Fuel Quality!

[0xDEADBEEF]

I think the fuel door is just a moisture trap. Rain water can roll down the side and get trapped in there. Mold likes dark places.

 

[Scooterwrench]

It grows around the outside of the fuel door on my moms crown vic,I think her gas cap o-ring is not sealing and allowing a little vapor to escape. I don't worry about it because she doesn't drive anymore. We keep the POS as an emergency back up vehicle. When everything else in the yard is tore up that thing will fire right up and drag it's gutless ass down the road.
It's one of those love/hate relationships!

 

[454cid]

I don't' seem to have issues with gas going bad. I just put the last of my 2-stroke mix into my leaf blower and used it a few days ago. That gas was mixed last year... or the year before. Mowers also start with fuel that's been sitting. Here in MI, ALL of our gas has ethanol in it, unless it's sold as "recreational" gas.

 

[Scooterwrench]

I don't' seem to have issues with gas going bad. I just put the last of my 2-stroke mix into my leaf blower and used it a few days ago. That gas was mixed last year... or the year before. Mowers also start with fuel that's been sitting. Here in MI, ALL of our gas has ethanol in it, unless it's sold as "recreational" gas.

Wonder if heat has anything to do with it. Down here we can see triple digits in the late summer and it's hardly ever below 60% humidity.

 

[BuiltToWork]

I don't know about gas mold, but I work in Data Centers that have 100's of 5,000 gallon diesel tanks for the 3mW backup generators. If memory serves correctly, the fuel people come out every 6 months and pump all the diesel thru a filter to get the mold out. No small undertaking.

 

[Schurkey]

I have some trouble believing that the Ethanol is causing mold growth.

Alcohol is used to sterilize stuff, including your skin before injections.

OTOH, Dear Old Dad's '98 Monte Carlo has paint damage around the trim for the grille, and above the rub-strips on the body sides; it was parked outside--enough airborne dirt collected there that moss sprouted. I'd take the poor thing to the car wash every summer and blast the plantlife out of the gap between paint and trim.

 

[Scooterwrench]

I don't know about gas mold, but I work in Data Centers that have 100's of 5,000 gallon diesel tanks for the 3mW backup generators. If memory serves correctly, the fuel people come out every 6 months and pump all the diesel thru a filter to get the mold out. No small undertaking.

Yeah, there is an algae that grows in diesel fuel. You wouldn't think anything could grow in the nasty stuff.

 

[454cid]

Wonder if heat has anything to do with it. Down here we can see triple digits in the late summer and it's hardly ever below 60% humidity.

We do get high humidity, but not the heat. You can't walk too far in Michigan before your feet get wet.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

there is an algae that grows in diesel fuel. You wouldn't think anything could grow in the nasty stuff.

I'm here to tell ya! Way back when I had an '87 Mercedes 300TD (station wagon) with a turbo charged 6 cylinder. All of a sudden it didn't wanna run right. I called the dealership and they told me about algae, I had to change the fuel filter and dump a bottle of algaecide in the tank. About a week later, it seemed to be running OK so, as a test, I took it out on I-5 and ran it up to ~115 MPH. Guess what? A CHP airplane caught me doing 105! When I got off the freeway, a CHP car was waiting for me. We chatted for a while about the algae and he wrote me a ticket for "Excessive Speed" in a Merc wagon. I went to court in Turlock, when the judge looked at me and said "105 MPH in a MERCURY STATION WAGON??? I said no your honor, it was a Mercedes wagon. That pissed him off even more. Then he asked me "what do you want to do". I said "go to traffic school", he said "you can't do that!" Then he looked it up in the DMV statutes book (or whatever they call it) and said "I'll be damned, you CAN GO TO TRAFFIC SCHOOL!" Evidently, since my ticket was written for Excessive Speed and not for reckless speed over 100 MPH, I got to keep my license and go to school.

At the class the instructor asked everyone why they were here, I told him doing 105 MPH in a Mercedes wagon, he said "That's a new record as far as I know!". It only cost me a total of $180!

 

[Scooterwrench]

I'm here to tell ya! Way back when I had an '87 Mercedes 300TD (station wagon) with a turbo charged 6 cylinder. All of a sudden it didn't wanna run right. I called the dealership and they told me about algae, I had to change the fuel filter and dump a bottle of algaecide in the tank. About a week later, it seemed to be running OK so, as a test, I took it out on I-5 and ran it up to ~115 MPH. Guess what? A CHP airplane caught me doing 105! When I got off the freeway, a CHP car was waiting for me. We chatted for a while about the algae and he wrote me a ticket for "Excessive Speed" in a Merc wagon. I went to court in Turlock, when the judge looked at me and said "105 MPH in a MERCURY STATION WAGON??? I said no your honor, it was a Mercedes wagon. That pissed him off even more. Then he asked me "what do you want to do". I said "go to traffic school", he said "you can't do that!" Then he looked it up in the DMV statutes book (or whatever they call it) and said "I'll be damned, you CAN GO TO TRAFFIC SCHOOL!" Evidently, since my ticket was written for Excessive Speed and not for reckless speed over 100 MPH, I got to keep my license and go to school.

At the class the instructor asked everyone why they were here, I told him doing 105 MPH in a Mercedes wagon, he said "That's a new record as far as I know!". It only cost me a total of $180!

That's when Mercedes actually built solid cars. A buddy of mine works in a USPS service shop and has to work on these new Mercedes. I always know when he's been into one 'cause he's cussing up a blue blaze when he calls.