOT gonna happen ...what I did was place a alouminum foil around the gas line ..also placed aluminum sheets between tank and engine , to stop heat boiling , clothes pins did nuthin , makes me think its a b-s fix. I removed the battery cover to let out heat ,..and had a piece of foil between carb and engine , tightened the fan belt ,. and used simple green by splashing it on the front of radiator at idle ,.the air sukt the imple green in the fins nicely ,,. immediately took a garden hose and rinsed a lot of crud out of the radiator fins,. after a couple minutes I reved the engine wide open and really cleared it out with the garden hose,,. all those things made a nice improvement ,,. BUT NUTHIN WORKED BETTER IN MY CASE THAN A NEW CONDENSOR ,. so don't overlook that easy fix ,,. many times electric problem s masquerade as fuel problems ...that's why I like diesels

David G · May 31, 2016

Did anyone else notice, I do not see OP posting back?

dhermesc · May 31, 2016

Agreed. If its old gas do the obvious rather than fighting it with no good results.

showcrop · May 31, 2016

The tinfoil and clothes pin are needed only while reading this thread. Clothes pin on your nose and tinfoil to make a cap.

LarryH · May 31, 2016

11650 oliver and mm 670

LarryH · May 31, 2016

I AM BETTING YOU MUST OWE FOR YOUR TRACTORS --DIDNT MISS IT DID I YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL THE JEALOUS ONES BY THE STUPIDITY LOL !!!!!!!!---NOW THAT WAS FUN

LarryH · May 31, 2016

165o oliver and mm670 fuel lines original --vented properly --using summer gas--heat shields in place

LarryH · May 31, 2016

I agree ethanol is junk we repair small engines and there are 1000s of them ruined to keep some btos going that are already broke anyway

LarryH · May 31, 2016

all new gas bought in the last 30 days

showcrop · May 31, 2016

(quoted from post at 13:30:06 05/31/16) I AM BETTING YOU MUST OWE FOR YOUR TRACTORS --DIDNT MISS IT DID I YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL THE JEALOUS ONES BY THE STUPIDITY LOL !!!!!!!!---NOW THAT WAS FUN

STOP YOUR SHOUTING LARRY! My hearing is perfectly good, and I owe nothing on any of my tractors, or anything else, (my wife pays the monthly charges before they are due). But I may be dense because I still don't understand your post.

oldtanker · May 31, 2016

You still don't really describe the problem. So what exactly are they doing?

RIck

David G · May 31, 2016

Am I missing something, or are you not answering the question on the symptoms?

LarryH · Jun 1, 2016

runs good while cool and starts missing pulling choke out helps a little --we have tried about everything

LarryH · Jun 1, 2016

SO YOUR JUST A SMART ALECK--WITH ZERO ANSWERS --GLAD MOST PEOPLE WITH BRAINS OFFER ADVICE UNLIKE YOU LOL NOW THAT WAS FUN KICKING YOUR BUTT

ss55 · Jun 1, 2016

Restricted fuel line, bad or over-heated coil, bad condenser? If you have a 6 volt coil in a 12 volt system, is there a ballast resister to limit current through the coil?

oldtanker · Jun 1, 2016

(quoted from post at 15:26:23 06/01/16) runs good while cool and starts missing pulling choke out helps a little --we have tried about everything

I'd be checking the ignition circuit first. Sound an awful lot like a coil issue. Generally the condenser will cause the points to burn up pretty quick when they go bad.

On these older tractors it sometimes helps to give a full description of the problem plus some info on the tractor. Especially if it's one that's been converted from 6 to 12 volt.

Rick

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