Ethanol in fuel on older outboard motors

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Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

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Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
I know there is a lot of attention to ethanol in the last couple of years but those little "not more than 10%" stickers have been on the pumps for quite a few years now so I'm not panicking.
Seems the eth attracts, releases or makes water when left sitting somehow and this is the problem.
You can run the gas out of the engine each time you finish using it and add a water remover additive like Sta-Bil.
 
seadaddler

seadaddler

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Dec 19, 2006
5,818
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Stabil

You will need to always need to add gas treatment to your outboard gas tank and most outboard users will tell you running the engine out of gas doesn'[t work and will need some kind of treatment ask how I know and ask other users here on this forum,older marine engines do not like ethanol in gas.
Nick
 
KD3PC

KD3PC

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Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
merlinuxo said:
I know there is a lot of attention to ethanol in the last couple of years but those little "not more than 10%"
Click to expand
That is just the tip of the iceberg...that "not more than 10%" has been proven to be 10% +/- another 10-15% ethanol, depending on where and how the ethanol is "added"....in most cases there is more than 10% and it affects every IC engine out there.

I just came back from my local Stihl dealer where they are seeing so many problems with ethanol in two year old gear (my two units were recalled) and they and you an I pay for that...their most recent recall is for fuel caps that the ethanol dissolves the O-ring and cap material to the point that the cap no longer seals and fuel can leak out.....this on a device DESIGNED and ENGINEERED to use the crappy fuel. In 20+ years of use, this is the first recall for stihl gear and it is not THEIR gear, it is the use of ethanol.

Stihl, like every other IC engine maker would love to see ethanol go away, but alas our gov't would rather pay to have this net loss item stay. So additives and gadgets will become the norm. Some help, some actually cause more water to fall out - and thus very poor performance

You can buy proper fuels, but again at Stihl they were $10-12 gallon (some were quarts) and many will have questionable results. Drag strips and race tracks can get you fuel, but again at $4-8 per gallon.

I would be careful with bragging that ethanol has "not affected you".....YET.
 
seadaddler

seadaddler

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Dec 19, 2006
5,818
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Marina's

I have found my and other Marina's in SW Florida have Gas with out ethanol in it and so far have used in my outboard with no problems and still running great with out me adding additives but before using this gas I used stabil and before that had to take the carb off and all apart and clean all the jets before getting it to run again,so good luck and find a gas supply with out ethanol and it is worth the extra $$$$.
Nick
 
W

Winkfish

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Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
I have a 1985 Mercury 2-stroke. I bought the old manual for it, and it says that the engine can use up to 10% (might say 15%) ethanol gas in it with no problems. I have for the last 2 years, and no problem. I also use Sea Foam and Stabil, but I did that before ethanol as well.

From what I understand, it's not so much what ethanol does to the engine, but there are some fuel tanks in which varnish is used, and the ethanol can dissolve that and that gets into the engines and clogs up carbs, etc. There may be some effect on o-rings, etc, like a previous poster said as well.
 
D

DJN51

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Oct 26, 2009
377
Hunter 23.5 East Chicago In
Just had to replace carb on my 2001 4 stroke Yamaha $550.00.Ethanol ate up needle valve seat area.Was adviced to add 2 stroke oil to gas 1 oz for every 3 gal.Run carb dry,also to put open hose fitting on motor as to release check valve to get all gas out of fuel lines.Also use Stabil.
 
Merlin Clark

Merlin Clark

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Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
I would be careful with bragging that ethanol has "not affected you".....YET.[/quote]

Not bragging about anything pal. I just said I'm not panicking, that's different from not being concerned.
If my OB dies because of this, I'll probably grab a torch too but until then I'll carry on as before with running the thing dry (including the hose) and Sta-Bil.
 
John T1594

John T1594

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Jun 4, 2004
834
Hunter 340 Forked River, NJ
Ethanol Free

In some states, like New Jersey, you cannot buy ethanol free fuels. However. Aviation gas (AvGas) LL100 is ethanol free, 100 octane and has some low levels of lead additive (LL). It is available at small airports and I have used it successfully in my 5HP 2-stroke outboard.
 
caguy

caguy

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Sep 22, 2006
4,004
Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey
John T1594 said:
In some states, like New Jersey, you cannot buy ethanol free fuels. However. Aviation gas (AvGas) LL100 is ethanol free, 100 octane and has some low levels of lead additive (LL). It is available at small airports and I have used it successfully in my 5HP 2-stroke outboard.
Click to expand
That sounds like a good idea if they will sell it to you. I'll ask our Physics teacher he is also a pilot.
 
kenn

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
Here in Canada, Shell's top gas is 0% ethanol. That's all I've used for the past 3 years... + stabilizer + Shell Nautilus 2-stroke oil. No engine troubles, and when i dismantled the carb this winter, it was near perfect, with only a thin film of 2-stroke oil in the corners.
 
caguy

caguy

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Sep 22, 2006
4,004
Catalina, Luger C-27, Adventure 30 Marina del Rey
Whiteman airport has AV Gas 100 LL for $6/gal.
 
JVB

JVB

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Jan 26, 2006
270
Schock Wavelength 24 Lake Murray, SC
I have been a pilot for decades and have never heard of any restrictions on who can buy 100 LL aviation gasoline. It usually costs about a buck more than premium auto gas. By the way the tetraethyl lead content is not insignificant. If you burn 100 LL in an engine designed for 80 octane gas, such as the Grumman AA5 airplane I used to own, lead fouling of the sparkplugs is a problem. There is an fuel additive just for that too. 100 LL will clog up a catalytic converter with lead deposits so don't put any in your car's gas tank. This website keeps up with avgas prices and availability http://airnav.com/fuel/
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Older 2 stroke outboards dont have quite the problem is 'shellac/gum' etc. from degrading fuel ... because the carburetor jets and other orfices are typically larger and a wee bit of 'gum' will not greatly affect the jet dimension.
The 4 strokers have much much smaller jet diameters and smaller orfices and the wee bit of gum, etc. will radically change the passage dimension.

Without stabilizers gasoline only has a 'shelf-life' of about 30-45 days before it begins to form gums, etc.
:)
 
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