Comments on: There’s a saying …

By: Matt Groom

Matt Groom — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:23:19 +0000

Let’s not forget how BAD Ethanol in any concentration is for the environment. The EPA banned the use of Ethanol as fuel for YEARS until Bush 41 used a presidential order to reascend the EPA’s decision in an attempt to win votes from the farm belt.

Ethanol killed thee of my weed whackers and two lawnmowers before I realized that this stuff is a BIG problem. I rebuilt one of the lawnmowers, a Snapper, TWICE before I began using fuel additives to neutralize the harmful effects of E10 Ethanol. I use Seafoam, which only costs $8 a pint, which is about an extra $1 for every gallon of gas I now use in my Snapper.

Ethanol also burns much hotter, causing the engine to heat up like a space heater, and I’ve never seen the exhaust rust so quickly before. Ethanol is a demon, and the EPA is SATAN!!!!

By: J HUETTL

J HUETTL — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:37:48 +0000

Culprit here is the medium nature of the body floating the boat.

Ethanol loves water more than it loves petroleum distillates, meaning that it will come out of solution.

Ethanol loves natural rubber products just as much and will mingle its affairs (love is just chemistry sometimes) like a bitch in heat. So if you are worried about the diaphragm in your carburetor being a real problem on one side of the surface then remember all your natural rubber hoses in the fuel delivery system will soften as well and soon will leak. GUYS REMEMBER TO CHECK ALL YOUR RUBBERS FOR SOFT SPOTS cause when you put hard fuel through soft rubber, the fuel (ethanol) in contact with the rubber will not only cause the surface of the rubber to weep fuel (fuel blend) but when the ethanol rubber solution goes to full solution you will get a breach in the rubber and now provide a new low pressure path for the fuel.

So, go ahead and FIRE up your boat with fuel from the EPA, but don’t expect the EPA to figure the foot print of your burning boat into their report on revised fuels for boating.

By: emdfl

emdfl — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:24:58 +0000

The problem ain’t how much ethanol is in the gas, it’s how much WATER the damn ethanol is bringing along with it into the engines. Especially when stored in tanks next to water. I believe I read somewhere that the makers of the PRI-G and D products now have a new formulation for ethanol diluted loaded fuel.

The demos managed to destroy the luxury boat-building industry in this country. Looks like now they are going after the smaller builders.

By: Dannytheman

Dannytheman — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:16:18 +0000

I would also add that I just sent this to some of my Motorcycle contacts. Harley Air cooled engines are very reliant on the lubricating properties on gasoline. Adding something more that is a proven drying agent kills the EFI seals and engines.

15% is not needed…

By: Stacy

Stacy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:11:55 +0000

I’d say this one is less about paying for our sins than paying for farm subsidies. There aren’t many people who really believe ethanol is the way to an energy-independent future, but there are a lot of farming concerns who would love to make oil-like revenue on corn.

By: DirtCrashr

DirtCrashr — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:54:52 +0000

Even a sailboat uses a motor for auxiliary power and docking maneuvers. Ethanol has a bad tendency to eats seals and internal engine components that have to be rigorously tested before being installed (hidden) INSIDE the engine. Older motors that are installed in most boats are FAIL, and the cost to re-engine a sailboat is prohibitive since you have to tear out things like the DECK and quarters to get them in and out.
Some evidence and testing for bio-diesel shows potential – but that wouldn’t be a power-boaters choice as much as a sailor’s since sailboat engines tend towards diesel more than the power squadron.
With a two-stroke the quality of ignition is affected by ethanol since it has lower energy carrying capacity, but *sufficient* oil/lubrication in the fuel mix could help prevent engine seizure – but all the oily blow-by exhausted into the water would eliminate any “green savings” that using ethanol might offer. It’s stoopid.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:43:29 +0000

Given that fuel consumption on boats is rated in Gallons Per Hour, I’m not sure I’d want to pay aviation prices. Depending on what I’m doing, anyway… skiing would be far different than drift fishing.

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:55:46 +0000

If you own a boat, see if your local airport will sell you Avgas :) Type 82UL should work for most boating applications.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:51:39 +0000

From articles I have read on the subject, there is no real way to tell how much ethanol is in a gasoline mixture even if it specifies 10%. There is no official measuring standard and it is all at the word of the fuel producer. Apparently, marine gas engines do not do well at all with ethanol beyond 10% concentrations. Especially two strokes. “Do not do well” meaning the engine is severely damaged or destroys itself with little warning beforehand. Works one day, stops the next.

And manufacturers will not honor warranties on engines fed excessive amounts of ethanol. They recommend not feeding outboards any ethanol and if you must, keep the concentration to absolute minimums. Which is really hard since most gas stations don’t offer a “no ethanol” option at the pump and very few non-ethanol gas stations exist anymore.

So marine engine owners are between a rock and a hard place. They can’t tell how much ethanol is in a given gas mixture and can’t get gas that doesn’t have it or at a known concentration with certainty. Newer engines deal better with ethanol (they’re designed for it) but a marine outboard, well cared for, can last a long, long time. There are a lot of old outboards out there that run just fine that ethanol in gas may well send to Davy Jones Locker earlier than expected. Does the EPA expect everyone to just buy new engines that run on high ethanol concentrations? Are they going to buyback the old engines and compensate owners for engines that are destroyed through no fault of their own due to this boneheaded crap?

Price out the cost of a marine outboard sometime. If I were a power boat owner, I’d be really nervous about this. Something like this passes and there are going to be a lot of used boats on the market with bad engines a year or two later. Small sailboats suffer as well since they have gas auxiliaries. The price on a sailboat long shaft outboard isn’t cheap either. Mine would be around $1000 to replace with a new model.