Marine, Boat, Outboards and E10 Fuel.

Ethanol E10 fuel use in marine, boat and outboard engines.

About Ethanol - Site Contents: History, Fuel, Corn, MTBE, Disadvantages, Benefits, Precautions, Gasoline, E10, E85, FFV's, Renewable and Biofuels, Engines - Marine, Automobiles, Ethanol Politics...

Fuel Testers provides information and gas alcohol test kits to manage E10 ethanol blend renewable fuels.

Marine fuel system and gasoline rules have changed;

Since switching to alcohol oxygenated fuels.

Damage from ethanol's amazing water absorbing qualities is seen most in the boating industry - Engines that exist in water environments require extra care and monitoring.

Boats love water - But petroleum gas and boat engines do not. Boaters increase their risks even further, because they tend to store fuel in their boat gas tanks much longer than in their automobiles. Fuel systems of cars also tend to have better seals, (EG. tightly closed gas caps).

Boat engines also are most used during the most humid (summer) months. Moisture from humid air can also be absorbed into an unsealed fuel system.

Fuel Testers recommends testing gasoline for alcohol at the pumps before buying.

Alcohol Fuel Test Kits will assure gas contains 10 % or less ethanol.

Outboard & Marine Engine Precautions

Marine engines require special precautions to prevent water contamination from alcohol fuels.

Boat owners need to be knowledgeable in the properties and effects of ethanol, when using E10 Fuels.

Beware of marine products that falsely claim they will "fix" water contaminated gasoline.

There are up to 1000 different chemicals in fuel - It's impossible to return all ingredients in fuel back to it's original composition!

You might be able to remove some of the separated water, but gas will never return to it's previous quality and octane.

Most fuel treatment additives that remove water are actually also made from ethanol alcohol! More info...

Running on bad gas presents serious dangers to marine engines

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Precautions:

The most effective precaution you can take with alcohol blend fuels (E10 and E85) is run your engine on clean, new, fresh gasoline.

In about 100 days or less, the ethanol present in gasoline, will absorb enough water to cause contamination and phase separation.

When E10 fuel experiences water conatamination OCTANE will decrease up to 3 points, sometimes referred to as "lean fuel".

Maintain a sealed fuel tank, and avoid gas tank from coming in unnecessary contact with water.
Keep engine parts well lubricated to prevent the alcohol drying effect on engine parts.
Frequently check gasoline for Water Contamination (WC) and Phase Separation (PS)-
Properly discard any fuel that appears to have gone bad. Resist the temptation to use bad gas in other small gas-powered equipment.
Keep your engine tuned and follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule.
Buy gasoline with a higher octane to be certain that you will always be running your engine on the minimum octane necessary for good performance.

When PS and WC occurs, octane can drop as much as 3 points in the fuel you're engines running on. Gasoline oxygenated with MTBE did not have this problem, since it did not absorb water. While some may disagree, unless you're 100% certain your fuel is good, I firmly believe a higher octane adds extra protection, in the event the gas suddenly enters a phase separated state.

Most newer engines (past 5-10 years) are designed to tolerate up to 10% alcohol in gasoline. Older engines, manufactured during 1990's and older), will experience more problems and dangers with E10 fuels. The fuel system and parts was not designed to withstand alcohol's damaging effects.

Ethanol's Water Absorbing Qualities

E10 ethanol gasoline is hygroscopic (will attract and absorb water) and can absorb 50 times more water than conventional non-alcohol gasoline.

Phase separation occurs in E10 gas, when only 0.5% water or 3.8 teaspoons water per gallon of fuel is absorbed.

At 70 degrees Fahrenheit, conventional (non-alcohol) gasoline can dissolve up to 150 parts per million (ppm) water.

The situation is different for gasoline oxygenated with 10 % volume ethanol...

The ethanol blend can dissolve much more water, up to 6000-7000 ppm.

When this blend is cooled, both the water and some of the ethanol become insoluble.

Phase Separation

When phase separation occurs, 2 layers (sometimes 3) of liquid are visible.

An upper ethanol-deficient gasoline layer and a lower ethanol-rich (up to 75% ethanol) water layer.

Most marine engines draw fuel from the lower portion of tank.

It occurs because ethanol is completely soluble in water but only marginally soluble in hydrocarbons...

After phase separation, the gasoline layer will have a lower octane number. The fuel also is less volatile.

Shelf Life

Ethanol fuel expires in 90 days. At around 100 days, under ideal conditions (mid-temperature and low humidity), ethanol blend fuels will enter phase separation (contaminated gas).

When using E10 ethanol alcohol fuels, special precautions are necessary with marine engines, because:

E10 and E85 ethanol blend fuels have an affinity to absorb amazing amounts of water, very quickly, compared to conventional non-alcohol gasoline.
Ethanol alcohol is a great solvent and cleaner, that can dissolve engine parts (rubber, plastic, aluminum, and certain fiberglass tanks), dry out hoses, remove lubrication, and more.
Engine seals and hoses shrink, swell, or lose strength when exposed to ethanol reformulated gasoline.
Water is actually dissolved in an ethanol blended fuel and phase separation occurs much sooner. With MTBE, ETBE, lead and other chemicals used in the past to oxygenated gasoline, this did not happen
The shelf life of ethanol blend fuels is much lower due to it's water-absorbing and corrosive qualities. Replacing gasoline every 2 to 4 weeks is usually recommended with E10. 90 days is the maximum shelf-life recommended.
The amount of ethanol blended in at the pumps, is not closely monitored. Checking gasoline meets safe and legal alcohol guidelines (10% or lower), seems necessary now, until more stringent and protective laws are passed.

With the knowledge on how ethanol behaves a few necessary precautions and careful monitoring, you should have no problem using E10 gasoline in most gas-powered engines.

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Ethanol Fuels in

Marine - Boat - Outboard

Engines

Ethanol Fuel Use in Marine - Boat - Outboard Engines

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Tests for alcohol (ethanol) in gasoline motor fuels.

For more information on ethanol marine motor precautions,

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The Outboard Wizard, Certified BRP Evinrude/Johnson Dealer and Mechanic

(631) 514-1525 outboardwizard@yahoo.com

Post boating fuel system technical questions at

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For marine fuel recommendations; See: http://www.evinrude-parts.com/outboard_marine_fuel_gas_recommendations.html

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