Thread: Ethanol fuel

What cevans said!
Not to get to off topic, why is their not more interest in lpg or ng? It's in use in other countries. I've driven vehicles that ran on lpg. When properly maintained, very clean burning engines.

A gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. Just sayin.

I remember (Reading) when they used to make corn licker,and had home delivery the fuel was the stuff they boiled in there own still, now that was E-100. From what I understand it burned quite well,dont know if while they were making there delivery they were conserned about if there fuel lines were getting fouled or not. When popular mechanics come out there was plans for converting your engine to burn pure alcohol.That was when the engines only had a carb,that could be altered,Now days they want us to just be consumers,and if it breaks go buy a new one.The days of tinkering with things and making things are about gone.

Originally Posted by crappiemax

Honestly I just don't get all the hype over ethanol fuel. The fuel itself is the same fuel we put in out vehicles everyday and it never lets you down and no one thinks anything about it, no one adds additives to it like they do on their outboards. I guess I can see adding an maybe an injector cleaner now and then.
The problem with the ethanol fuel isn't so much with the fuel and it combustibility but more with its compatibility with gaskets and fuel lines and the like.

I will say I do agree with using Stabil for long term storage (that's what it's designed for) and can see an annual can of Seafoam for it's cleaning capabilities.
I've seen where some mechanics have advised where you can do damage from over use of additives.

The manufactures took care of the component issue years ago during the manufacturing process. Us as boat owners should have taken care of all those fuel line issues on our older boats by changing to the newer style fuel lines designed for use with ethanol gas.

On the several websites I visit I see the same threads appear about ethanol fuel over and over again and just like this one, I just don't get it.

the first time you have to rebuild or replace your outboard motor due to ethanol damage !!! you might see the HYPE with that said your vehicle you drive also is not a 2 stroke engine that requires gas and oil mixture !!! now they say the 4 stroke outboard are a little better at handling the ethanol gas but most outboard manufacturers say not to use ethanol gas !!!

I had a problem with fuel lines disintegrating with ethanol gas. That was about 4-5 years ago. Changed to the new fuel lines and use stabil. No problem.
Asked a couple of stations with non-ethanol gas how long it sits in the tank. Both said they don't sell much and it sits in their gas station tank. Not sure if it makes a difference or if it is true, but you may be paying more to buy old gas.
I stay with ethanol gas and have had no problems in 5 years...since replacing the fuel lines.

I HAVE REPLACED MY OUTBOARD.
Of course I did it more because I wanted to than needed to. My 23 year old 40hp 2 stroke was a little small for my boat so when it started acting up and not running right I just used that as an excuse to put a new 60 hp 4 stroke on it last year. It was kind of a retirement gift to me...from me.
Honestly I read these threads all the time and I just don't get it. I use the same fuel in all my gas engines and they all run about the same.
As far as doing a test with E-0 and E-10, it's not worth my time. Where I live we only have E-10 available, when I go on a trip I only stop when I need gas so what's it going to do. I'm not going to spend my life fixing a problem I don't have. Most of the actual problems I see are from the fuel lines separating. Clean the carb, replace the fuel line and problem is solved. Changing fuel now is a little too late.

I'm not doubting anyone on the 80 MPG carb but until I actually see one, until I actually use one, I will always be a little skeptical on it. My trucks seem to get about the same mpg now as they did 40 years ago.

Just sayin....

I had a '80 model car that was built to use non-ethanol gas. The filter was clear plastic and mounted on the firewall. Then the ethanol gas came in. The filter turned white and the engine didn't want to run. First to change out was the plastic filter to a metal one. I rebuilt the engine per manual for ethanol gas, replaced the carb. 4 of us drove that car for 11 years, 2 years without a speedometer cable for 318,000 miles.

Is there a way to burn butane in an outboard if you could inject your oil at the rate needed,I guess if it was a four-stroke like some of the newer ones are you could.If it was like a truck my uncle had it ran on lp and it ran very clean and for many years.It did lose some power,but the engine was very clean running,no carbon build-up..