Ethanol Any Worry? 2025
livemusic reply :
I just bought a 1997 Bass Tracker with Mercury-made 40hp 2-stroke. What gas? It's very hard to find ethanol-free gas here. Just about everywhere is 10% ethanol. Just disregard it and let 'er rip or buy higher octane or what? And if high octane, mid-grade or premium? Tnx.
CRANKENSTIEN reply :
Pass on the ethanol. It draws moisture. Buy a higher premium it will be worth it. My 150 v max 2 stroke runs better on higher octanes
tomustang reply :
Always use a fuel stabilizer, usually add a little more than required for safer measures
Alonerankin2 reply :
Stuff destroys 2 cycle motors.. It's hard on 4 cycle too.. If possible skip it..
Robeng reply :
On my 1991 Mercury ELPT, -2stroke -4cylinder-oil injected, I run 87 octane and use a ethanol treatment each tank or even add a little treatment when topping off. A good one is Staybil 360 ethanol and fuel treatment. Check out reviews n videos.
Another one is Lucas.
Need ethanol treatment to prevent water- lots of articles on this - fuel separation.
Must also use if u leave tank full in a below freeze winter. Or long lay up. That's what I do and I antifreeze the engine in winter n also fog carbs for winter. Check spark plugs n change lower gear oil and seals in spring and for winter lay up. Hope that all helps.
scbassin reply :
I use Sea Foam in every tank in my boat, car, & truck.
livemusic reply :
On 5/2/2015 at 11:07 AM, Robeng said:On my 1991 Mercury ELPT, -2stroke -4cylinder-oil injected, I run 87 octane and use a ethanol treatment each tank or even add a little treatment when topping off. A good one is Staybil 360 ethanol and fuel treatment. Check out reviews n videos.
Another one is Lucas.
Need ethanol treatment to prevent water- lots of articles on this - fuel separation.
Must also use if u leave tank full in a below freeze winter. Or long lay up. That's what I do and I antifreeze the engine in winter n also fog carbs for winter. Check spark plugs n change lower gear oil and seals in spring and for winter lay up. Hope that all helps.
12 oz of Stabil... it says 12 oz treat up to 120 gal. Is the bottle such that you can see to put a small amount in each tank full?
You guys who have boats, are you able to find ethanol-free gasoline?
Hmmm... finding a gas station selling ethanol-free is a problem for me, none in my town, plus, the price is appreciably higher, so, a treatment might even be cheaper even with its added cost.
Crappiebasser reply :
Every store here has ethanol free close to the lake. It's usually 20-30 cents higher but I find it gets better mileage in my truck and it's all I use in the boats.
Lacustrine reply :
Ethanol ruins all small engines. It rust the interior and breaks the carburetor. I only use non ethanol gas in small engines and ALWAYS put Stabil, it works wonders.
slonezp reply :
You'll need to replace your fuel lines to lines rated for ethanol. Better to do it now before the lines break down and create more problems. Adding ethanol treatment is a most and installing a water separator would be a good idea.
Long Mike reply :
As long as you religiously use a fuel stabilizer like Stabil or Startron (my preference) your engine will work just fine. I've been running ethanol gas for years with no problems other than the fuel lines themselves. Be sure to follow Slonzp's advice and replace any fuel lines with those rated for ethanol.
thomas15 reply :
Hey livemusic
I have a 2005 Mercury 50 HP ELPTO 2 cycle. I got it last year Mid July and I believe that although the motor was maintained properly, it sat out a season. I had much troubles with it running rough and surging at WOT. I ran it with Quicksilver (Mercury) fuel additive which you can get at walmart. I had the dealer rebuild the carbs, replace the reed valves, all of the fuel hoses and primer bulb, experment with different carb jets, adjust timing, so forth. I had that boat back to the mechanic 5 times in 3 months and finally the snow started falling I put it to bed for the winter. I checked everything I could, compression, I rebuilt the fuel pump, experimented with different spark plugs, it really had me baffled. I was using Shell 87 octane with the Quicksilver (I think it's their #1) fuel additive.
Well anyway, I had all winter to think about it and looked into ethanol free which I can get athough it's a little inconvenient. So, I thought before going that route I would try premium 93 octane fuel. I have had the boat out 3 times so far and I've run the heck out of it and it's behaving quite well. I think I'm going check the timing before I take it out next which I think will be tomorrow, the timing may be a bit too far advanced. But the premium seems to be the solution. It is odd to my thinking that no one has suggested premium but there it is.
Make sure the stabol you use is specifically for ethanol treatment, not all stabol products are. The Mercury Quicksilver, as I said, is available at walmart. Regardless, use it always.
Good luck--Tom
Fishing Rhino reply :
Premium gasoline doesn't contain ethanol?
If it does, what makes it any different than regular grade when it comes to its destructive nature?
BrownBear reply :
There's an app called Pure Gas (saw it from another post on this site), its free and it will give you the closest location for ethanol free gas stations. Plus do all the other things mentioned, I always use Stabil for everything, they even make a Marine Stabil too.
livemusic reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 8:31 PM, BrownBear said:There's an app called Pure Gas (saw it from another post on this site), its free and it will give you the closest location for ethanol free gas stations. Plus do all the other things mentioned, I always use Stabil for everything, they even make a Marine Stabil too.
I bought Stabil Marine last night. The tagline specifially says it's for ethanol treatment, so, this should work!
This whole ethanol corn-growing thing is baffling. I guess it makes corn farmers happy but it sure has screwed up engines. Maybe it's a conspiracy by the automotive / marine industry to cause us all to spend money on repairs. BTW, I do know several friends who have had to have their boat motors repaired if the boat sat up. Like, a $300 repair job for the fuel system. What a waste just due to ethanol!
BrownBear reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 7:10 PM, Fishing Rhino said:Premium gasoline doesn't contain ethanol?
Depends on the store. My country stores here have their Premium with No-Ethanol, while the city stores has all ethanol. Just got to read the pumps.
If it does, what makes it any different than regular grade when it comes to its destructive nature?
The higher octane will give you engine more power, but if it has ethanol in it, then it will hurt it all the same as the others with a lower octane.
Slade House reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 4:42 AM, slonezp said:You'll need to replace your fuel lines to lines rated for ethanol. Better to do it now before the lines break down and create more problems. Adding ethanol treatment is a most and installing a water separator would be a good idea.
Yes , any boat made before 2006 needs to have fuel lines replaced . I have a 2005 Btracker 175 with a 5ohp 2 stroke. I had this happen first hand. the inner lining of the main fuel line turns into a hard orange plastic and it clogged up my fuel filter to where my boat came to a dead stop. and wouldn't run. well i cleaned out all the gunk with the air compressor in the fuel filter and put it back on. ONLY I PUT IT BACK ON BACKWARDS And then some of the gunk now went straight through and clogged up the jets on my carbs and fuel diaphragm. Well i took apart the carbs cleaned them , jets, and the diagphragm with air compressor. engine was fine, didn't destory it ,
BassinLou reply :
I have a 1999 Pro 165 Tracker w/ 25HP. My mechanic advised me to change out the fuel lines more than 8 yrs ago and the my boat has been great. Every fuel up I use Star-Tron's fuel stabilizer enzyme. I run my motor for 5 mins every couple of weeks when the boat has not been in use, and this practice has kept my 16 yr old 2 stroke engine running optimally every time I use it.
blackmax135 reply :
On 5/2/2015 at 10:48 AM, livemusic said:I just bought a 1997 Bass Tracker with Mercury-made 40hp 2-stroke. What gas? It's very hard to find ethanol-free gas here. Just about everywhere is 10% ethanol. Just disregard it and let 'er rip or buy higher octane or what? And if high octane, mid-grade or premium? Tnx.
http://pure-gas.org/
Use that website to find yourself an ethanol free gas station. I have put high octane gas with ethanol in it in my boat and eveytime I do I end up with the motor not wanting to crank up and run properly. DO NOT put ethanol gas in you boat. I think the reason they do it is to save there selves money and charge us a fortune
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 7:10 PM, Fishing Rhino said:Premium gasoline doesn't contain ethanol?
If it does, what makes it any different than regular grade when it comes to its destructive nature?
That depends. In some markets where pure petrol gasoline is available, it is sold as premium (91 or 93 octane.) At most gas stations in the US, however, the 91 & 93 octane is E10 (10% ethanol.) Ethanol free will be clearly marked, and usually cost more.
As a preface, there are several methods of determining the octane rating for gasoline. In the US the AKI or (R+M)/2 method is the standard. Different methods will yield entirely different numbers, and the AKI is the number that most of us are familiar with.
The major difference between regular (87) and premium (93) is that higher octane fuels are designed to withstand more compression before detonation. In newer engines with higher compression ratios (not to be confused with cylinder compression,) you need the higher octane fuel to prevent pre-ignition (e.g. pinging, knocking, etc.) Igniting premium fuel requires a higher activation energy, which only a high compression engine will deliver. Without the high compression in the cylinder at the time of ignition, there will be un-burnt fuel remaining in the cylinder.
A good example is that my old '89 Mercury runs terribly on premium gasoline, as it doesn't burn all of the fuel. I get more power and better economy on 87. I almost always fill it with E10 nowadays, but rarely does a tank of gas go unused in my boat for more than a few days.
Most modern outboards recommend either 87 or 89 octane fuel.
livemusic reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 9:47 PM, BassinLou said:I have a 1999 Pro 165 Tracker w/ 25HP. My mechanic advised me to change out the fuel lines more than 8 yrs ago and the my boat has been great. Every fuel up I use Star-Tron's fuel stabilizer enzyme. I run my motor for 5 mins every couple of weeks when the boat has not been in use, and this practice has kept my 16 yr old 2 stroke engine running optimally every time I use it.
When you run it 5 min, do you run water through it?
Al Wolbach reply :
A lot of info so far, some accurate, some questionable. My advice is use any gasoline available but use the octane recommended by Mercury for your engine and add some type of ethanol treatment as prescribed on the container. The fuel lines should be good at this age. Enjoy your boat...........Al
BassinLou reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 11:14 PM, livemusic said:When you run it 5 min, do you run water through it?
Yes, I attach a flushing unit to my motor.
slonezp reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 11:30 PM, Al Wolbach said:A lot of info so far, some accurate, some questionable. My advice is use any gasoline available but use the octane recommended by Mercury for your engine and add some type of ethanol treatment as prescribed on the container. The fuel lines should be good at this age. Enjoy your boat...........Al
Yes, Mercury recommends 87 octane
thomas15 reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 11:30 PM, Al Wolbach said:A lot of info so far, some accurate, some questionable. My advice is use any gasoline available but use the octane recommended by Mercury for your engine and add some type of ethanol treatment as prescribed on the container. The fuel lines should be good at this age. Enjoy your boat...........Al
As for me personally I do not try to market myself as any kind of expert. I may be wrong and if so I will be happy to admit it. Fuel line deteriation by ethanol aside, my understanding is that basically a 2 cycle doesn't have enough time to burn the the ethanol. So the motor needs approx 10% more fuel to run as designed in pre-ethanol days. Inside the cylinder, there are with ethanol two combustion reactions taking place, one with octane, one with ethanol. Unless those reactions start, run and finish at the same time with the same energy level, there might be an deficient power stroke.
The reason I tried premium in the first place is that I believe that regular 87 octane burns at a faster rate than 91 or 93 octane. This additional time might allow the motor more time to use the fuel during the burn stroke. A 2 stroke runs at twice the RPM of a four stroke. Gasoline is designed to run in cars which as you know are 4 cycle.
Regardless, my motor problems have gone away with the use of premium so it was at least worth the try.
Robeng reply :
Yes you use just a little ethanol stabilizer per your gas tank size. You can over dose and it will be fine.
rboat reply :
Car and truck engines are now designed to work with the ethanol fuel. Any smaller engines, boat, lawn equipment, snow blowers, pressure washers, generators, etc. the ethanol = death. Around here you can get ethanol free fuel, but the cost is too high. It is cheaper to buy the regular ethanol fuel and a good fuel supplement that will take care of the ethanol and preserve the fuel longer. Sta-bil, Startron, or Seafoam will do the trick and can be found on sale often. Buy yourself a case, it will not go bad. Using premium fuel will make your engine run a bit hotter. That could be good in some cases, but in most cases a warmer engine is not a good thing. I am not an expert, just my opinion, and this has worked well on my almost 30 year old outboard engine and it still runs like new.
Choporoz reply :
On 5/3/2015 at 3:45 AM, livemusic said:12 oz of Stabil... it says 12 oz treat up to 120 gal. Is the bottle such that you can see to put a small amount in each tank full?
I use Marine Phase Guard 4. It has a handy one ounce ration-er on top. Pretty cool. I think Sta-Bil has something similar.
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