Non ethanol or ethanol gas for a 99' 125 Merc. outboard?

[boobie]

One other thing I found out. When I had to start using E 10 in my truck, the gas mileage dropped. To me, E 10 SUCKS !!!!

 

[dingbat]

Gasket issues are easily resolved by replacing the OEM nbuna and neoprene gaskets with viton or nitrile.

 

[ondarvr]

Higher octane has better fuel additives if price per gallon isn't an issue. .

Happy Boating

Not true in the slightest, they have the exact same additives, only the octane is different, well, the cost is higher too.



It will make little difference in whether you run E-10 or E-0, but do what makes you feel the best.

I've only been running E-10 for a bit over 20 years, so far I'm still waiting for the absolutely guaranteed total destruction of every motor, fuel line, O-ring, fitting, bilge paint, etc. and every other thing that is supposedly going to be destroyed by even driving past a gas pump with E-10 in it. I do have a wart that must have been caused by E-10 though, it showed up right after I filled up the tank about 6 months ago.

And then there are the additives, it's a great market if you can scare enough people into buying over priced chemicals that only really benefit the seller of the product. I'm not saying they're all bad, just that their benefits are limited.

 

[Sea Rider]

Not true in the slightest, they have the exact same additives, only the octane is different, well, the cost is higher too.

Well, that info : having higher fuel aditives is what's posted on many engine Owners Manuals. Seems engine manufacturers don't know what they're talking about. Besides higher octane, I guess the aditives added into gasoline will depend entirely on the country in which gasoline is produced.

If you consume near all fuel for that particular outing, it's a waist of money pouring so many aditives on tank...

Happy Boating

 

[bruceb58]

The only difference you will actually notice is that you will get more range using E0 vs E10 since E0 has a higher energy content.

 

[ondarvr]

Well, that info : having higher fuel aditives is what's posted on many engine Owners Manuals. Seems engine manufacturers don't know what they're talking about. Besides higher octane, I guess the aditives added into gasoline will depend entirely on the country in which gasoline is produced.

If you consume near all fuel for that particular outing, it's a waist of money pouring so many aditives on tank...

Happy Boating

For the most part we are discussing fuel in the US, and in this case we are. In the US all grades of gas have the same additives, the difference is octane rating and price.

In your country it could be different. Are you saying higher fuel additives, or higher octane, two very different things.

 

[Sea Rider]

What was saying is that higher octane fuels have better fuel additives compared to less octane fuels. We sell Tohatsu outboards, a experiment was conducted 2 years ago. 2-2 stroke 30 HP engines were used on 2 same boats, one with 90 octane fuel, the other with 95 octane fuel, both fuels Non E fuels. After 1K metered worked hours both engine were stripped down to have a cylinder head gasket change along cleaning all water circuits + decarbon combustion chamber. The one using 95 octane had 50% less carbon buidup compared to the one using 90 octane, no extra additives were added to any of both fuels.

Don`t need or have any advantage using higher octane fuels to run outboards, 90 octane will suffice, but there?s something added to higher octane fuel that maintains combustion chambers cleaner besides engine running smoother. Can feel it on the throttle response.

Going back to E, although you can remedy E issues on fuel pumps diphragams by using neoprene, gviton or nitrile. Most diaphragams are not commercialy available in such materials, unless you make them yourself. I?m not a big fan changing parts as a preventive maintenance, but if using E fuels, if you remove fuel pumps diaphragams as to clean the pump interior, the diaphragam will not fit nicely once removed, will be warped, even the holes won't match against pump body. Check these pics to corroborate what I?m talking about...








Bottomline, if you have non E fuels available in your location, use them, engine?s internal o?rings, diaphragm, lines that deals with fuel will last for years to come...

Happy Boating

 

[ondarvr]

Tests done in your country with your fuels are not relevant to fuels in the US, our regulations and formulations are very different.

High octane fuels here have the same additives as the lower octane fuel, there is a difference in additives from brand to brand though.

Also, you would have needed to test many motors over a much longer time frame to establish any relevant information on carbon build up, and used a controlled fuel source for the entire test period.

While ethanol can affect rubber parts, I must say that for the last 20+ years I've been using it it has never been a problem expect in cheap Chinese built yard tools. My many outboards have survived just fine.

 

[Texasmark]

Somewhere I read that you have problems with 2 strokers and premium. Apparently it's the long burn time of the premium (I've been told...not a petroleum engr.) vs the "pop" of the cheap stuff. Since you only have half a stroke to get the bang for your buck, you need a popper for a fuel. Something else to consider is age of the fuel in the dealer's tanks. Check out the cheap gas selector button and the premium. Notice the premium is nice and new looking. On clear plastic covered buttons around here, you can't even read what's behind the button on some pumps. My manual recommends the cheap gas at a max of 10% booze.

Mark

 

[Sea Rider]

I'm not saying that E fuels will destroy the engine. The issue here is that if you have lived with E fuels all your boating life and happen to be a non mechanic boater won't know what I'm talking about. I?ve been through it and happen to have documented the harsh and awfull transition fron non to E8 fuels, that's E made out from sugar crane. Check pic.

Local boater's problem started day 1 after E8 was introduced, specially the carbed engines. Now all our fuel has E8 added to it, non E fuels are available nowhere, so will need to live with it and change o'rings, fuel pump gaskets & diaphragm more often than when boating happily years back with non E fuels. .

If I had to choose fron Non E to E, definitily will choose the Non E fuels specially if having in use 2 strokes carbed engines, which assume requires more parts change than EFI, TLD, Etec engines.




Happy Boating

 

[ondarvr]

I started working on outboards in the 1960's, I also raced motorcycles from then until about 1999. I did all my own wrenching. Rebuilds, porting, making pipes, worked at shops etc. there were fuel problems before, during and after the transition to ethanol and other blends. The type of issues changed a little, but you learn to live with them.

My motors from the 1960's run just fine on the current fuels, I don't think any of them have had more than one carb rebuild kit in them since new.

Again, fuel in your country is not the same as what we use, so your experiences are not relavant to what we see.