2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

[FairwayFatty]

Hello - I am new to the forum and new to boats in general. I have a 1996 23' Premier Pontoon Boat with a 2006 115HP ELPT 4S Outboard engine (I am 2nd owner).

What concerns should I have and are there precautions to take in using 10% Ethanol gasoline. There is only 1 marina on the lake I run on and it has ethanol blend gas.

Any insight on this topic would be appreciated.

Thanks. FF

 

[FairwayFatty]

Re: 2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

Bumpski

 

[RicMic]

Re: 2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

The Mercury manual says that up to 10% ethanol is OK for the engine although they recommend NOT to use it. I have learned first hand the alcohol will damage small engine fuel systems. There are several fuel system additives that say they will prevent damage from ethanol, I have no way to tell if they work or not, but I use one in the fuel for my boats and other small engines(Sta-Bil Marine), since all the gas in my state has ethanol in it and I don't have the time and money to keep replaceing, fuel systems. The other option is to run your engine, hoses, tanks, etc. dry everytime, but its not to practical. It could be my imagination, but I swear my motors start easier since I started adding the Sta-bil.

 

[Socal Pat]

Re: 2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

Interesting topic. Let me stretch it out a bit. Here in California our pumps serve up a 10% blend. I have a little sports car that I have supercharged and our 91 octane always left me on the threshold of knock. Sooooo knowing that E85 (85% ethanol aka flex fuel) has a 112octane rating I started investigating. Turns out that any vehicle made from early 90's and after have fuel systems that can tolerate a fair amount of ethanol. I started adding E85 to my regular gas increasing the amount over time. I'm now running straight E85 and my car goes like stink.
Point is that the manufacturers know that many states blend ethanol for anti-knock properties and have provided hoses, seals etc. that can handle it. Given you have a 2006 I wouldn't even think twice about a 10% blend. The only issue is that ethanol does run a bit leaner (takes more fuel to create an equal amount of power) but even then at these low mix rates it's not a big deal.

 

[RicMic]

Re: 2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

Personally, I wouldn't put any higher than a 10% blend in any vehicle that it isn't specified for. Ethanol is very corrosive and will readilly absord water from the air, making it even more corrosive the longer it sits in the tank. Octane rating has nothing to do with how much HP it produces, its a rating of how much compression it can take with out predetonation or "pinging". Unless your engine has the higher compression to need the higher octane, you get nothing from it, but a higher price at the pump. The problem with corrosion in the fuel system, you won't know anything is happening until the damage is done.

 

[Socal Pat]

Re: 2006 115HP ELPT 4S - Ethanol Question

Gee thanks for the lesson on engine power. BTW you can get a LOT from it without raising compression. Advanced timing for one, cooler cylinder temps by at least 150*f as well. As you can see I am tuning and running a supercharger and have been at 18psi of boost for 4 years on that car. The guys in the Subaru and Mitsubishi turbo crowds have been using E85 for years so we have some very good real-world data on reliability and cause/effect. Shawn Church is the GO-TO auto tuner in southern California doing tuning on many of the southlands best race teams. He runs (guess what?) E85 in his personal vehicle, a supercharged Honda S2000. And BTW it is actually cheaper than regular fuel.

You can run what you like of course, but as I said the manufacturers of modern motors know full well that we will most likely be running a blend of Ethanol and have built their systems accordingly.