Hey guys, im hearing rumors around here about ethanol fuel being bad for
two stroke motors. Have any of you heard the same thing ?
Hey guys, im hearing rumors around here about ethanol fuel being bad for
two stroke motors. Have any of you heard the same thing ?
Yes. With a car/truck the fuel is a closed system. With a boat the fuel tank is vented to the outside humid air. Ethanol absorbs water so you have to keep your tanks full to keep this from happening. Also, if you have a fiberglass tank the ethanol will etch the tank. Someone else should weigh in with a more technical answer than what I can give you. We don't have ethanol in marine fuels (yet) here in Florida. I plan to keep an eye on my Racor fuel/water separators.
blueblaze,
I have been running E10 (90% gas 10% ethanol) for two years now in my '03 Yam 150 VMAX carb and have had no issues. The DFW area switched from the MTBE additive to E10 in 2006. I put in an water separator/fuel filter and run stabil in every tank.
There are some issues with ethanol and older motors and an older type of fiberglass tank. Probably anything in the last 10-15 years is built to handle E10.
You do want to avoid E85 (15% gas 85% ethanol).
Check your outboard owner's manual to see what it is designed to handle.
I would recommend you start running some type of fuel stabilizer all the time. Put it in a fresh tank and make sure to run enough through the motor.
It is not as scary as people make it out to be. Just be a little cautious, and you will be fine.
I may be wrong but technically the closed system means the fuel delivery system is pressurized on the engine..the injectors and so forth so air cannot get into those areas like it can on carbureted engines and gunk things up. All the fuel tanks must be vented so moisture in the tanks of cars and boats can occur. You just use the fuel up faster in your car before excessive moisture builds up. Now running that contaminated gas through any engine can be a problem.
Alcohol will attract water. If E10 sits more than 4-6 weeks especially if you don't know how old it when you by it it will Phase Separate. Water on the bottom of the tank, then a 10% layer of ethanol then the gasoline on top of that.
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