10 Percent Ethanol

[JohnB]

We have had a lot of descussion in Florida over this ethanol gas. There are some motors that have had problems, some that haven't. I saw a fuel line out of a merc optimax that desolved from the inside, and gummed up the fuel system. I have seen some nasty filters and clogged carbs.

Some have problems, some don't. It seems to have more to do with the conditon of the fuel tank. I put a new tank in my boat, and replaced all the lines/rigging when I did it. I haven't had more than a couple of teaspons of water after burning 100's of gallons of gas. Older boats with old tanks with newer motors seem to be the ones that are having the most problem. If I was repowering, I would probably replace the gas tank, or at least have it cleaned.

This is what seems to happen, if you have junk or water in your tank, the alcohol will clean it out and send it into the filters/motor. Startron seems to work well as a stabilizer/additive. One thing I have noticed is I lost about 4-6% in fuel economy, mpg/gph using ethanol.

As for inboards, I worked on a carb on an inboard that the float would just not work right with this alcohol gas. After running a couple of hours, it would "soak up", and then want to flood the engine. I tried replacing the float and rebuilding the carb, no luck. Finally ended up putting a aftermarket edelbrock carb on it, and now it runs great.