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Solve ethanol issues before they arise

Prevent Ethanol Issues Now

The fuel some love to hate isn’t the problem – letting gasoline sit too long is the real problem.

Len Groom | TECHNICAL PRODUCT MANAGER

How did an alternative fuel made mostly from corn grown in the Midwest become a political lightning rod?

Whatever the reason, ethanol is always a controversial topic. Some love it, citing its ability to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while supporting American jobs. Some hate it, saying it reduces fuel economy and wastes farmland that could be used to grow food.

I’ll leave that debate to someone else. Instead, I want to talk about the effect ethanol can have on fuel-system components, especially in powersports and lawn & garden equipment – and what you can do to avoid those problems.

What is ethanol?

But first, some background info. Ethanol is an alcohol fuel derived from plant materials, such as corn, barley or wheat. It’s mixed with gasoline at different ratios to produce the fuel you buy at the pump. Most of us are familiar with E10, which is gasoline that contains up to 10 percent ethanol. Today, E15 is becoming more common. And owners of flex-fuel vehicles designed to run on increased concentrations of ethanol can opt for E85.

The upside of ethanol

Years ago, lead was added to gasoline to, among other things, boost octane rating and help prevent engine knock. It turned out lead poisoned catalytic converters and harmed the environment, so it was replaced by methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). However, MTBE was shown to damage the environment if leaked or spilled. Today, ethanol has replaced MTBE as a more environmentally friendly means of boosting octane.

Fuel-system problems

That brings us to a major knock on ethanol – it’s propensity to degrade rubber and plastic fuel hoses and carburetor components. Ethanol can cause gaskets and fuel lines to harden, crack and then leak. It can also cause aluminum and brass fuel-system components to corrode and develop a white, flaky residue that clogs fuel passages. Some marina personnel I’ve talked to say up to 65 percent of their repair orders are attributed to fuel-system problems.

PHASE SEPARATION

Ethanol isn’t to blame

While ethanol has become a popular scapegoat for mechanics, especially in the marine industry, it isn’t the enemy – time is the enemy. Why do ethanolrelated problems affect powersports and lawn & garden equipment more than your car or truck? Because your boat or lawnmower can sit idle for weeks or even months. During that time, the fuel can absorb moisture since ethanol has an affinity for water. That’s why ethanolrelated problems are so common in marine applications. Water can break the molecular bond between gasoline and ethanol, causing the water/ethanol mixture to separate from the gasoline and fall to the bottom of the tank. This is known as phase separation, and you can see an example of it in the image above.

Phase separation causes a couple problems. The engine can draw the ethanol/ water mixture into the carburetor or injectors, leading to a lean-burn situation that can increase heat and damage the engine. In addition, the gasoline left behind no longer offers adequate resistance to engine knock since the ethanol that provides the increased octane the engine needs has separated from the gasoline. Burning low-octane gas can cause damage due to engine knock, especially in two-stroke engines. Finally, if your boat, lawnmower or other piece of equipment sits unused, the water/ethanol mixture can slowly corrode aluminum and brass fuel-system components, not to mention rubber and plastic fuel lines and gaskets. Eventually those components fail and require replacement.

Driving your car or truck almost every day doesn’t allow enough time for phase separation to occur, which is why we don’t see these issues nearly as often in the passenger car/light-truck market.

Prevention is the best solution

Although some fuel additives on the market claim to reverse the effects of phase separation, there’s no way to reintegrate gasoline and ethanol once they’ve separated. Instead, it’s best to prevent it.

One solution is to use non-oxygenated, ethanol-free gas in your powersports and lawn & garden equipment. It costs a little more, but it eliminates problems associated with ethanol. Another solution is to treat every tank of fuel and container of gas with AMSOIL Quickshot®. It helps keep water molecules dispersed in the fuel to prevent phase separation. It also cleans varnish, gums and insoluble debris while stabilizing fuel during short-term storage.

It’s a great way to avoid ethanol-related problems and keep your equipment protected. There’s nothing controversial about that.

DEALER FINDS LONG-TERM BUSINESS ‘FIT’ IN AMSOIL

DEALER FINDS LONG-TERM BUSINESS ‘FIT’ IN AMSOIL

Direct Jobber Erin Hart of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada has been in the AMSOIL business for 10 years.

“The timing was perfect when I found AMSOIL,” Hart said. “I had just recently become a new dad and was at home with our three-month-old son. I had just started a warehouse logistics consulting company (an industry I had been in for 15 years), and I was heavily involved in recreational snowmobiling in British Columbia. I saw the ‘fit’ right away in terms of me being able to call on retail and commercial accounts with a reputable product line.”

I just wanted to make a few more bucks

He was looking for a part-time business to generate some extra income that could become full-time in the future. “I had dabbled with other opportunities, but I never really had the passion for their products, and I was always suspect of their business and marketing practices,” Hart said.

He realized he had found the right combination of increased income in the short term, and the possibilities for long-term growth, with his AMSOIL business. It’s really the ultimate home based business. And I can sign up del

“This will become a full-time revenue stream for me. It affords me the freedom to set my own hours and work at my own pace.”

“As I started to gain some traction with the AMSOIL biz and saw my monthly commission checks start to increase on a regular basis, I knew right away I could do this long-term,” Hart said. “This will become a full-time revenue stream for me. It affords me the freedom to set my own hours and work at my own pace. But to really see the results, you need to stay focused. Even working at it part-time as I do, I probably invest one to three hours daily working on some nuance of the business.”

“There are so many opportunities to present the AMSOIL product line, and I like to keep myself open to all of them. Saying that, I have seen my best success with retail accounts, especially the quick lube market. The volumes that they order really help with the monthly commission checks.”

Hart approaches all types of accounts. “I try not to focus on any one type of account,” he said. “There are so many opportunities to present the AMSOIL product line, and I like to keep myself open to all of them. Saying that, I have seen my best success with retail accounts, especially the quick lube market. The volumes that they order really help with the monthly commission checks.”

Hart said relationships with his accounts bring him the most success. “In working on various accounts, it is all about relationship building,” he said. “You really need to understand their challenges and their pain and how our product line can help. Ultimately, we want to drive more business into their shops, which in turn creates more business for them.”

Some accounts come easy, while others take time, he said. “It really depends on the sales cycle with that particular account, what product they already have on the shelf and how AMSOIL can help,” Hart said. “I have had retail accounts register in as little as a month and others that are over a year, but I persist because something always changes in their environment where I eventually get a ‘yes’ out of them.”

His retention plan includes staying in touch with his customers.

“I follow-up with each of my accounts every one to three months, depending on their level of activity,” Hart said. “Follow-up can be as easy as a phone call or email. In a lot of cases, I simply stop into their shop to say ‘hi’ and see how business is overall.

“Again, things change in their environment, and what we do is truly a ‘belly-to-belly’ business,” Hart said. “People like to know who they are doing business with. A handshake, a quick coffee and a good conversation go a long way in securing business long-term.”

Hart advertises primarily on Facebook. “I have my own personal Facebook page and then I have my business AMSOIL Facebook page — IdealMotoroil,” he said. He belongs to a number of buy and sell groups, as well as powersports and diesel groups on Facebook. “It keeps me in tune with what people are looking for and usually there is some type of ‘nugget’ that appears where I can create an opportunity for my AMSOIL business,” Hart said.

When he’s not selling AMSOIL products, Hart plays hard. “I play a lot of hockey, usually twice per week, even during the summer,” he said. “Regular exercise is a de-stress time for me and helps me focus later on. It is also a great networking opportunity for me as I am always wearing my AMSOIL-branded shirts, hats, jackets, etc. Conversations happen organically about AMSOIL and have created a lot of business for me.”

“Everyone is always willing to share their story and provide some great advice if you ask them. Ultimately, I want my Dealership to provide that six-digit income for me and my family. I will get it there.”

He encourages new Dealers to take advantage of the resources available through AMSOIL. “Don’t let the enormity of the opportunity overwhelm you,” Hart said. “Take the baby steps and learn. AMSOIL University Online is a fantastic resource available to us and a lot of time and resources have been put into it to help you grow your business. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. There is no such thing as a dumb question, and the staff at AMSOIL is a tremendous resource.”

Explore AMSOIL University Online by logging in to the Dealer Zone and clicking the AU Online link.

“Through various AMSOIL events I have attended, I have had the opportunity to meet and network with other very successful AMSOIL Dealers,” said Hart. “Everyone is always willing to share their story and provide some great advice if you ask them. Ultimately, I want my Dealership to provide that six-digit income for me and my family. I will get it there.”

Join as a Dealer and start taking the free AMSOIL University classes now.