Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hi everyone,
Lots of things being stated here, but I'm not sure the whole story is out there on this...
Couple of major things with Any Ethanol Based product for your engine
1. If you let it sit in your tank, temperature changes can cause water vapor to condense, due to on-board fuel tanks needing to be vented. So...over time, the heating and cooling can create quite a bit of water in the tank, which settles to the bottom, along with any particulates carried into the tank via water vapor. This happens more with Ethanol because Alcohol attracts water.... End result: your fuel line pick-up is at the bottom of the tank...guess what is going in first?
2. The ethanol is an alcohol, which is a solvent. So..any build-up of gunk in your engine, tank, etc will eventually get broken down, little particles break off, and boom...there goes your carbs...
Now...big thing I feel that needs to be emphasized here is this: If you use ethanol in your engine, it will do just fine...so long as you don't let the gas sit there for huge amounts of time to let larger amounts of water form in your tank, AND you have your engine thoroughly decarbonized, cleaned, etc, so that all the little particulates, gel, etc. are removed before using the ethanol.
The stuff works just fine in your car...reason? You readily use the gas and refill, so everything stays nice and clean in your fuel system. In an outboard, though, not so much the case for many of us....unfortunate as that may be. If we used our equipment day in and day out, almost every day of the year, these problems would not exist.
This is a HUGE reason why many of the larger boats now have fuel-water separators on them....Definitely a good preventative measure to keep performance up on your engine. Also, most tanks being plastic on board and now portable take away any sort of rust breaking off..should be good to go there.
Change the fuel filter, change your plugs, and use the gas frequently and oxygenated gasoline will work just fine...
Alternative here in MN....
BP stations in many locations in Minnesota carry non-oxygenated gasoline (ethanol free) and is usually a 91 octane. I use this because I feel my motor runs smoother on it over oxygenated 89 octane.. That is due to higher octane, though...not the alcohol content. 91 octane is more stable burning than 89.
No matter what you use, there is a major requirement of the owner to take care of the engine. Older engines require changing out fuel lines so they have alcohol resistant lines (like in your car), that saves the breakdown in the line, and my recommendation is for storage of smaller engines is to run them dry, fog the cylinders and be done with it...if you can store it inside in a cool area of a basement, so much the better.
If you live in a winter climate, the condensation issue is not so much a factor...too cold to get condensation outside, so the tank is relatively safe. Good stabilizer keeps the octane up, but condensation should not be an issue. If anything, go squeeze the bulb a few times to keep the lines full of fuel...
Steve |
