"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
I took the Tolman back to the mechanic and he decided to look it over
while I was there. Took the cover off and he pronounced "Bad gas,
smell that varnish smell" and yes, I did. He verified spark and fuel
delivery. He sprayed starting fluid in and she she started but died
as soon as it was gas only. Yes, this gas is about 4 months old and
probably had ethanol but the tank is nearly full so I did not think
I'd get enough humidity in to matter.
He advised to NEVER buy fuel with ethanol in it and never keep fuel
for more than a couple of weeks. Unless I buy only at marinas, it
will be tough to find ethanol free fuel.

I just bought a used boat. It had a small 1.2hp trolling motor. There was
plastic gas compartment that would hold about two cups of gas. I
disassembled nearly the whole engine and cleaned and fixed. I poured the
gas into a shallow container to use as parts wash. It smelled strongly like
a can of paint varnish. The project took a couple of evenings, and the
smell just hung in the shop so bad I finally poured the gas into a sealed
can. My atvs get "bad gas" from time to time from gas setting.

It's just good to use gas up and not let it sit around for any length of
time. Stabil helps, but it changes over time.

Steve