Posted on 02/07/2011 10:53:54 AM PST by thackney
...and he filled tanks feeding the boat’s 200 horsepower Mercury engine with gas that had been blended with 10 percent ethanol.
“I heard a station in Greenville had straight gas, but I just took it to the next one I could find. Within 10 minutes, my engine started failing,” Gray said. “(The ethanol) had crystallized and crumbled and had clogged my fuel line, and I had to tear out all of the fuel system.”
Gray saved hundreds of dollars by repairing it himself, but his troubles with the motor are nothing new to marine shop owners, lawn mower mechanics and car enthusiasts familiar with the additive’s apparent incompatibility with small engines and older car engines.
(Excerpt) Read more at fuelfix.com ...
The last time the fishing boat at the lake was used, my brother paddled home. It seems he didn’t buy gas at the closest station, but he drove a little further to save a few pennies. He ended up running ethanol through an older outboard when he should have bought the ethanol free gas at the closer station. Those few pennies won’t begin to cover the cost of either repairing or replacing the motor.
I'm sure the Gov't will come up with a compact florescent bulb type solution. Maybe a $7000 government subsidy to buy a $24K 12 hp ethanol compliant Craftsman lawn tractor.
Diesel. Switch to diesel power.
Uh, ever heard of diesel?
Diesel? What's that?
[/kidding]
Yeah, I'd thought of it and ruled it out. This guy isn't going to switch out his twin gas motors for diesels, not unless he's in the charter business and can make it pay.
And even if he did, the price per gallon for diesel is even higher than what you pay for the ethanol-adulterated scooter juice they sell at the gas stations. You'd do better to run the thing on No. 2 heating oil, if you could get it to the boat.
> “(The ethanol) had crystallized and crumbled and had clogged my fuel line,
> I need a chemist to explain that to me...............
If the gas tank is older than 15 or 20 years, then it probably has a terne (lead) lining over the steel. The ethanol reacts with the lead lining and turns it into s gray colored sludge that clogs everything.
IMHO..its about federal gas taxes...this stuff lowers gas mileage..PRESTO...more consumption.
I don't think that is what happened. The ethanol is a solvent that dissolved junk in the tank and the fuel filter picked it up. Ethanol dissolves fuel pumps, carburetors, lines, tanks. Better living though chemistry! Ethanol dissolves your liver also.
Depends upon the size and type of boat.
It it has sails, or is a displacement type, then diesel is a good choice.
Go fast, or deep sea fishing type boats need gasoline.
Of course, you can go the turbine route and use jet A...
Everyone NEEDS a $700,000 engine on their boat, don't ya think?
Happy boating!
MUCH more expensive to buy - MUCH more expensive to maintain plus not usually available in overlapping horsepower ranges with the big outboards. Overhauling a 400 hp diesel will run $50,000 - $90,000 depending on how extensive the overhaul, and when you consider they usually come in pairs it gets really outrageous. The Yahama 300 hp outboards run about $25,000 each for a brand new motor. I'm just winging it here on the price, but a 38 ftboat with twin diesels will probably cost about $175,000 more than a 38 footer with triple outboards.
Diesels would get better fuel economy than Gas, but the cost would offset the gain quickly.
So i’m supposed to replace my paid for boat and go into debt to get a diesel boat? Diesels in smaller trailerable boats is not a good option.
Bottom line, the GOV is screwing us (fihermen in the Gulf of Mexico)royally. With individual fishing quotas, fish restrictions and now this.
I want the government out of my life. If we don’t start making some serious noise, we will have to endure this crap for a long time.
You were pretty close on that price. Even still, 25 grand for an outboard is spendy.
Been running the 10% ETOH/gas mix for decades. I don’t get where this has suddenly become an issue. The entire states of Missouri, Iowa and probably several others have had 10% ETOH in all gas for years. If this was a serious problem we might hear more than the occasional complaint when no other answer can be found.
It kills two-cycle motors.
My lawnmower mechanic told me to ONLY use hi test gas mixed with oil for my snowblower and store for no more than thirty days!!!. The ethanol attracts moisture and loses octane very quickly. Ethanol ruins the motors, landscapers are already raising Cain about this. Service mechanics are seeing rampant repair issues with two cycle motors due to ethanol use.
But our wonderful EPA and administration would rather burn our food to make a point. They, GM and GE can keep their ethanol, toxic light bulbs and their electric cars. Give me the good old Sunoco 260! A can of that gas would easily last two years.
Boating is an expensive pastime, but diesels are inboard only, and inboards work best on bigger boats. Volvo or Yanmar diesel and zeus drive pods would be a fun combination on a 42 footer, but you could probably buy a new 31 foot center console for the incremental cost.
The Oregon State Marine Board publishes a list here:
http://www.boatoregon.com/OSMB/news/docs/EthanolList.pdf
The owners manuals in these units will now warn against using ethanol. I’ve had problems with both my mower and trimmer in the last couple of years. I have a neighbor that now runs double oil in all his 2 cycle engines. I don’t know if that helps but it sure makes a good fogger.
Ethanol is typical liberalism, an idea that appeals to idealists who know nothing of reality. When it warms up I’m going to pump out the bottom of my boat’s fuel tank to remove the water and ethanol that is settled there.
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