Posts: 32798
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | 4amuskie - 3/31/2019 6:15 PM
Well I certainly never said ethanol wasn't a good cleaner. It also mixes well with gasoline and water. There is a big difference in boats and cars. Cars usually consume lots of fuel regularly. Boats not so much. Fuel sits for long periods in most boats. Fuel tanks can and will collect moisture through condensation. Cold air, warm water. Warm air, coldwater. They are also used in moist environments so susceptible to even more condensation.
This is why they have water separating filter. Almost all boats and marine engines have this. Even my 15hp does. So some one else besides me recognizes the potential for water in fuels in a marine environment unless this is propaganda too. So let's just say there is a slight chance this could happen to some one. Ethanol can hold water well but when it gets saturated it separates. Not just the water but both the ethanol and the water at the same time. This renders the water ethanol mix unusable. It also leaves the gasoline unusable since the ethanol is used to give it octane and has now been removed. You now have a complete tank of useless fuel.
When gasoline is contaminated with water the water separates. The water of course is useless. The gasoline is still good. The water is collected in the filter where it can be removed. The gas is still good. Not so with E10.
You can test this on your own if you want. Its called science and it works very well. You will need a test tube, e10 fuel and water. Makes sure you have something to give accurate measurements. You will find out how much water you can add before it separates. It will be .5% of the volume at 60 degrees depending on the ethanol content. Less the colder it gets. It could be even less if the fuel already has water in it. Its alot of fun and a good way to determine how much ethanol is in the fuel you are buying. Be careful though because its flammable.
I definitely think you should try the experiment. It's great science.
Have fun.
Once again, the amount of water you are talking about is not even slightly likely without mechanical failure in your fuel system in which case your fuel/water filter if on board will tell you there is an issue that needs addressing. How much water have you been removing from your filter on a regular basis? If a lot, either your fuel source or your ride has issues. I'm betting it's not an issue, just like my boat, and I run e10 exclusively unless I am forced to run something else.
The air mass in the fuel system installed in an average boat won't contain the water vapor needed to create that much condensation, and would require a near empty fuel system to create any amount at all. The water/fuel filter on an outboard is there in case of an anomaly, and if you have water in the filter regularly, your fuel system is in need of attention or you are buying really...really old gas or gas from a source with water entering into the tank that should not be. If the fuel is that old to have standing water in it, it would not run well anyway.
Fuel as old as you suggest mine would be in my ride, if non-oxygenated, had better be stabilized or it also will not be high enough octane. The solvents and additives I discussed are there to increase octane and the resulting ethanol free blend is not stable at all. No fuel these days is. That's why engine manufacturers want you to use their propitiatory brand of gasoline additive regularly.
In the case of your experiment, use a fuel cell and the required fuel fill and EPA approved fill/vent system from an 18' boat as an 'average' and expose it to normal temperature swings while on the water with e 10 in the tank at the level one might expect would be the average. Then it would be relevant. It's been done already, by the way, which is why the EPA requires the fill/vent system that's standard equipment on boats. A working knowledge how that system works would help for sure.
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