Ethanol in fuel

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  • ally505
    • Feb 2012
    • 178

    • Somewhere cold and wet

    • 2008 super air nautique 210, zr6.

    Ethanol in fuel

    I've read many posts over the years with regards the problems of Ethanol in fuel, degrading seals, attributing to blocked jets and so on. These issues on the main have not been an issue for us here in the UK, the percentage ethanol was always very low. With the various moves to decarbonise, the percentage ethanol will be increasing to 10% is standard E10 95RON unleaded petrol (gas) however will remain below 5% (in many cases <1%) on the higher quality 98+RON fuels. Whats the general consensus on running an older boat (2008 ZR6 6.0L) on the E10 or the Super unleaded? Fuel is expensive enough here, so if I can avoid the super unleaded I will, but at the same time, the saving may be. a false economy if I run into problems in the fuel system. Thoughts?
  • MLA
    1,000 Post Club Member
    • Dec 2009
    • 1312

    • Lake Wylie NC Area


    #2
    Your 08 fuel system was built with ethanol-tolerant components.

    Also, the pump octane rating is not an indication of the fuels quality, just its resistance to pre-ignition.

    Comment

    • scottb7
      1,000 Post Club Member
      • Aug 2011
      • 2198

      • Carson City, Nevada

      • 2014 G21 (Current) 2008 SANTE 210

      #3
      At the end of season you could put in some non-ethenol more expensivie stuff for off-season storage. I did that for a while, but then i got lazy, and just put stabil in and it was fine.

      Comment

      • doug69
        • Sep 2015
        • 94

        • Canada

        • 2016 230

        #4
        Friend of mine put ethanol blended fuel in his tank prior to winterizing. He ended with water in his tank which, according to YouTube videos, is a problem with ethanol. You could see quite a bit of water at the bottom of the tank and it had to be emptied out. Never seen this happen except with ethanol. Might be ok to use it if you are using the boat regularly and not letting it sit with fuel in the tank for long periods of time. Luckily we have “purple gas” where I am which is cheaper and contains 0 ethanol.


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

        Comment

        • NautiqueJeff
          A d m i n i s t r a t o r
          • Mar 2002
          • 16462
          • Lake Norman

          • Mooresville, NC

          • 2025 SAN G23 PNE 1998 Ski Nautique 1985 Sea Nautique 1980 Twin-Engine Fish Nautique

          #5
          I agree with the suggestions above. Run the ethanol blend fuel unless and until the boat is going to sit. I have even started doing that here. If I am running 2-3 tanks a week, I just run ethanol fuel. If it is going to sit for ANY amount of time, it gets ethanol-free gas run through it first.

          On my older Nautiques, I ALWAYS run ethanol-free. In fact I just came in from filling my '99 Air Tique 176 with 24 gallons of ethanol-free.
          I own and operate Silver Cove Marine, which is an inboard boat restoration, service, and sales facility located in Mooresville, North Carolina. We specializes in Nautiques and Correct Crafts, and also provide general service for Nautiques fifteen years old and older.

          If we can be of service to you, please contact us anytime!




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          Comment

          • XBIGPUN66
            Senior Member of PLANETNAUTIQUE
            • Oct 2012
            • 456

            • WI

            • 2014 SAN 210 TE. NSS. Pro ballast.

            #6
            From an auto service professionals point of view: ethanol fuel is a problem for fuel systems and components. The very fact that they manufacture "ethanol resistant" components tells me that it is a problem. It burns differently. It causes corrosion in the fuel system. I only put ethanol free fuel in my boat and I try and run ethanol free fuel in my truck as much as possible. I get better fuel mileage in my truck with ethanol free fuel. The same goes for my small engines but it is even more of an impact.

            Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

            Ian S
            2014 SANTE. NSS. Pro balllast. Boatmate trailer
            2004 SANTE. 4000 lb ballast, 2013 graphics (prev). Ramlin trailer
            2009 Moomba Outback (prev). Boatmate trailer

            Comment

            • Jonny Quest
              Senior Member of PLANETNAUTIQUE
              • Aug 2014
              • 378

              • Salt Lake City, Utah via Texas

              • 2003 Ski Nautique 206 Limited with ZR6 Engine

              #7
              My take on ethanol...

              Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) in motor fuels in the USA is commonly derived from corn. As such ethanol is “corn alcohol”. Ethanol blends very well with gasoline. However, ethanol is hygroscopic to the extent that it readily absorbs water from the air. Ethanol is also hydrophilic, so it dissolves in water. Ethanol likes to be blended with water better than with gasoline. The problems start when water is introduced into the fuel system. The bad ju-ju happens with ethanol-blended gasoline when the ethanol portion takes up enough water to cause phase separation in the fuel tank. “Phase separation” occurs when water in the fuel system is attracted to the ethanol, causing the ethanol and water to mix and separate from the gasoline. This ethanol/water mixture is denser than gasoline, so it sinks to the bottom of the fuel tank. Mix in a little oxygen and that ethanol/water mix is a good formula for rust. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out how a little water can get into a boat’s fuel system. Ethanol is also a solvent -- so any engine not designed specifically to run ethanol fuels may have parts that will be susceptible to ethanol degradation. Many older boats, particularly those with carburetors, were not designed for ethanol fuels.

              Some may argue that ethanol has some motor fuel benefits. Pure ethanol has an octane rating of 113. As such, using ethanol as a gasoline additive can increase the octane rating of the gasoline. This is one of the main reasons why ethanol is used. Racers have been using alcohol successfully for many years. One note, however, ethanol contains about 30 percent less energy per unit volume than gasoline. As a result, a 10 percent ethanol-gasoline blend will have 97 percent as much energy as gasoline.

              Other octane boosting additives are also used in the refining industry, such as MTBE or BTEX. MTBE is an acronym for Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether, and BTEX stands for Benzyne Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (aromatic hydrocarbons).

              MTBE has been blamed for groundwater contamination and its use in motor fuels has diminished significantly. BTEX has been fairly widely used but has also been blamed for groundwater contamination. Let’s face it…the "B" in BTEX is benzyne -- and benzyne is a known carcinogen.

              Refineries have the ability and technology to produce high-octane gasoline that has NO ethanol, BTEX or MTBE. It just costs more. John Q. Public wants low gasoline prices, so additives are used. Personally, I detest the use of ethanol as a motor fuel and prefer a higher-quality gasoline without the additives and I'm willing to pay more. Ethanol-free gasoline is available in Utah. That's all I put in my vehicles. It typically costs 20¢ more than mid-grade. I work very hard to keep ethanol-blended gasoline out of my Ski Nautique, houseboat and small engines.

              JQ
              Last edited by Jonny Quest; 08-08-2021, 09:21 AM.

              Comment

              • SilentSeven
                1,000 Post Club Member
                • Feb 2014
                • 1843

                • Bellevue WA

                • 2004 Nautique 206

                #8
                Starting in what model year were PCM engines / Nautique fuel systems manufactured to be 'ethanol tolerant'?
                2004 206 Air Nautique Limited - Black with Vapor Blue (family style)
                1997 Masters Edition Nautique - Zephyr Green - gone (amazing ski wake)
                1982 Mastercraft Powerslot - gone (a primitive but wonderful beast)
                Bellevue WA

                Comment

                • MLA
                  1,000 Post Club Member
                  • Dec 2009
                  • 1312

                  • Lake Wylie NC Area


                  #9
                  Have to strongly disagree to the above comment. There are ZERO consumer benefits to E10 and E15 fuels. Lower BTUs then non-blended gas, so reduced power/mileage = more fuel consumed. This alone, burns down the whole climate narrative associated with running ethanol blended fuel. Moisture absorption and phase separation can wreak havoc on seldom used vehicles. Its corrosiveness can be catasprophic in older fuel system not designed to tolerate the ethanol.

                  Comment

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