10% ethanol fuel vs ethanol free fuel for boat/outboard motor use?

I would use E0 if I could get it. But since I can't then E10 is what I will end up using. I agree recent engines driven on a regular basis should not have an issue with E10 gas.

But that does not help the old Carver boat owners whose gas tanks melted when then switched to E0 gas.

Having said that except for the corn lobby in Congress I am not sure there is a need for E10 gas anymore.

Let the oil company refine gas and add the proper additives to meet EPA standards. They can obviously do that as premium (high test for us old guys) at Stewarts in NY was E0.
Yes an error. It happened when they switched from E0. Not switched to E0.
 
Flyingdutchman, I suggest you listen to Trav ( his comment is quoted above ) and disregard the comments which claim you won't have a problem with ethanol, because you WILL have problems due to ethanol use, and the only questions are when the problems occur and how much money it costs you to resolve the problems. By the way, Trav appears to be certified as a Master professional mechanic, and for me that would mean his opinion should be weighted more heavily, because he probably knows more than the rest of the commenters in this thread, myself included, and he probably also has a lot more real-world experience.

It would be best in the long run to pay more for the fuel which contains no ethanol. Ethanol is corrosive as well as hygroscopic and the small amount of money you save by using fuel that is less expensive but which contains ethanol will be more than offset by the costs incurred when your engine's fuel system has problems.

Ethanol has less BTU per gallon than pure gasoline, but it's unlikely you will notice the reduced power output if you use fuel which contains 10% ethanol. What you WILL notice is when your engine has trouble starting or running because of corrosion in the fuel system.

Consider the higher cost of the ethanol-free fuel as a form of insurance premium payment. One way or another you're going to pay. Personally I think paying more for ethanol-free fuel is obviously the best choice, but there are always some people who need to learn the hard way ( I don't know if you are such a person, but I doubt you are because you took the time to ask questions about ethanol fuel ).

I own three motorcycles, three cars, and a lawn mower. All these devices get fuel that is ethanol free, after I had to spend close to US $1,000 to repair damage to the fuel injection system on one of my cars. I also had to buy a new carburetor ( this carb was quite inexpensive in comparison to the Bosch fuel injection parts for the car ) for the lawn mower.

I will never again use fuel which contains ethanol in any of my cars, motorcycles, or mowers, unless I am on a long trip and the only available fuel contains ethanol such that the only way I can continue driving to my destination is to use fuel which contains ethanol.

And yes, ethanol is a scam. The big agribusiness companies ( in the US an example of such company would be ADM, Archer Daniels Midland ) have politicians in their pockets so we get ethanol fuel whether it's actually doing the environment any good or not.
Could not have said it better myself !!!!
 
Here at the Milwaukee Marina they only sell E10, partially due to the fact that we are in an EPA nonattainment area. How do they cope if all of these horrible things happen to their engines?
 
You can plan you use your boat every week for the entire summer and so E10 should be fine. But things happen. I waited all summer for a gear set for the outdrive. Then what do you do with 75 gallons of gas you may not be able to use for months?
 
Here at the Milwaukee Marina they only sell E10, partially due to the fact that we are in an EPA nonattainment area. How do they cope if all of these horrible things happen to their engines?
My son is a service manager at a marine dealer. E10 has wreaked havoc on the marine engine business. Between the older boats and some of them sitting unused for long periods it keeps them busy.
 
Could not have said it better myself !!!!

For me it would not be a big deal if i needed to take the carbs out and clean them myself, i am a mechanic myself and like doing jobs like that every now and then to also know everything is 100% up to spec. So for me the risk of running e10 in the motor is not so big.

If you cant do it yourself, and are all excited you want to go out with the family, and on that one beautifful summer day your e10 induced problems start showing up which causes you to cancel the trip. Trailer the boat x amount of miles to a dealer, getting bad service in the summer period and all in all spending 2 3 days of time and frustration on it then i would also advise to just stick to e0.

Also for me it seems that there are a lot of variations in how soon and how much e10 seems to cause problems for people, as demonstrated here i am almost willingly trying to see where the ''line'' is, while other people try to avoid it at all cost and still run into problems in only a short time.

My honda crf 450 dirtbike has been standig for over 2 years now, it was put away with e5 (e0) is no longer available in the netherlands according to the law) it has been so long that even the tank evapourated dry by now so it will definitly need some love on a short notice.
We will see how that worked out.

I drain the moisture drain plugs on the carbs every now and then+ with frequent use probably means that not much moisture can accumulate in the fuel/carb bowl.
For people that never drain their carbs so that means that there is already a certain amount of moisture in the bottom+ long periods without useage could be a recipe for e10 created clogging i guess.

I didnt do it this winter but i useally get the fuel tank out, make sure its almost entirely empty. And let all the remaning fuel/moist evapourate inside for about 4 weeks time. Then you know for sure all the moisture is gone aswell and you start the year with a 100% clean tank and fresh gasoline.

As i said useally people top it up after every trip which causes old fuel to mix with new, causing that in theory some of the fuel in it might be some x amount of years old already.

I am useally pretty keen on stuff like this and can imagine that people that dont do simple tricks like this might run into problems much sooner, ethanol is a bio product and if theres one thing i learned at school is that in order to get a biological reaction you useally need heat and moisture. Without the moisture heat cant do that much.
 
For me it would not be a big deal if i needed to take the carbs out and clean them myself, i am a mechanic myself and like doing jobs like that every now and then to also know everything is 100% up to spec. So for me the risk of running e10 in the motor is not so big.

If you cant do it yourself, and are all excited you want to go out with the family, and on that one beautifful summer day your e10 induced problems start showing up which causes you to cancel the trip. Trailer the boat x amount of miles to a dealer, getting bad service in the summer period and all in all spending 2 3 days of time and frustration on it then i would also advise to just stick to e0.

Also for me it seems that there are a lot of variations in how soon and how much e10 seems to cause problems for people, as demonstrated here i am almost willingly trying to see where the ''line'' is, while other people try to avoid it at all cost and still run into problems in only a short time.

My honda crf 450 dirtbike has been standig for over 2 years now, it was put away with e5 (e0) is no longer available in the netherlands according to the law) it has been so long that even the tank evapourated dry by now so it will definitly need some love on a short notice.
We will see how that worked out.

I drain the moisture drain plugs on the carbs every now and then+ with frequent use probably means that not much moisture can accumulate in the fuel/carb bowl.
For people that never drain their carbs so that means that there is already a certain amount of moisture in the bottom+ long periods without useage could be a recipe for e10 created clogging i guess.

I didnt do it this winter but i useally get the fuel tank out, make sure its almost entirely empty. And let all the remaning fuel/moist evapourate inside for about 4 weeks time. Then you know for sure all the moisture is gone aswell and you start the year with a 100% clean tank and fresh gasoline.

As i said useally people top it up after every trip which causes old fuel to mix with new, causing that in theory some of the fuel in it might be some x amount of years old already.

I am useally pretty keen on stuff like this and can imagine that people that dont do simple tricks like this might run into problems much sooner, ethanol is a bio product and if theres one thing i learned at school is that in order to get a biological reaction you useally need heat and moisture. Without the moisture heat cant do that much.
For most people boating, I don't think they have a choice between E0 and E10. You get what the marina sells or if on a trailer what is sold at gas stations on the way to the boat launch ramp.
 
You won't find E0 for sale in places where the EPA requires gasoline to be oxygenated, and I believe there are some places in Texas where that is the case.
In those places, get a commercial account at a bulk fuel depot and save the state highway tax to boot.
Maersk is building its first container ship that will burn M100. www.maersk.com www.hyundaicorp.com/en/business/ship/
 
Last edited:
Back
Top