Fuel Additive

[RazorCat]

I have used non-ethanol gas in my 2007 Opti since day one. Was using Quickleen and Quickcare every tank, but cut back to every few tanks.
Never saw any difference in performance either way. And my prop exhaust stayed black either way. At least until I switched from Mercury DFI oil to Amsoil HP Marine oil. After 3 trips the hub was noticeably cleaner. I treat in winter with Sta-Bil Marine.

[bassdge]

I do not recall seeing harsh posts. I think some want to let others know what is in the products. Mercury never recommended these products until they started selling them. if you want to buy it, then do so. I chose not to based upon what I know about the ingredients. The. companies selling these products have no responsibility to prove that the products even work.

[1ranger487vs]

I use regular 89 octane with ethanol all the time. Feed it ringfree every tank. So far no problems. And pennzoil xlf

[Team Mud]

Fresh Gas is key, don't fill the tank unless you are going to use it, just enough gas for a few trips

[bloodman]

Ive never added a drop of anything but E10 gas to my cars, trucks, mowers, cycles, 4 wheelers, snow blower ect in over 40 years. I see no need to treat my 4 stroke outboard any different. If you do, have at it.

[skeeterator]

I do not recall seeing harsh posts. I think some want to let others know what is in the products. Mercury never recommended these products until they started selling them. if you want to buy it, then do so. I chose not to based upon what I know about the ingredients. The. companies selling these products have no responsibility to prove that the products even work.

Nailed it.
I often wonder how much these guys using all these additives in "every tank" actually run their engines. I'd have to buy gallons of all this different shit to use it every tank cause I actually use my boat. I've currently got 8 gallons of oil in the garage ready to dump in the oil tank as needed, most people on this board don't use 8 gallons of oil in 5 years. I'm basing that off all the threads over the years asking "how many times a year are you on the water". If I went as little as some people then I might consider using rubbing alcohol but I don't so I won't lol.

[bassboat1]

Nailed it.
I often wonder how much these guys using all these additives in "every tank" actually run their engines. I'd have to buy gallons of all this different shit to use it every tank cause I actually use my boat. I've currently got 8 gallons of oil in the garage ready to dump in the oil tank as needed, most people on this board don't use 8 gallons of oil in 5 years. I'm basing that off all the threads over the years asking "how many times a year are you on the water". If I went as little as some people then I might consider using rubbing alcohol but I don't so I won't lol.

Since you asked, I use Stabil and Ring Free. I average 100+ days on the water/year. It would be more, but I run a business and we have a long ice-fishing season. OB runs every time out, usually just short hops. I got 30 years out of my '89 Johnson 150, with only a ring job back in '92 or so. That thing must have had 3000+ hours on it.

[Fish Whisperer]

I have a Yamaha F225. I run Regular Sta-bil and Ring Free with every fueling. I usually fill in 10 gallon increments to make the math easy. Last year I got new Humminbird units. They keep track of miles, and hours on the water. Just under 1,000 miles and 397 hours last year. I have had this motor since new, September of '09. So far no issues, yet. Regular pump gas. I don't go looking for non-ethanol. I'll keep using the additives. Works for me.

[EuropeanAM]

Do you use fuel additives (Quickare, STA-BIL, Star Brite)? If so what do you use and why? Looking at running a Merc 150 Pro XS.

I'd strongly recommend the Quickare + Quickleen cocktail. Tried and proven in thousands of engines for years.

There are a few others out there... some good, some not so good. Not fond of the "enzymatic" stuff as I've seen some problems with o-rings and diaphragms deteriorating over time.

The post referenced above from "Mike" has a very exhaustive gathering of MSDS sheets- perhaps more than you'll find in one place (outside of the Government). Post is beneficial in that manner... some of the personal commentary is skewed quite a bit as the author went into it on the assumption that "you don't need anything".

For information relating to your Mercury engine... I would strongly recommend visiting the Mercury Forum that relates to the engine (2.0/2.4/2.5L for an Optimax 150 ProXS, or the 4-Stroke Mercury Forum for a 4-Stroke 150 ProXS). You may get a lot of responses here... but you will get some experienced and knowledgeable technical assistance in the Merc Forums.

[FrancoCialone]

I use 87 octane with 10% ethanol for everything and for my Optimax I use "Don's Cocktail".