Well, the only thing I can say at this point is that nobody is going to admit the guilt:

Not the oil/gas companies.
Not the rubber/carb parts companies.
Definitely not our government.
Not the Chinese.
ETC., ETC.

Guess it's up to us to figure it out..... One thing though; for some reason, the fuel pump diaphragms haven't given me much trouble. When the problem is in the carb, I rarely find a bad fuel pump diaphragm; it is almost always the regulator diaphragm that goes bad. And once again guys, we are not talking about isolated incidents here, I've found the problem in dozens and dozens of small engine fuel systems. (in reality probably hundreds but I've lost count....)

AV8TOR

The alky/ gasoline blend we get today with is not compatible with all gaskets -
if in doubt check n replace lines and gaskets
and drain any setup before storing
Most users of outdoor power equipment have seen how this fuel can screw up lines , gaskets etc..

Its not the fuel causing the problem.<div>E10 is pretty consistent in chemical composition. Ethanol is Ethanol and its made to a spec. RBOB is made to a spec. Blend the two together and the final product has to meet the spec.</div><div>
</div><div>Now rubber and elastomer fabrication,.......theres a black art with plenty of variables</div>

Why is it then that some parts of the USA seem to have far more fuel related problems than others? Then some parts of the country rarely report problems on any of the forums.

For example, you rarely hear of problems with fuels coming from the Texas - Oklahoma refiners and sent north via pipeline. Yet problems seem to be very common in Florida and other parts of the SE, Arizona and some parts of the SW and Hawaii.

Fuel is the variable here with engine parts all coming from pretty much the same sources. Nobody ever mentions the chemicals used to denature ethanol but it is used in such a low percentage I doubt that would be a problem. I know producers in this area use different materials depending on the time of year, costs, etc.