ethanol change

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fishingmachine
Posts: 860
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:48 pm
Species: salmon,Lake trout
Location: Rutland

ethanol change

Post by fishingmachine »

I have drained all the gas out of my gas tank and 2 engines on my boat and am contemplating going to non-ethanol fuel,Reg ethanol gas is 87 octane and non-ethanol is 93,Is this going to cause problems with my engines or fuel systems? One is a 2013 Merc 115 optimax and the other is a 9.9 4-stroke Merc,2007.Help from forum members is greatly appreciated!
spinner
Posts: 81
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:08 am
Species: salmon

Re: ethanol change

Post by spinner »

corn gas is ok as long as it does not sit around for long periods of time. I do use non ethanal in small engines that the gas does sit around like mowers and snowblowers. Figure in your boat its easy to burn up 10 to 15 gallons in a day
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jimbow
Posts: 632
Joined: Sun May 24, 2015 7:18 am
Species: Salmon & anything that swims

Re: ethanol change

Post by jimbow »

My Marina recommends nothing but non-ethanol gas for all O.B motors. Since switching locally to Stewart's Non Ethanol gas for all my small engines (boat, lawn, snow blower) I have had very little fuel related problems, I have better start ups, smoother running & better trolling speeds, and most of all, spring start ups after winter storage. It was almost an annual event getting the carbs rebuilt after winter storage no matter how much I tried to "blow out lines", drain tanks and or keep tanks filled with "treated" ethanol based gas, etc. Yes, the non ethanol gas costs more but the extra cost and down time for expensive repairs makes it a bargain in the long run (plus you have to treat ethonol based gas...Extra $$$). As I said, since switching to non-ethanol I haven't had to get any fuel related repairs done, less some fuel filters. I have also added in line filters, even if the motor comes with a filter when ever I can to help too. The non ethanol gas is better for gaskets, diaphragms, gas lines and such, especially in older motors, since I was told they would get "eaten away" slowly by the ethanol, which contributed to fuel delivery system rebuilds. I still treat my gas for winter storage but I usually only keep a small amount of gas in the tanks so there is room to put "fresh" gas in the spring and mix it up well before start ups. I hope this helps...
Last edited by jimbow on Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
tree-on
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:19 am
Species: Pike

Re: ethanol change

Post by tree-on »

I have been running ethanol fuel with star-tron for quite a few years now with no issues. All the lines on my 1994 outboard were alcohol rated. I did replace them over the last 2 years, figured 20+ years was pushing my luck. The first year E10 came out I had to replace the fuel pump on my mower, the diaphragms where disintegrated. Since then I treat all my gas and have had no issues.
As far as running a higher octane fuel, should be no problem. The octane is a measure of knock resistance. The only issue I have seen on very high octane race fuels (108-110) or AvGas is hard starting in very cold temperatures, sub-zero. We use to give these engines a shot of 92 octane fuel to get them to fire, then they were ok.
kman05446
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2015 1:28 pm
Species: salmon/trout
Location: Colchester

Re: ethanol change

Post by kman05446 »

I have a 1992 90hp Johnson and a 2014 9.9 Yamaha. Non ethanol is all I use with no problems. I top off my fuel tanks in the fall and put stabilizer in it. All is good.
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BottomDollar
Posts: 601
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 9:09 pm
Species: cold water
Location: Burlington

Re: ethanol change

Post by BottomDollar »

No problems using e10 on both of my old outboards. I did replace the fuel lines with alcohol resistant ones and I always use blue sta-bil.

Ethanol will break down epoxy resin fuel tanks, though...but as long as your tanks are another material I wouldn't worry much about using it. Both of your engines are modern enough that they should have ethanol rated fuel system components.
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Tire Jockey
Posts: 403
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:17 am
Species: All
Location: North Ferrisburgh

Re: ethanol change

Post by Tire Jockey »

I only run non ethanol in my 90hp Yamaha 4 stroke, works great no problems at all.
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Captain Paul
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:14 pm
Species: lake trout,salmon,panfish

Re: ethanol change

Post by Captain Paul »

Non Ethanol fuel is all we run
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fishingmachine
Posts: 860
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:48 pm
Species: salmon,Lake trout
Location: Rutland

Re: ethanol change

Post by fishingmachine »

thanks for the input,I am now running straight non-ehanol,well ,,as soon as I get my truck fixed!
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