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Is marina fuel worth the extra cost?

I

Indian_Lake_Bum

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At our lake we have a couple places to get fuel....some with ethanol and some without.  The main question I have is that the new yamaha f150 says in the manual it can handle up to 10% ethanol....but does have a no E15 sticker by the fuel cap......is it going to hurt anything over time?   At the fuel dock that is ethanol free 87 the price is $4.69 currently while on the street the same 87 with 10% ethanol is only $3.39. 

 If I run the street fuel I'm paying 46 cents road tax that's figured into that $3.39.  Is the marina fuel worth roughly $1.30 more a gallon than the pump uptown just because it's ethanol free?   For us the fuel rarely sits in the tank longer than a week....or 2 if we have other things going on besides boating.

I've found the marine sta-bil at wholesale marine for $21.86 a quart (treats 320 gallons) or I can get it at our local wal mart for about the same price a quart.

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/sta-bil-marine-ethanol-formula-81821.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwodmdBRDm_ZLhorWm68UBEiQAKhO3_axqL-upV5Puyh92UXFua0DcpxE1jnqe8YIn0UfFlmwaAoZD8P8HAQ

Bottom line I think I can carry a couple 5 gallon cans treated with the marine sta-bil if it's going to save me about $1.30 a gallon even after buying the sta-bil as long as it's not going to hurt anything.

 I could even take the little woman out for an ice cream with the cash I save on gas!  :D   :D
 
Now that's a much debated topic, and you will find different answers.

I run pump gas with 10% ethanol, no stabil, but mine doesn't sit long, like yours.

As you stated, Yamaha say's that's OK, so that's what i do, no problems in 3 yrs.

If you are pre-rigged for Yamaha (i'm sure you are) change your fuel/water filter yearly.

Let the debate begin!
 
The marinas on my lake all pre-treat the gas with an ethenol additive....and things tend to be ok...that said post mechanics will tell you that most of the problems they have with older engines are due to gas.....on a side note, I do know a few that keep their gas receipts and get the road tax back at the end of the year.
 
Yeah we bought a 2014 GSR2250 that came yamaha pre-rigged so it has the fuel/water filter under the stern seat.  I figured as long as I change out the filter once a year and run the additive I shouldn't have any problems.  I just wanted a little advice from other benny owners as this is our first NEW boat with a 4 stroke and I didn't want to do something that could damage the motor.
 
I think it may be a matter of convenience.  I use gas with 10% ethanol and do use the Marine Stabil additive.
 
Ok, all our marina gas on the lake is corn free, but it's $4.69 to $5.25 a gallon. I use e10 w/ stabil for most of the year and around the winter I get corn free on the street for $3.89/gallon. I have (4) 5 gallon cans and a super siphon and it works for me. The boat is 8 years old and still going strong.
 
10% street gas with Marine Stabil in 5 gallon jugs, with water/fuel separator and Yami ring lube.

Bought marina gas once for convenience, but price was over $1 gallon more.
 
We're lucky our marina has ethanol free fuel.........but as a precaution I still use stabil.......
 
My Mercury manual says don't use ethanol if you can avoid it, but if you must, 10% is okay.

That's more than enough hint for me to NOT use ethanol.
 
No corn for me ,$6.50 marina 90 octane .

street no corn 90 octane $4.79  ( I carry 20 @  a time ) 

street with corn 87 octane $3.79 

Here is a sort-able list by state .

http://pure-gas.org/
 
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Controversial subject.  Our 87 octane 100% gas is only available in town @ 40 cents higher.  Sounds like a bargain vs. what's posted above.

I just run 90/10 city gas and go about my day.  With a 22 gallon tank, we turn the gas over promptly--living on the water.

At the end of the Fall, I will put the 100% gasoline with Stabil in the boat. 

For $7.50 per Jerry can difference (vs. city gas), I'll continue to haul gas to the boat.  That's almost 1/2 what the gas costs.

Yesterday (July 4th) a 40' Fountain with dual 502 Mercruisers came blowing past.  He lives up the slough.  I was wondering how much he spent on gasoline just yesterday as there's no way he can physically offload 75+ gallons for an hour's use.  Marina gas is almost $5 per gallon.  And they really run the boat many hours every weekend.  The cost of running that boat must approach the cost of running a King Air.
 
I_L_B, 

This is the "Ever-Ready-Bunny" question.....it keeps going on and on and on.  However, you could answer this yourself for yourself by: list all of the advantages of blended fuel(short list) and all the disadvantages (which translate into higher maint cost, higher component corrosion, higher moisture affinity, etc), ask yourself why you chose a Bennington vs "others".....to the later, I think most choose to pay more for a better quality boat, so it would seem somewhat a contradiction in logic to justify 90/10 based on cost.  I guess if you're able to perform all of your own maintenance, preventative and repair, then I guess it is worth it.  If not, well go ahead and "roll the dice".
 
I understand that this is the horse that won't die, but if I could buy corn free, I would.

There is only one marina that I know of in the state and it charges 6.00/gal and the line is always long...
 
Did you check this list ? ( 5 in N.H. ) 

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=NH

Bull said:
I understand that this is the horse that won't die, but if I could buy corn free, I would.
There is only one marina that I know of in the state and it charges 6.00/gal and the line is always long...
Click to expand...
Other thing is the price of the food ,( beef ) would not be so high if they kept the corn for feed 
 
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I have a ten year old Yamaha 70 two stroke. Previous owner ran 10% ethanol, so do I. For me the headache is tw o 5 gal cans hauling them to town, walking them to the dock. Add to that the fact that you can't buy a gas can with a pla I n nozzle that vents well into a horizontal fill connection. Bring on the marina. Unfortunately at 3000 acres well probably never get one.
 
guardrail22 said:
I have a ten year old Yamaha 70 two stroke. Previous owner ran 10% ethanol, so do I. For me the headache is tw o 5 gal cans hauling them to town, walking them to the dock. Add to that the fact that you can't buy a gas can with a pla I n nozzle that vents well into a horizontal fill connection. Bring on the marina. Unfortunately at 3000 acres well probably never get one.
Click to expand...
It's easy to add a vent to the can. Drill a 3/8" hole in the top rear and install a tire valve and remove the core. Just take off the cap and you have a vent. There are you tube videos on how to do it.
 
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I have four 5 gallon cans converted like Carl suggested and it works great. I have the Bennington, the Tracker bass boat, my DR mower, my JD Gator, 2 generators, and assorted small gas powered  motors and I have to haul ethanol-free gas for all of them. Worth it though. I had some expensive repairs and weeks of down time to 2 weedeaters and a lawn mower from the ethanol. The corn growers lobby really pulled a good one on everyone with this.
 
I bought two cheap tubs @ Wally world no rattle or spills

to and from .And of course a Super Siphon 

20 gallons at a time ,over  $2 a gallon savings at marina price

 
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Jack M. said:
I bought two cheap tubs @ Wally world no rattle or spills

to and from .And of course a Super Siphon 

20 gallons at a time at over  $2 a gallon savings at marina price
Click to expand...
Great idea on the tubs!
 
On Lake of the Ozarks we have a few marinas that carry marine fuel made by "Valvtect". It is ethanol free, contains fuel stabilizer,corrosion inhibitors, dispersants and engine conditioners in it. It essentially contains all the additives that outboard engine manufactures offer as fuel additives. It is $4.40 per gallon, but I don't have to buy and add any additives that are recommended by Yamaha - they are already in the marine fuel. The marina tracks my purchases and gives me the documentation I need to recover the fuel tax on the gasoline at the end of the year.

.
 
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