STA-BIL Ethanol Treatment?

[luvjign]

After talking to Trolling Texan at the boat ramp Saturday, and hearing his testimony of spending big $$$$ just to get his big motor and kicker motor recovered from the ethanol crisis.........I've done got me a big worry goin'!!! I know it's been kicked around on here, but I just recently started getting concerned. I started putting regular STA-BIL and Seafoam in my gas a tank or two ago after reading some of horror stories that guys are having with ethanol taking havoc on their motors. TT said he had been running these two additives also, but the ethanol finally got'em.......I've got a '03 75HP Merc, and am reading on other forums where the newer Mercs are not affected by the ethanol (by some)....and others say it's causing big problems. I'm not one to ignore precautions, and went looking for this so called savior from the ethanol gremlin. One local parts house guy I deal with has some on order, but he says folks are begging for it, and will sell out pronto!!! You probably are aware of it, and if not........ Gold Eagle - Stabil Marine tells the pitch (in the FAQ section) What's y'alls views on this??? Am I over-reacting????

[toonman]

Got mine at wally world for 18 bucks.

[dedawg1149]

i heard ethanol destroy rubber as in fuel lines and gasket

[Barnacle Bill]

There are entirely too many false stories going around about ethanol. Seems like everytime someone has a problem with their motor its blamed on ethanol, when in fact, IT AIN'T TRUE!! Yes it causes condensation and in turn you get water in you gas. Add a water/fuel seperator along with some sta-bil or sea foam once in a while and you will be fine. Don't believe me? Go here and do a search on ethanol. This is one of the largest outboard repair forums going. iboats Boating Forums
BTW, my area of the country has been on that stuff for about 10 years now.

[FisherMike]

There are entirely too many false stories going around about ethanol. Seems like everytime someone has a problem with their motor its blamed on ethanol, when in fact, IT AIN'T TRUE!! Yes it causes condensation and in turn you get water in you gas. Add a water/fuel seperator along with some sta-bil or sea foam once in a while and you will be fine. Don't believe me? Go here and do a search on ethanol. This is one of the largest outboard repair forums going. iboats Boating Forums
BTW, my area of the country has been on that stuff for about 10 years now.

DITTO

[JIG Gene-e]

The owners manual for my johnson says 10% is ok. So far I've never had a problem.

[luvjign]

The condensation problem is a concern, true enough. But, from what I'm reading/hearing (which can be subjective a lot of times!!), the silent killer is the after-effects of the rubber and plastic materials (anywhere in the fuel system that gets exposed to the ethanol) degrading or deteriorating. That's the concern I have. Again, I understand you can't believe everything you read and hear. I also, understand that there's a lot of fix-it-in-a-can stuff on the market today. Is the Marine STA-BIL another gimic?? Heck, I don't know. But undoutedtly, there was a reason to get this stuff out on the market after all the hoopla about ethanol, and the problems that it causes. Maybe I'm just over-reacting. I still have a year of warranty on my motor, but that warranty may not be worth a hill of beans for an ethanol-caused problem......I don't know. Probably another subjective case to fight if it came down to it. If it does cover any ethanol problems, that's a good thing.......but the time the boat/motor is spent in the motor shop (which could be lengthy) is more of a concern. I know how warranty cases work.......they usually don't exactly jump through hoops to get you fixed up!!!

[prchjerker]

Mercury since around 95 has said one can burn up to 10% ethanol.I burn it in my 225XS all the time if I know that I'm going to burn alot of fuel that day and dont have any problems.Im in the marine business and you will see some ethanol issues on older motors, but new motors fuel lines and diagram are made out of alcohol resistent materials.Its still a good practice to run stabil especially if one doesnt get out very often.Todays gas seems to break down quicker in my opinion.