more ethenol?

[WIMUSKY]

Head to northern WI, we have some....

 

[cptrick3]

I have no problems running E-10 in my motorcycle but it has a 4 gallon tank that I refill at least once a month. The boat on the other hand has a 73 gallon tank that can go all winter without adding gas. E-10 has a life span of about 90 days.

 

[ondarvr]

Ethanol was introduced as a MTBE replacement,

Ethanol came first, MTBE was introduced to replace it as a better product, but then it turned out to be not so good, so ethanol made a return.

 

[Watermann]

I'm thinking the online forums are going to get way more postings in the near future about their motors acting up rather than how much better they run now that the gas is laced with more corn juice.

I wonder how long it will be before the feds decide to slap a gas guzzler tax on our water craft?

 

[jkust]

I'm curious what you mean by that? Ethanol was introduced as a MTBE replacement, which is some fairly nasty stuff, at least if you ever like drinking water or not having cancer. Ethanol then got caught up in the environmental madness, which is what it is...

So as to avoid the politics...you hit it on the head with 'environmental madness'.

 

[bobdec]

Just to clear something up. High octane (92) does not guarantee 100% gas. In dirty air cities like Atlanta and surrounding county's the automotive summer blend contains a percentage of ethanol in all octanes. Also IMO the majority of trailer-able boats that are filled at automobile gas stations with E10 don't store enough fuel (less than 100 gals) to worry about phase separation. E10 does not effect the engine beyond the the 3.4% lean condition power loss on old carbed engines and using 3.4% more fuel on modern EFI setups that adjust to the blend. Its problems with E10 loosening grime in old tanks, or deteriorating of non-ethanol rated hoses and filters on older boats switching from E0 to E10 that are of concern. Almost all marinas I know of around here sell R90 at the docks (90 octane, midgrade 100% gasoline) to avoid those problems.
There are to just many variables for an open discussion of E0, E10 or E15 pros or cons, what works fine for one persons situation will not work in others. I personally have had multiple watercraft in the past and managed fueling differently according to usage and storage conditions. What works for me may not for you..

 

[Scott Danforth]

That's funny, part of the sae fuel tank tests for outdoor power equipment with plastic tanks to let the fuel sit for 14 days at low temperature to allow it to separate, then perform the mechanical destructive testing (low temp impact, over pressure, etc) to see if direct ethanol contact from phase separation affects the material properties. We would see phase separation in less than 2 weeks if the fuel was not disturbed in a lab environment.

Talking to the factory small engine rep from Kawasaki at a 2012 OPEI seminar. Kawasaki did a variety of fuel sampling in a high warranty area in Alabama. Simply sampling fuel from about a dozen local gas stations with e10. They found the ethanol percentage was closer to 17% on average.