Inside of husqvarna 141 fuel tank disolving???

So the 141 that I got fixed and running for my neighbor started acting up again.
I pulled the carb apart as it was acting more like a flood condition - and I found the same mysterious orange gel drops in the lower bowl, checked the intake side and found some on the screen there as well.

I was scratching my head thinking it was the fuel line coming apart but when I opened the gas cap and had the saw on its side I saw the droplets clinging to the bottom of the tank and a bit of it around the gas cap lip.

This stuff will pass through the fuel filter and the carb screen and apparently redeposit itself in the jets.

It has to be the fuel tank dissolving internally because I rinsed the tank and have fresh fuel added since I worked on it originally.

Anyone ever seen this?

 

No, but I have a thought, what fuel filter does it have on it? OEM or AM and what color is it?

 

I wonder if it is crud in the tank that is now dissolving? Just "rinsing" the tank may not be enough to remove everything in it. When I was working on antique tractors I would put a length of chain in the tank and shake it around to scour off any foreign matter. Small pieces of gravel ot walnut shells will work as as agitator in a saw tank.

 

The fuel filter is white, I'm assuming OEM original as this saw doesn't have many hours on it.
Here's a picture of the orange stuff - forgot to take the cap off and this pressed out the line.

 

I know from the picture it looks like rust - but it is soluble in the gas and beads up when the gas evaporates.
It has more a of a consistency of an orange grease

 

Boy Howdy, that is odd! Is the fuel in the tank the stuff you put in or has the owner been doing his own fuel? Perhaps he could be using some of that ecco-friendly, bio-degradeable chit! Or worse yet some concoction he came up with.

Basod, you are a member of Chainsaw Repair, post this thread there, get some more eyes on it.

 

I've seen that orange stuff in fuel systems over the years, but never in a chainsaw. The way it beads up I always assumed it was rust stained water. Doesn't make sense in a plastic tank though...

 

I'll post over there as well.
I did notice a bit of the bottom of the filter has the orange color. Inside the tank is slightly faded
Swished it up real good and poured into a mason jar probably a teaspoon of this orange stuff settled out - I cleaned/refilled and will let it sit over night with my freshly mixed fuel.
I have the remainder evaporating in the jar to see if it is water based or not - almost has the appearance of propylene glycol
He was running the premix cans - not sure of vendor, but I refilled it with that to tune it after repairs so it wasn't off with my richer mix.

 

What does ethanol do to that tank?

 

Could be ethanol - he(my neighbor) claims to be only running pre-canned mix, whether that was the case in the beginning of this saws life I have suspicions.

 

I'll bet some of the different plastics used for tanks are better than others too, when it comes to ethanol... that "miracle" additive saving the world...

 

The fuel line s also NOT HVA, might be it going south!

 

It is stained orange only where it was submerged in the tank. It has to be replaced as I pinched/cut it while pulling the carb.

Any issues with using aftermarket filters/lines?

 

So Mech, do you see ethanol eating some plastic tanks like this one?

 

That could be from the oil. I've never seen a husky tank dissolve and I've rebuilt some 288s that have some age on them and run on corn fuel. I would lean more towards a junk oil or something else reacting in there.

 

Update on my experiment.
The fuel was evaporated and dry last evening, added small amount of water - some amount was soluble in the water - it looks more rust like.
The remainder would dissolve in fresh fuel and make the orange gel.

The tank does not appear to have any orange gel after setting overnight with fresh fuel.
I'll have his fuel can this afternoon and check it for this stuff.

 

I started to think it was a mixture of two different 2stroke oils.
I've seen synthetic motor oils mixed that produced plastic precipitates and ruined the lower end of an Explorer @~60k

 

From 660Magnum on Chainsaw Repair