This E-85 stuff is new to me, and today found out year old E-85 won't run too good. Likely had absorbed alot of water?

Maybe...every fall I buy 20 gallons right before they switch over to E70 for winter (in case I get to race before summer blend comes back) and runs like a champ come spring time.

Where do you store it, and in what type of container? I don't do anything special to mine except keep it off the cement floor in a standard fuel jug.

Big power FI turbo tuner told me - 5 days in the tank and it's junk. Screws the tune up. You want to save it, drain it back into an air tight drum. Otherwise it's weed killer.

For sure if you let it sit for a long time it'll soak up water. But its definitely good for more then 5 days... My tank is vented, and it's good at least 4-6 weeks.

I would test it for what percentage it actually is
I started off dnyo testing with E75 and ended up using gas from the same pump that the dyno shop bought three weeks later and I used it a year later, it that had set in plastic race jugs in their dyno room for that year. That fuel tested out to be E90 and ran good
I'm having a missing issue now with my race car now with old fuel, maybe I should drain it and try a new batch to see if that is it It tests now to between E87 to E89 in three different jugs

Walmart used to carry a test kit that measured the alcohol content of gas. Test when you get it and test when you use it. E85 isn't always E85. It picks up water very easily from the air and there is always condensation to worry about. There are kits available no ebay too. Just buy the better quality kits. If water is the problem buy some 190% alcohol (Pharmaco) from a booze store and add it in or try a product like HEAT. Your just trying to dilute the water with anhydrous(water free) alcohol.

I had 15-gallons in the vented tank since Aug 2016 (9 to 10 Months)
I have the test tube type tester that tells alcohol percentage, but not sure how to tell how much water it had absorbed?

I may be having some other issue wit the carb, but right now I am thinking the old fuel?

The problem is the engine won't idle right, and when I punch the throttle the engines seems to go lean? Once the RPMs come up it seems to run fairly good. This is in comparison to last year. No changes were made, and last year it would blow the tires off, now it wants to fall on its face?

Have you taken the carb apart? Sitting that long the fuel in the carb will absorb water. That water in the bowls will cause corrosion. that maybe plugged some of the bleed passages or even is obstructing the jets partially?
When my carb is going to sit for a while I drain it and spray wd40 to protect the insides.
Also when e85 sits in plastic jugs for a long time the gas component (15%) will evaporate as noted by cab and others on here. Your tune maybe off if it was close to being lean before.
More ethanol % needs bigger jets.
It's not as corrosive as methanol but it will attack bare aluminum over time, especially if there is water involved!

Don

AH, Love the smell of REAL GAS in the morning..........no where near worth the hassles...........

What hassles?

Before I switched I heard all the horror stories. "Sucks water out of the air"..."destroys fuel system"..."corrodes everything"..."Inconsistent ethanol content and will make the car run different each tank".

After four years I don't have a single complaint. Car runs cooler, makes more power, less swing with weather changes, and has totally paid for itself vs. $9 a gallon for junk 110.

I have heard your story's as well as the other side so like everything in life, there's two sides to things BUT, some like myself could screw up a soap dish so I'll stick to my 91 or 100 at Arco............Either way, there are zero stations near me so easy choice..............

bad, wet e85 will kill 100hp on a 1200hp motor. you'll swear something is broke lol

All in how you store it. We have seen the corn liquor percentage go up when stored over long periods in plastic drums or jugs a couple times. We don't really have any issue with water absorption as we have no humidity here, but could see that as a potential issue for sure. When we first started with it we would see it "jell" in the carb if it sat for long periods of time, like when doing bodywork and paint.

Everyone has their opinion...but even with a little hassle I'll take $2 a gallon race fuel.

As long as you're not blatantly abusing it (buying in winter, or storing in the car for long periods of time) it really isn't any big deal.

I'm Michigan from May to October I've never seen it test under 83%.

Get some fresh gas with a carb/fuel injection cleaner and run this thru the carb, about 1 gallon. See if runs better. If it does then run your E85. Simple solution before you remove the carb.

Won't run better since e85 carb is 30% richer. Eyes will be watering

I will take the carb off this weekend and check it out.
I like the idea of using E-85, but I don't run the car that often anymore, so I will either have to drain the fuel between useage or switch back to race gas?

I run straight alcohol and it isn't without its issues. It stores very nicely in 54 gallon plastic jugs. I just bought to drums of it last night for 165.00 each so I'm set for awhile. Last year prices took a nice dip down to 135.00 a drum during the Summer for some reason. I drain the carb and dump transmission fluid down the carb while it is running and shut her down for Winter storage but I till have to freshen the carb every Spring. Most of the guys that ran E85 at Keystone switched over to alcohol.

Being that cars have a vent on the fuel tank and
E-85 will separate( the alky is still there but
will reduce.. the open vent system will absorb
in the water so it ends up as trash over time)
.. it should be stored in ONE type of container
the has the barrier in the container.. it can be
either a metal drum or plastic.. but it HAS to
have the the barrier.. production fuel tanks
have it and good fuel drums or fuel jugs/cans..
if you were to cut a production fuel tank in
half you can see it easy(I've cut open a few
hundred of them).. if it sits in the car for a
period of time(more than a week or two you will
see the slime starting.. and it gets worse over
time.. I forgot to drain my carb over the winter
one year.. it didnt look good and it was a 1/4"
thick and started to corrode my 1050 carb a fair
amount.. drain it and run some decent fuel through
the whole system to wash out the E-85.. other than
the water issue its great stuff and CHEAP race fuel

You guys a lucky! Only station that sells e-85 has been testing 50! 55gal. Barrel e-98 here is 275.00. might go back to race gas! Side note, it's been killing my o-rings in my Pump changed them over to Viton after the first time it leaked. What else could a guy use?