Ethenol for outboard motors??

[phototom1]

I live in the Fort Worth area and the word in the news this week is that we will be going to a ethenol mix in our fuel supply. My question will this have a adverse effect on my 1991 Evenrude 40hp 2 stroke?? If so how can I treat the fuel to off set the effects? Is there an additive, or can the engine tolorate the mixture? Some reports that it will be 80-85% mix some say 5-10% mix. Any suggestions would be helpfull<br /> Thanks in advance.<br /><br /> Tom H.

 

[JB]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

E-10 or E-15 will be okay, Tom. That is what you will see in regular gas stations.<br /><br />The E-85 is only for vehicles modified to use it and will only be available a selected stations.

 

[phototom1]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

JB<br /> Thank you very much, Shuld I get and install a water seperator?? I quess I shuld have asked this in the first post also.<br /> Thanks again <br /><br /> Tom H

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

What WILL happen is the "corn squeezins" will loosen any crud and debris and it will lodge in filters and carb jets, assuming the fuel system is gummed up to start with. Up here in the midwest we've been using the stuff for years and when first introduced there was all sorts of problems with cars, chain saws, outboards and any other gas powered device. Once things are cleaned up there are no other problems with blended fuel. You may or may not have a problem depending on the current state of your fuel system.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Would a bottle of carb/injector cleaner help in a tank of gas? I usually add one at the beginning of every first tank of the year and it seems to keep things flowing by removing any residue (varnish) that accumulated over the winter.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

I don't like additives in 2-stroke gas. Some can mess with the oil's ability to stick to the surfaces. 4-strokes - no prob.<br /><br />Ethanol doesn't mix well with oil. Has anyone tried mixing oil in E-85? I'd be interested to see if it mixes at all.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

yamaha now makes a nice 10 micron filter that can flow 90 GPH per hour, its highly reccomended.

 

[JB]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Full synthetics seem to mix with ethanol okay, WBW. methanol, too.<br /><br />Back in my 2 stroke racing days all of my fuels were methanol based and used full synthetic (or castor) oils.<br /><br />I would expect E-85 to mix with (brand deleted) 100% synthetic.

 

[gss036]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

I know that my owners manual for my 1989 Merc 200 hp says not to use gasahol. Wonder if there will be ill effects with that. I know it does soften up the old fuel hose and causes a stink in the bilge. So I guees one should change out the fuel lines.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Originally posted by JB:<br /> Back in my 2 stroke racing days all of my fuels were methanol based and used full synthetic (or castor) oils.

Did you include a shot of ether along with the castor oil? Ahh, the aroma of that 2-stroke exhaust. Didn't know McCullough's could smell so good.<br /><br />Oops, got side tracked.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Let's not confuse E-85 with blended (also called oxygenated fuel). The are opposite each other. Regualar 87 octane fuel is 85% (or thereabouts) gasoline and 10-15% ethanol. E-85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E-85 is sold out of the yellow pumps and is not available everywhere outside the midwest. It has its roots in Minnesota and we (I) are fortunate to have over 200 stations to pick from (2 in my town). My new Chevy Impala runs on this stuff. Until some testing is done, I would not run E-85 in an outboard but regular 87 octane blended fuel is ok. Ethanol has a tendency to eat fuel system parts that are not designed for ethanol.

 

[JB]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Yes, ether was one of my mixers, BB. Helped a lot in starting. I used just methanol and ether (with castor or silicone oil) for endurance, but sprint fuels were quite exotic. . . Hi-nitro glow plug racing fuel cut with methanol.

 

[ob]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

A bit off topic , but JB ,tell us about your 2 stroke racing days.Start another thread if you want to.

 

[gss036]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

I know several years ago (8-10) I was using a family vehicle in Virginia and stopped at a gas station and put in fuel made from coal. Do they still make gas from coal?

 

[JB]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

It would be off topic here, ob. My 2 stroke racers were Karts, but I did use one water cooled outboard powerhead for a while.

 

[Major Woods]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

We have been forced to use the 10% e-gas for some time now in CT. Some guys with older boat have had major issues.<br />It seems that the e-gas loosens up a ton of sludge in the older tanks that clog up the gas filters and/or carbs and injectors.<br />After the initial flow of loosened junk go the system the problem eventually subsides.<br /><br />I had no issues with a 3 year old boat but the guys with 5+ year old rigs were having filter clog issues and worse.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Ethenol for outboard motors??

Boating Magazine article