Boats and ethanol blended fuel

Well, I've found out the hard way that ethanol blends are bad news for boats. Worst part is that in lake country, it can be a pain to find premium gas at service stations and marinas. Ethanol only has a shelf life of 30 days max., and two weeks if you really want to be safe. It's a real magnet for moisture thru the vented gas tanks. I'm dealing with a situation where I've got moisture in my tank and deposits on my plugs and carb jets. Went to see the boat repair guy and they are noticing the same problems at epidemic rates. I was able to buy time by pouring a 250 oz bottle of Sta-bil for Ethanol (not the normal Sta-bil stabilizer) and a bottle of Seafoam into my tank. The engine is running much smoother now, but I have to burn as much of the existing fuel out of my tank asap.

My recommendation is that when you have to gas up the boat with an Ethanol blend, treat it immediately with Sta-bil for Ethanol, and only fill it with what you will be using up in the short term. Premium gas (without ethanol) is best.

Ethanol is also terrible for rubber fuel lines, gaskets, etc. Fortunately, my marina operator understands this and does not offer ethanol based gas. I buy all of my mower gas, chainsaw gas etc from there. Besides, along with the boat gas I buy there I get a statement showing how much my monthly gasoline purchases are and I have my tax lady file for a refund of the highway taxes on those gallons as ththose gallons were not used on the highway.

use a water/fuel seperator also.......and use the marine grade stabil....:thumbsup:

I am a Saltwater person with a twin engine Mercury setup and will NOT USE ethanol period.... When on the water I will travel miles for No Ethanol or trailer my rig to a location that has NO ETHANOL ...You will have many problems using ethanol unless you use it up quickly .... Ethanol is a very bad idea for Marine use period !!!!!

The fact is it is illegal (Coast Guard rules) to use fuel with ethanol mix in with the gas on a boat. For the reason stated above it rots out your rubber fuel lines becomes a fire hazard.

Mix Seafoam in every tank,can't go wrong with that stuff

I won't use it in my jetski either, it causes poor performance and actually increases fuel consumption. I run 94 octane from Petro-Canada since it's alcohol free. Their 91 might be as well, but you'd have to look on the pump.