ETHANOL PROBLEMS

[fishinvol]

Yep, I couldn't find any sea foam so I tried the Sta-bil ( for ethanol) and am very pleased with it so far.

 

[Guest]

Auto Zone and Advance Auto both carry the Seafoam. Advance has it in gallon cans. You save nearly 30% buying the gallon cans.

 

[SpurHunter]

Can you use Seafoam in diesel motors?

 

[Guest]

According to the label you can use Seafoam in any type of internal combustion engine.

 

[TheFisherman]

So here we are after all these years we have oil injection so we don't have to m,ix oil anymore, but now we have to mix that anti-ethynol stuff. Here we are back to that!

 

[TheFisherman]

So here we are after all these years we have oil injection so we don't have to m,ix oil anymore, but now we have to mix that anti-ethynol stuff. Here we are back to that!

 

[Luketrician]

I like Beetle spins idea....One can of seafoam for every tank.

 

[NRG]

I went out sat morning .. didn't need to crank my engine until I wanted to roam further down river .. my boat had sat with stabil marine formula in it for 3 weeks or so .. and I had ran it thru the system the last time out .. anyway sat go to crank it and it started twice but died .. thought dang it fouled a plug.. got it home .. changed plugs .. same thing turns over no start.. I thought oh man I burnt a power pack .. and on the way to work this am .. I thought humm .. Ill get a spray bottle filled with some mixed gas , spray it in carb and see what happens .. fired right up .. then I noticed some fuel on bottom of carb, kinda gelled gooey stuff.

I think the ethanol got me , I took carb off .. need to go get some carb cleaner .. and open it up .. I bet float is gelled up , or some kinda junk broke loose from tank from ethanol .. kinda wierd though Ive been running ethanol without additives since I got the boat no probs .. now I but in marine stabil .. and I have problems .. whats up with that ?

anyway it was only a minor nuisance .. nothing major

 

[NRG]

well cleaned the crab out with spray can of carb cleaner .. all is now well cranked right up ran it for 30 mins before cutting it off .. let it sit a while and tried again , cranked right back up

 

[thor]

its a good idea to install a water seperating fuel filter inline between the tank and engine. several manufacturers make these racor,mercury,sierra ,etc. all of your new engines have some form of water seperator filter on their engines. its not a big deal to mount one on your rig if your engine does not have one. The ethanol fuels will actually absorb moisture from the atmosphere until the moisture drops to the bottom of the tank(phase seperation) where the fuel pickup is located now your fuel system is full of water.these filters are servicable without alot of expertise so you can dump the water or replace the filter and enjoy the rest of your day.

 

[jon the fisherman]

thor - 6/15/2008 7:18 PM

its a good idea to install a water seperating fuel filter inline between the tank and engine. several manufacturers make these racor,mercury,sierra ,etc. all of your new engines have some form of water seperator filter on their engines. its not a big deal to mount one on your rig if your engine does not have one. The ethanol fuels will actually absorb moisture from the atmosphere until the moisture drops to the bottom of the tank(phase seperation) where the fuel pickup is located now your fuel system is full of water.these filters are servicable without alot of expertise so you can dump the water or replace the filter and enjoy the rest of your day.

Best Merc mechanic around these parts emoThumbsup

 

[team-d]

I second that JTF!

 

[skeeter4848]

I have the ethanol problem. I have a skeeter with a 150 Yamaha HPDI. I do not use all the gas in the 36 gallon tank. I add new fuel as needed. I have never run the tank empty. My problem is that the ethanol has seperated and causing me problems at restart and idle after the engine is hot. The engine runs great. My questions are: do I drain the tank or run the gas by adding higher octane gas? I have added a can of seafoam and the new marine staybill to the gas. There is approximately 20 gallons in the tank. If I run the gas, is there any long term issues? Thanks for your advise.

 

[beetlespin]

Just put the seafoam and stabil in there and go run it. Those two ingredients have compatiblizers to put the gas and ethanol back together. I would go run it out though and then fill it back up with seafoam in it.

 

[dlmille]

Harrison Bay State Park Marina Gas is 91 octane WITHOUT ETHANOL. We have a contract that requires 100% gasoline.

 

[FishingBen]

Highway 58 Short Stop near the Hiwassee River hwy58 bridge in Charleston, TN is selling straight gas. No blend. Thats where I fill up everytime now.

 

[fastcat]

Ethanol is bad news for any engine that has previously burned petroleum products. With govt now requiring it in gas, folks will have lots of problems with all vehicles.

 

[CRAZYHORSE]

Hey guys. I work at a company that supplies ethanol to almost all of the stations in the area, and we handle a lot of ethanol. I also have a 1984 Bullett with a 150 Merc. Because of the nature of our business I am pretty up to speed on the ethanol regulations. So first, their is no mandate that stations in our area have to sell ethanol. They do it by choice. Although some states do have mandates on fuel blends, such as Texas and Minnesota: Tennessee and Georgia, and Alabama DO NOT. The only Federal mandate on renewable fuels is the EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard that requires a small percentage of the nations fuel supply be supplemented with renewable fuels such as ethanol or biodiesel. It does not specify how or where the fuel goes, it just dictates a percentage (WWW.EPA.GOV). Ethanol can do several things, some good and some not so good. It will create more power. It will lower gas mileage by about 2% at a 10% blend. It will clean out your system. It will keep water (if present) suspended in your tank, and not let it settle to the bottom. If the tank on your boat is plastic, and it was manufactured before 1992, you will probably have a problem with the ethanol deteirorating the plastic of the tank. Metal tanks should not have this problem, nor should plastic tanks that are ethanol compatible. There are still a lot of stations around that do not have ethanol in their gas if you chose to go that route. Also some may have it in the regular, but not the super. Look on the pump for a sticker labeling the pumps (required by state law) as to whether or not the pumps contain ethanol or biodiesel. I personally fill up the Bullet at a staion that sells 93 octane without ethanol because it is close and I only burn 93, however I wouldnt think a thing about putting it in if I had to fill up somewhere else that did have it. I also have a 1973 Shovelhead that runs fine on it.