Sugar in gas?

[Marc J.]

I suspect my neighbor may have tampered with my tanks. I take it he doesn't like the sound of a 90 horse outboard in the morning. I hate to discard 10+ gallons of good fuel, but I don't want to damage my engine. Will sugar dissolved in fuel damage a 2-stroke? Are locking caps available for the old-style steel tanks?

 

[JB]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Moving to General Outboard.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Sugar in gas?

It certainly can't be good for it. I would pump it out, save it, and burn it a gallon at a time mixed with good gas. Pay the neighbor back with a few drips of brake fluid on his hood.

 

[gss036]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Just get rid of the gas, your motor has to be worth more than $20 worth of gas and then keep your can locked up. Might even ask him if he would do that to you. Who knows, you might get to know your neighbor and invite him along with you to go fishing and really get to know him.

 

[ReelDrag]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Sugar will not dissolve in gasoline. Most it will do is clog up your filters.

 

[rwise]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Sugar will EDIT maybe "desolve" is the wrong word to use here, "suspend" END EDIT in gas, then when heated will turn to hard candy (around the rings), when cooled the engine is locked up! You can use coke (or other soda) to desolve it, but why take the chance?<br />Richard

 

[JB]

Re: Sugar in gas?

First, buy a prop muffler. That should please the neighbors a lot.<br /><br />Discard the suspect gas. If there is sugar in it it will harm any engine you burn it in.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Sugar in gas?

One quick way to find out if it was your neighbor. Invite him out fishing and be sure to tell him you have found a special place that you have marked by GPS about 20 miles off shore in the Atlantic and see what he says.

 

[ReelDrag]

Re: Sugar in gas?

An old wives tale rwise. Have you seen this first hand?

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Sugar is insoluble in gas. The tales about sugar in the gas tank are just that - tales. It will clog up stuff, though, just like any kind of debris. It wouldn't be worth the chance not to just get rid of it.

 

[rwise]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Yes I have seen it first hand! Sugar WILL lock up an engine. I have seen an engine saved with coke, it took about 6 weeks to fully recover it. Coke (soda)(pop) in all 8 cylidars and try to turn the crack by hand every day. When you can turn it by hand a complete revolution then use the starter to blow as much of the coke out as you can and put oil in the cylidars. Turn it over a few times, put the plugs back in, put oil in the gas and start the engine. do not warm it up, let in run for only a few seconds at a time. do this avery day for a week or so, and hope you got the sugar all out, of course the tank was pulled and cleaned also!<br /><br />by the way, gas with sugar in it will have a sweet taste, no I do not recomend tasting your gas. if you think it has sugar in it get ride of it!<br /><br />I have even sugered my own tank before. Someone was removing gas from my tank, so, I bought a 5 gal. can and some hose filled it up. hooked it to the fuel pump while I was at work, vise grip next to the tank on the fuel line to keep anything from entering the fuel line. On the way home I stoped at the store and put a 5lb bag of sugar in the tank. Next stop was to fill the tank at the regular place! next morning tank was empty I changed the tank at work that day, and as long as I lived at that location I never lost any gas again!

 

[Old Jarhead]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Originally posted by ReelDrag:<br /> Sugar will not dissolve in gasoline. Most it will do is clog up your filters.

I did a quick search, having no first hand knowledge of this subject, and came up with this piece that supports ReelDrag's statement.<br /><br /> http://www.newagtalk.com/_disc14/00001792.htm <br /><br />I'll try, being the hardhead that I am, the gas in the jar w/sugar experiment myself this morning.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Aggreed, sugar will not dissolve in gasoline, but will clog up fuel filter closest to tank over time. Drain and discard appropriately.

 

[jim dozier]

Re: Sugar in gas?

Rwise I gotta agree with the boys who say sugar won't dissolve in gas. Now if you poured the sugar in a spark plug hole that would cause some damage due to the carbon and melted sugar. As to pouring Coca Cola into the engine? You are suggesting that adding sugar and water to the cylinder directly is going to help matters, I don't want to try this. You are going to end up worse than you started.

 

[rwise]

Re: Sugar in gas?

I have done it with an engine that was locked up due to sugar in the gas. BUT ONLY THEN. I did not intend anybody do this to a running engine!<br /><br />EDIT<br />I did EDIT the post above as "desolve" may not be the correct term. I have changed it to suspend as sand does in water, or rust does in gas. Enuf (enough) will pass through the filters to do the job. And I would think it would be far worse on a 2 cycle engine as its on both sides of the piston, getting on the crank and rod bearings as well as in the combustion chamber.<br />END EDIT