Cat 28 Fuel

Greetings,

Can anyone tell the best fuel to use In a Cat 28? Am I better off using the 91 octane eth-free stuff, or something else? What about adding lead substitute?

Thanks

Gasoline - you are probably not going to work it or run it much. Be sure to run the fuel out of carburetor - Modern fuels are blended and in reality probably as good as what was available when the Twenty-Eight was new. Many of the fuels in that machines heyday were not the best, yet they did burn. - cts

Av gas LL100

Just being silly here, how about gas mixed with diesel. Actually 89 with lead substitute is probably the best. Are you near Hollister CA?

Ethanol-free for sure, and regular 87 octane is fine. They didn't run on much back in the day like CTS wrote so the octane's not an issue. If you have some additive for lead that won't hurt. I can't imagine this will be a production machine so you're not going to hurt it running any gasoline, but ideally ethanol-free. If you do run ethanol gas, then drain the main tank as well at the end of your running season.

I picked up on the Cienega part too; Scott F. used to live near there!

Fuels -- "modern" fuel formulations have changed, largely in part to regulations regarding pollution standards that are in a constant state of flux or change. Ethanol is not new for fuel for internal combustion engines. The issue is really the associated components, gaskets, floats, hoses, etc. as well as the mixture and ignition settings. The other big issue is that alcohol has an inherent thirst for water, and as such tends to "deteriorate or lose its strength" over time. The additives to fuels and lubricating fluids have changed the life expectancy of machines. Better filters, better lubricants and maintaining the maintenance schedules are key issues to longevity. The fuel cap " buy clean fuel - keep it clean" applies to the lubrication oils too. Something that many of us do not consider - ignition timing, modern machines have variable settings dependent upon many sensors and thus do compensate for some of the fuel burning characteristics. What we considered Close enough to Run, may not be correct today. - cts

Appreciate the help!

Not there any more, but born in the Cienega District and raised around Hollister. Been gone since 1974; nice catch - observant!

As w/CT, nice catch, Juiceman! Amazed anybody not living, or from there would recognize "Cienega"! That's where the 28 is from: my dad's cat that he used on his vineyard there, and later on a dryland farm in the Santa Ana Vly near Holllister.

To all the respondents: Thanks for your help - much appreciated. And, no, I don't use the 28 much; generally only started-up once-a-year as an homage to my dad. I have used both ethanol and now the 91 octane ethanol-free, or a mix of both, plus usually lead substitute. Cat is usually run for less than a hour, driven a couple of hundred yards and then all fuel and water drained. Having trouble getting it started this year; not a great mechanic, so I probably need to try to find somebody who could do a "tune-up". Probably not going to be able to find any vintage Cat mechanic's close to Pocatello, ID. Thanks again.

CC: I think part of the fun of this forum is guessing where or how someone came about with their user name. Small world we all live in. I used to haul some organic apricots from the area as well as onions. If you were not familiar with Scott F., he was a small winegrape grower that had a custom fab shop on Cienega Rd., specializing in winery equipment and best of all, sheetmetal items for Caterpillar machines. He was a great guy that had passed too soon.