Heads up-Gas with Ethanol-Is this a Problem?

[bajakian]

I had a fuel pump problem this past weekend and my mechanic arrived with the "news" that he has had many motor problems lately and is attributung them to the recent change to gas with 10 percent ethanol. He says that it is loosening gum and liberating water in the fuel tanks (which then goes into the motors) and affecting gaskets. Coincidentally( or not!) I have had several boating friends complaining of problems with their motors this weekend. My float was bad and most likely not related to ethanol but I wanted to point out a potential problem to everybody so that we can all keep an eye on it and exchange information. I called Fuel Tech and they told me that they sell fuel with Ethanol so I am going to hold off on buying from them till I get a definitive answer on this question. Even though they are much cheaper than buying on the water, I dont want to take the chance of breaking down off shore.

[Capt. JJ]

My dad is the dockmaster at Gateway marina and they DO NOT HAVE ETHANOL IN THEIR GAS!!!! My dad makes sure to buy straight gasoline. It is 87 octane, which is fine for yamahas, but I'm not so sure about Verados???

[bajakian]

The gas at the Two Georges marinais also ethanol free and the price is Ok for the water.

[MattyG100%]

this is definitely a problem. i own a 16' boat with a 22 gallon tank and I have had problems with my fuel turning to water due to the 10% ethanol. Took me forever to figure it out, but its definitely a problem. i have to use fuel stabilizer now. havent had a problem since i have been doing that as of yet....

[billspilingup]

I think it would be a great resouce for everyone if we report on the locations near us that sell straight gasoline so we all can avoid mechanical problems. I'll report on this thread the next time I fuel up.

[Harry Klauber]

Originally Posted by bajakian

I had a fuel pump problem this past weekend and my mechanic arrived with the "news" that he has had many motor problems lately and is attributung them to the recent change to gas with 10 percent ethanol. He says that it is loosening gum and liberating water in the fuel tanks (which then goes into the motors) and affecting gaskets. Coincidentally( or not!) I have had several boating friends complaining of problems with their motors this weekend. My float was bad and most likely not related to ethanol but I wanted to point out a potential problem to everybody so that we can all keep an eye on it and exchange information. I called Fuel Tech and they told me that they sell fuel with Ethanol so I am going to hold off on buying from them till I get a definitive answer on this question. Even though they are much cheaper than buying on the water, I dont want to take the chance of breaking down off shore.

If you suspect you have purchased boat fuel with ethanol there are 3 things you must do.
1. Do not buy any more fuel with ethanol (obvious #1)
2. Add fuel stabilizer to your tank in the "shock" amount to remove water
3. Change your primary fuel filter and replace it with a filter that is of at least 10 micron filtering capacity.

The stabilizer should take care of any accumulated water in your tank and the filter will filter out all the gum that the ethanol has created and prevent it from getting into your engine.

[weekley rehab]

I agree with Harry 100% , I work for a local motorcycle shop and the service dept. is having many problems on everything from scooters to waverunners all having running problems. we found the ethonal to seperate from the fuel and attracts water. We were getting fuel from land and sea in both 87 low grade and 91 high grade fuel. We contacted our rep and he said all fuel is getting cut with this to save $$$. if the pumps have proper filter system it will clean the water out of the fuel and you will not have a problem. We spent 1200.00 on a filter for our tanks.

[Uncle Buck]

Palm Beach Yacht Center marina still serves non-ethanol gas. (about a mile north of Boynton inlet)

[Certifiable]

It is just a matter of time before ALL gasoline has an ethanol content of 10%.
The "good thing" is that it is 10% less revenue going to the terrorist nations, and makes the US at least 10% less fuel dependant on the rag heads.

The "bad thing" is only temporary problem until you "stabilize" your boats fuel delivery system. Pure gasoline will allow resin/varnish deposits to accumulate on the walls of your fuel tank, and pure gasoline will only absorb a relatively small amount of water into the gas itself.

A few things happen when you change your fuel to a 10% ethanol mix, and this is the way of the future until we go to a HIGHER ratio of ethanol mix . Ethanol is a very agressive solvent that will dissolve the varnish build up in your fuel tank and suspend it in your fuel. This suspended varnish can clog your fuel injector system, that is why you need to change your ful filter to a "finer" 10 micron filter to catch this varnish.
Ethanol is also a hydrogen based liquid which will naturally absorb more water (from the air humidity) into the fuel. This requires you to change your water sepperators at a more frequent interval (3 times a year is recommended for ethanol mixed fuels).

After the first 6 months or so, your fuel tank should relatively cleaned from varnish, and the 10 micron filter will keep your injectors from clogging up. Once you have cleared the first 6 months, you are home free from varnish deposits, and all you need to do is watch your water sepperators.

I use the Racor water sepperator that has the 10 micron filter and I am covered (about $20 each). Also, be sure to carry an extra filter on the boat for each motor for insurance.

I learned about this the hard way...at sea. The motor RPM's started to fall out and I knew immediately that it was a water in the fuel problem. I changed the water sepperator and was back to normal in 5 minutes.
When I got home, I naturally changed the other 2 filters. I poured the contents of the old filters in a large glass jar and it looked like Guiness Dark beer. The varnish had accumulated in the filter, and when I poured it out you could easily see the sepperation between the clean fuel and dark beer varnish fuel.

Just change your water sepperators out every 4 months with a good 10 micron filter and you are home free. It is probably the lowest cost and simplest preventive maintenance thing that you can do to protect that $15k engine.

[PURPLE FEVER]

What are other Verado owners doing? My understanding is that Mercury frowns upon external fuel filters (racors). I get a lot of water in fuel warnings causing me to stop take off the top cowl and dump out the internal filter.

I guess LHP Marina has ethanol. I thought it was the good ol Mercs acting up again

[Harry Klauber]

If you speak with the Mercury "brainiacs" you will find that their frowning on external filters on Verados is due to the fact that they do not want the engines to have any resistance to flow in the fuel suction line as it will affect engine operation. That is the answer they gave me when I asked the question to the factory reps. The key here is to firstly protect your engines which demands a primary filter but make sure to install an oversized filter so as to avoid any suction restriction problems even if the filter begins to get dirty. Fuel filters are cheap compared to engine repairs so you figure out if you want to replace filters more often than you should at $20/filter or pay some mechanic $75/hr just to give you the bad news that dirty gas has messed up your engine's fuel system.

[quack quack]

A friend of mine had the fuel pump go in his 2001 Tahoe.The mechanic sais he is getting 12 a week with the same problem.The ethanol eats the seals on the fuel pumps.Not to mention all the old gas engine equipment that is out there from cars to lawn mowers that soon will take a crap because of this stuff.

[jvtuna]

E10 also will eat your hoses if they are not upgraded. I.E. Fill hoses,vent hoses, any other hoses on the 2 stroke motors. I have cganged most of mine over. I don,t think there is any product out there that will get rid of the water that E10 absorbs. E10 will also seperate your fuel and make it basically useless after about 2 months. Startron fuel additive stops this process(1- 12oz. bottle treats 128 gal. of fuel). E10 will also effect your lawn power tools. So you will need to do something there too.

[sharkslayer45]

ive been using octane booster everytime i fill up! it sucks!

[Capt. JJ]

um, did you read the bottle of octane booster? it's usually methanol, which is terrible for regular engines. Drag cars run on methanol, so be careful.

[RiskTaker]

Besides the external fuel filters being changed regularly, your fuel tanks may also have fuel tank pick-up screens that may need to be inspected/cleaned.

With the discussions of accumulated varnish being dissolved and fuel flow restrictions being of concern, it may be prudent to check those pick-up screens to ensure that those bigger chunks are not blocking fuel flow too.

I have only had to pull and clean mine once over many seasons. Generally if you are putting clean fuel into your tank it may never become an issue. Even so, over time, certain flakes and larger particulates may get strained which could add resistance to your fuel flow.

The screen is located at the bottom of your pick-up tube so you will have to unbolt and lift the pick-up tube out of the fuel tank to gain access. This is also an opportune time to visually inspect the sludge zone of your tank to see if you are clean down there, or not. (If there is sludge, rust, etc. you can pump the lowest gallon or two out with an external full pump, strain and redeploy the petrol portion using the clear glass jar method. Getting the bow up more helps corner the gunk better.)

It is no fun to have your motors acting up at the worst opportune time. And of course that would be while you are going through a rough inlet: it is Murphy's Law, the maritime version.

[TTesterman]

The ethanol in the fuel has been the worst thing we could have ever done to ourselves. Brazil makes a sugar can ethanol that burns 70% better than gas and does not eat filters.. Ford makes cars and trucks that run great on the stuff but we cannot have them (google current tv. com .. brazils sugar daddy) anyway just to let you know more. It (our ethanol) eats up fiberglass tanks, fuel lines, your fuel pump in your car or truck, the floats on the new 250 4 stroke yamahas (actually pops them), the filters on ALL yamahas, the racor 10 micron filters with the clear viewing bowl are the only things so far I have found to trap 90% of the stuff. Do Not kid yourself though it is still eating and cloging up the spin on element so change that also when ya dump the water and co-mixing BS that comes with it. Smiling yet??? Now look at the numbers... 225 yamaha 4 stroke .: FWD fuel filter $20 , u shaped fuel filter $30 , screen in the vst tank that gets clogged up $1.00 , labor to do it all $450-650 ... make ya feel like we are doing things right in higher places yet? Our mechanic that works right down the street says this IS the worst thing our government could have ever done to our people regarding transportation! I have to agree.. Take a clear glass jar and go dump your filters out in them and see whats in your fuel.. you may be lucky ..you may be surprised.

[PURPLE FEVER]

I just confirmed with LHP Marina. Their fuel does contain Ethanol! Frank from Total Marine recommends adding Starbite StarTron fuel additive to your fuel. I will try it and post a report.

[Skip Smith]

I just got gas at Taha Sunoco across from Houstons in Pompano.
NO ETHONAL in their gas!

[bajakian]

Be careful-Not everybody will be truthful when you ask and some attendants may not know that there is ethanol in the fuel. You need to really push the issue if it matters to you.