EPA Nonsense

[scott resick]

I read an article in Waterski Magazine about how our new gasoline is garbage for a boat motor (and our cars) and to add some octane boost for every full tank. Sounds like a pain to me. Since the ethonol attracts water,and im wondering if there is another why to approach this dilema. I know there is a product called Dri-Tek that absorbs water in undergroung holding tanks that the gas stations use but have know idea if its safe to add direct. Any thoughts?

[DealsGapCobra]

As the new boats, engines, etc are designed for up to 10% ethanol I wouldn't worry too much about. Having said that, I buy all of my fuel for my boat and classic car (not build for ethanol) at one of our zero ethanol gas stations. It is a little out of the way but I don't mind. I also fill the daily drives at this same station when practical simply to support them.

[swc5150]

I don't run E10 in any engine I own, as it causes the fuel efficiency to suffer greatly (more than the additional cost of non-ethanol fuel).

[madcityskier]

Some of my family does engine repair, and in our experience the stuff can slowly dissolve the plastic the tank is made from and leave it on the pistons and plugs.

[scott resick]

what can dissolve the plastic, the ethonol or the treatment?

[DealsGapCobra]

Ethonol is very corosive and will attack rubber, plastic and aluminum. The idea is that 10% isn't too bad and if they use ther right kind of seals everything should be OK...but like I said, my boat and older car use pure gasoline almost exclusively.

[shag]

Ethanol is terrible and it is a joke. It makes engines less efficient and it produces a neutral environmental effect in which there has been more proof of lately. (it costs more to make, and since you burn more of it, the effect on emissions is no benefit). There was even a bill started in Florida last year to partially get rid of Ethanol, or at least make ethanol free more readily available. Right now, you can only put non-ethanol in off road vehicles/boats/small gas engines and cars made before 1981 (not sure of the year). I am all for decreasing our dependency on foreign oil but ethanol is not the way. I wish I had all the money back that I have spent on repairing weed eaters, lawn mower, fuel lines on boats, etc..... Should be a tax deduction at the least....
From a hazard standpoint, with an Ethanol fire, a special foam has to be used when fighting a fire. Use of the wrong foam can spread the fire. An ethanol fire will burn with little smoke, where as a gasoline fire produces large amounts of black smoke.

[SkiTower]

http://www.whitelake.com/files/the_p...th_Ethanol.pdf

[scott resick]

Fantastic article! Thank you for posting that, I hope everyone on this forum reads this.

[SkiTower]

I just hope Romney reads it!

[swc5150]

I just hope Romney reads it!

No kidding!

[DanielC]

And now, for a dissenting point of view.
I live in Oregon. Almost all gas stations have been selling E-10 exclusively since my 1997 Ski Nautique was new.
It currently has about 2778 hours on it. Still runs good.

[scott resick]

wow, That is encouraging to hear. I didnt realize this fuel has been around for 15 years. I guess since I dont have a convenient 0-ethonol station near I will have to use it. It's just a shame we are forced into it.

[swc5150]

Prepare for this rant! Monday night, my fiance filled my car with premium fuel (non-ethanol), made it about 5 miles before the motor stalled out. Just got word an hour ago from the dealership that it had a fresh tank of e85 in it!! The gas station she went to doesn't even sell e85!! Now this lousy, garbage, crap-@$$, so-called fuel is getting mixed into the regular fuel supply in my area! $300 later, the car is running great again. Holiday gas stations will be paying this bill! I can't stand this stupid, gov-mandated, ethanol stuff!!!

[DanielC]

One other point, since I have been running the E-10 mix, I have not found any water in the FCC of my boat. Fuel filters on the Mariner outboards, I work on, also have not had any water in them.

Alcohol dissolves in water, or water dissolves in alcohol. Which one is the solvent, and which one is the solute, is entirely dependent on which one is the larger quantity.

We all know water does not dissolve in gasoline. If you do not have any water in your gas tank, switching to an E-10 gasoline should not cause any problems. However, if you have a significant amount of water already in your gas tank, it will dissolve in the alcohol, and be picked up by the fuel pump, and ran through the engine. It may also separate out and cause problems then.

Another issue with alcohol is that is dissolves other substances that gasoline does not. If there is other crud in your gas tank, it may also get picked up, and ran through the engine. This is also an issue with storage tanks at gasoline stations.


This is my suggestion if you are having to make a switch to E-10. First, go and drain the FCC on the engine. Let the gas sit in the container you drained it into, and then pour off most of the gas, and look for water in the bottom of the container. Look for dirt also.
If you find any water, assume there is water in the gas tank already. Run it as close to empty as you dare. Ideally, then when the gas tank is almost empty, remove it, and drain the last of the water and gas in the bottom of the tank. If you do not want to remove the gas tank, run it as close to empty as you can.
Fill the tank with E-10. In my case, almost 25 gallons of fuel can be put in the tank, yours may differ. Because E-10 is 10 % alcohol, I have put 2.5 gallons of alcohol, and 22.5 gallons of gasoline. If I have a cup (8 OZ) of water in the tank, no problem. If I have a gallon or two of water in my tank, it will be a problem.
The first few tanks of E-10 will clean out the gas tank. Check the fuel filter, after running the boat. You may need to drain the FCC, a few times, and you may need to change the filter in it also. Once the FCC can be drained with out finding any water, you should be fine.


I would also suggest that if the gas station you are buying gas from is having gas delivered, go somewhere else. New fuel deliveries stir up sediment in the gas stations storage tank, and as in the above post, could be the wrong fuel. Let someone else "test" the gas, and let the gas settle a bit before you use it