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View Full Version : A Serious Problem....for all Boaters



Air 22
06-30-2006, 09:20 AM
:eek!: I read a disturbing article in BOATUS about the problems of ethanol in fuel. 40% and growing of ALL gas stations in the U.S. have E10. It is not being introduced universally or on a set time schedule. Diesel fuel will NOT be affected....Here are some key points...

There is anecdotal evidence that the mixing of MBTE gas and E10 gas may be responsible for producing a gel-like substance that clogs carbs and fuel injection passages. The other concern w E10 is ethanol's affinity for water. Ethanol absorbs water....for years ethanol was sold as "dry gas", an additive to remove water from gas tanks. And it works to a point. E10 gas will phase seperate, or spontaneously divide out into its component parts in the presence of as little as one half of one percent water. This means that if a boater w a 100gal tank has as little as half a gallon of water in the bottom of his tank and he adds E10 gas the ethanol in that gas will seperate out and could render the gas unusable in many cases. Without ethanol blended in blended gas it reverts to low octane base stock. Typical 87 octane E10 that phase seperates would become 83-84 octane fuel which would cause knocking in most gas engines or not run them at all. 93 octane would become 89 if seperated and would still run most engines except possibly void warranties on some high performance engines. Ethanol also draws moisture in from the air through vents in fuel tanks leading to faster corrosion but it is unclear just how fast this process takes but is accelrated in salt air. E10's shelf life has been estimated at 60-90 days. After which the gas begins to degrade causing carbs and fuel injection sys to possibly clog up. So topping off for the winter months storage for the Northern folks might not be a good idea anymore. There appears no "Quick Fix" to this problem...run gas w/ out E-10 if possible...change your fuel filter more often...keep a spare w you if you dont already and pay more attention to your engine and be mindful of it running rough etc as this may be signs of your gas has seperated. Don't let gas sit for long periods of time as this is when it absorbs water. Four stroke engines may burn small amounts of water/ethanol mixture w/ out damage...but 2-strokes, particularly older models that do nit feature oil injection will not fare well....as the water/ethanol fuel will not contain lubercating oil that 2-stokes require. Hope the engine manufactures come up w something to help us out!!!:eek!: