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Ethanol in Bennington with Evinrude 115 H.O.

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Boatingbob

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The marina I use says their gasoline is 10% ethanol. Is their anything I should do in light of that?

Thanks.

Bob
 
Yeah, don't use it.

They sell these round brackets with a hole in the center that you screw into the deck of your boat. Then you buy a long pipe (12-15 feet) and insert it into the bracket. Also buy a shorter pipe, about 60% of the length of the first pipe. These pipes become your mast and boom. Then buy a sail. :p

I would find another marina to buy fuel from on the same lake, or trailer your boat once in a while to a gas station that has zero ethanol.

I don't use ethanol in anything (cars, boat, mower, snowblower, etc)
 
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If your motor is relatively new, I'd speculate that you'd be OK if you regularly burned it. If it were to sit for long periods of time in the tank, I would sure consider a fuel stabilizer.

On another note, I recently read an article in a boating magazine, (sorry, can't find article for reference) regarding ethanol breakdown calls. It stated that the no. 1 reason for boat tow calls is due to vapor lock type symptoms. The article suggested that if you find your outboard struggling to restart after a long run, lift cowling, allow to sit for 30 minutes and retry starting again. The suggested way around this is to allow motor to idle for 15 min to cool down before shutting off.

There was a chemistry lesson given for the reason why heat causes ethanol to react this way but I'm just a simple southerner, so it was way above my head.
 
Oh... I also agree with Kaydano in personal preference. I drive 30 miles out of my way to not use ethanol but these statements always seem to get people "fired-up"!
 
10% ethanol isn't going to hurt anything on a modern engine.

Heck, it isn't going to hurt anything on an ancient engine either. The issue was never the engine it was the various lines and hoses, but the materials used these days are different than they were even a decade ago.
 
"Boating Bob" The most common things recommended for boat motors vis a vis ethanol 10 fuel are to use a fuel stabilizer (like Stabil) and a fuel-water filter that is changed about every fifty hours of operation.

I have used E10 fuel for over five years in trucks, cars, lawn mowers, etc and two years in my Yamaha outboard without any problems. I suppose I would use non ethanol fuel if it was available, but it would be about a 200 mile round trip to the nearest source and wouldn't be very efficient.
 
Ahh, the great ethanol debate comes up again :lol: Personally, i do not like ethanol unless i used it in an alcohol powered race car. But, since the powers that be have forced it upon us, we will have to live with it.

Modern marine engines fuel systems have been designed to use E10 fuel, check you engines owners manual to be sure.

I have run E10 in our Yamaha outboard with no problems. If you would like to find out if 100% gasoline is available in your area, go to puregas.org.

It really comes down to personal preference and how far out of the way you are willing to go to find 100% gas :)
 
I asked this question to both my Bennington dealer and to an additives expert I met at the Miami boat show. Both of their answers were similar. If you use street gas with ethanol they recomend an additive. Green stabil ethanol treatment or eqivilent. Marina boat gas should already have the additives in it. I use street gas and I use stabil to be on the safe side. It's only about 1 oz. per 10 gallons.
 
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The best thing you can do is run your fuel tanks down in the Fall as low as possible, and fill up your tank with fresh fuel in the Spring. Then, don't worry about the fuel in your boat.

Stabil and other treatments are popular, but you've not been told they break down faster than the 90/10 fuels. I think the main deal is that they turn condensed water in the tank into alcohol so it can be burned.

I personally run 2 twelve gallon plastic tanks and a 6 gallon factory metal tank (as a reserve.) I can easily drain any year end gasoline into my car and monitor the tanks for trash and contaminants.

100% gasoline at our marinas is about $1.50 more expensive than gasoline "in town." For $7.50 difference per 5 gallon can, all my gasoline comes from town--and I'll carry the 50 yards down to my boathouse.

I just don't know how all the Cigarette type boats burning 75 gallons per hour can afford $5+ gasoline at the marinas. And, they run them all day long on weekends. I'm sometimes just happy to back out of my boathouse, run 1/2 mile out in the middle of the lake and float around all day going nowhere.
 
Thanks.

I think it's: pure-­gas.­org

Geoffrey & Brenda said:
Ahh, the great ethanol debate comes up again :lol: Personally, i do not like ethanol unless i used it in an alcohol powered race car. But, since the powers that be have forced it upon us, we will have to live with it.

Modern marine engines fuel systems have been designed to use E10 fuel, check you engines owners manual to be sure.

I have run E10 in our Yamaha outboard with no problems. If you would like to find out if 100% gasoline is available in your area, go to puregas.org.

It really comes down to personal preference and how far out of the way you are willing to go to find 100% gas :)
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I realize this thread is about Evinrude, but I ran across this in my Mercury owner's manual while I was looking for something else:

Because of possible adverse effects of alcohol in gasoline, it is recommended that only alcohol-free gasoline be used where possible. If only fuel containing alcohol is available, or if the presence of alcohol is unknown, increased inspection frequency for leaks and abnormalities is required.

This is from the owner's manual for a 2011 Merc 115 HP 4-stroke.

I read this to say if you can avoid it, avoid it, but if you can't, you can't (go ahead and use it).

It also mentions on the same page (page 48) "internal corrosion may take place during storage if alcohol has washed protective oil films from internal components".

There are the usual warnings about acid formulation and water separation during storage.

It also says "The fuel system components on your Mercury Marine engine will withstand up to 10% alcohol content in the gasoline. Be aware that gasolines containing alcohol may cause increased corrosion of metal parts, deterioration of rubber or plastic parts, fuel permeation through rubber fuel lines, and starting and operating difficulties".

Mixed messages for sure, but it still says to me don't use it if you don't have to.
 
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Ahh, so here is my new dilema, ordered a yamaha 200hp SHO, yamaha says with the 200hp and 225hp you get the best performance with 87 octane fuel and 89 in the 250hp, and that using a 91 or 93 will actually give you worse performance and create carbon build up. So, do I get 91 without ethanol in it or get 87 with ethanol?

Derrick
 
You've got to be making that up...

Good one if you are.

If not... You're screwed.
 
Nope, totally true
 
I think you will have to fill the tank up half with 91 and half with 87 ethanol so you get 5% 89...

I have to admit, and I'm not trying to poke fun, but that's a pretty funny dilemma. And an interesting twist to the ole debate...
 
To make "Bulldog's Blend", just put both pump nozzles in your tank at the same time. You'll also fill up twice as fast. :blink:
 
kaydano said:
To make "Bulldog's Blend", just put both pump nozzles in your tank at the same time. You'll also fill up twice as fast. :blink:
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Haha, "Bulldog's Blend" , what makes it even funnier is that we used to own a gas station and could have ACTUALLY had that!! I mean I like the idea of saving 10 cents a liter on regular fuel as opposed to premium, and I'm not against ethanol, our gas station was actually the only one around dispensing fuel with it before the gov't mandated Manitoba and I have used it in everything else I've owned without ever having a problem, but you guys scare the CRAP out'a me with all your talk, and watching YouTube of course!!

Derrick
 
I own the same engine & use Marine Sta Bil evry time I gas up. I do suggest gassing up before you go out & not afterward. My dealer agrees also.
 
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Michael said:
I own the same engine & use Marine Sta Bil evry time I gas up. I do suggest gassing up before you go out & not afterward. My dealer agrees also.
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So do you just use 87 octane or 91?
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
Ahh, so here is my new dilema, ordered a yamaha 200hp SHO, yamaha says with the 200hp and 225hp you get the best performance with 87 octane fuel and 89 in the 250hp, and that using a 91 or 93 will actually give you worse performance and create carbon build up. So, do I get 91 without ethanol in it or get 87 with ethanol?

Derrick
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OK, here's the deal...

Generally speaking, the higher the octane the lower the energy available per gram of fuel. 80 Octane MOGAS (Military Operational Gasoline or Motor Gasoline, depending on who you ask) has the highest energy/gram levels, but requires about a 6:1 compression ratio. Side note... OLD Harleys, and I mean Knuckleheads, have very low compression, which is why they are popular south of the Rio Grande, where gasoline often isn't much more potent than a good brandy. Or they were popular, until they pretty much all wore out.

ANYWAY...

You only need enough octane to prevent your fuel from "pre-igniting" under whatever cylinder pressures you have at TDC. (Top Dead Center) Anything more is a waste of money and TECHNICALLY results in lower power output, but I'm kind of doubtful you could measure it outside of a laboratory.

As for it producing carbon buildup, that is basically because the harder a fuel is to ignite the less of it's you'll burn.

For instance... pure alcohol is about 114 Octane and is a real b**tard to ignite, which is why if you go to the dragstrip you'll see a crew member squirting gasoline into the engines intake with a spray bottle when it's time to start the engine. Running a street car with an alcohol motor was a real PITA until the advent of E-85. Just try getting a total stranger to squirt gas into your carb to help you get your engine started after it went bone cold. :rolleyes:

Moving right along...

If you run your outboard at low speeds a lot, you ARE at risk for carbon buildup. If you're like me, almost always running at close to 6,000rpm, not so much.

Here's the good news...

Yamaha has a SPECIFIC additive that is designed precisely to deal with this very problem.

It's called Ring Free, it works on any 4-stroke outboard and you can get it at probably every marina in the country. The newer version, imaginatively titled "Ring Free Plus", is meant to also deal with E-10 fuel. You can see the statement right on the bottle in the picture below.

This is directly from Yamaha's site:

We have two fuel additives: Ring Free PLUS and Fuel Stabilizer & Conditioner PLUS. The “PLUS” includes reformulations for our standard Ring Free and Fuel Stabilizer & Conditioner.The Ring Free Plus protects against the corrosive affects of sulfur salts in E10 (10% ethanol-blended fuel) on electronics parts and fittings in the fuel system. It is highly recommended for all electronic fuel injected engines (EFI). The Fuel Stabilizer & Conditioner PLUS helps protect fuel system metals affected by E10, helps to prevent fuel oxidation that results in gums and varnishes and keeps fuel fresh and potent up to year of storage. Fuel Stabilizer & Conditioner PLUS is recommended to be used at every gas fill up, not just for storage.
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This is a picture of the bottle:

ACC-RNGFR-PL-32-500.jpg
 
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