Half tank of gas half with ethanol mix suggestions? - The Hull Truth

jpv · 05-31-2006, 04:21 PM

Long story short....I went to great lenghts to get one more straight gas fill up before fooling around with this ethanol crap. I called the marina via phone and VHF and both times they told me that they were selling straight gas. Before I filled up and topped off, I asked the attendant one more time and he said yes this is just straight gas no ethanol. So I loaded up and topped off. When I was done, I had the balls to ask the attendant to call his supervisor to confirm that this was gas and on the speaker phone his supervisor said no, its 10% ethanol. My question is.........I have 70 gallons of gas and 70 gallons of ethanol gas mix. Should I do anything special other than check my fuel/ water separators often?

FireFly · 05-31-2006, 04:28 PM

I would not sweat it. Some (including myself) have had problems but the circumstances were extreme. All I would do is pray and also carry a spare racor on board.

trfyhlr · 05-31-2006, 06:15 PM

just carry spare fuel filters, watch the rubber seals. They tend to swell up.

fichtion · 05-31-2006, 06:20 PM

No problem

solarfry · 05-31-2006, 06:34 PM

Go boating and fishing a lot so you use up mix quickly.

Hey, any excuse for going out is great.

You could tell your significant other that she needs to help you use up that fuel.. Many interesting possibilities there..

jyasaki · 06-01-2006, 02:13 PM

Quote:

trfyhlr - 5/31/2006 4:15 PM
just carry spare fuel filters, watch the rubber seals. They tend to swell up.

Is this from experience, or from second hand rumors?

I've been running whatever the stations are pumping (CA has had ethanol in some places for years), and have had zero gas related problems.

jky

jpv · 06-01-2006, 02:49 PM

jyasaki,
I think the issue here is that we are experiencing problems because in Maryland they are just now switching over to ethanol which from what I understand.............ethanol mixes with water and straight gas does not. So here, we have to get used to more water being introduced into our fuel systems....thus checking our fuel/water separators more frequently. I am obviously not an expert which is why I posted the thread but I do have a buddy with twin 4 stroke yamaha 115's that after his first fill up with ethanol both of his engines quit and wont restart. We believe his fuel/ water separators were overwhelmed with water and he is not getting ample fuel to his engines. I will follow up on that this weekend after the fix.

FireFly · 06-01-2006, 03:29 PM

JPV - yup! Pretty much the same thing that happened to me after mixing E10 with old MTBE gas. Had to drain the tank, fuel lines, VST and replace the Racor. After all was done I filled with E10 and now I don't have problems.

My racor was overwhelmed and passed the water right through to the engine. Lucky for me I have an under cowl filter which showed signs of water.

horsefly · 06-01-2006, 07:04 PM

Ok Now I am concerned, I have about 15-20 gals in my tank of old gas and I want to fish this w/e. How low am I supposed to run tank, boat is 3yrs old with alum. tank and F150 Yamaha, new 10 micron filter. Can I put in 10 gals. so I can go fishing or should I be worried. Actually I live in NJ and have looked when I fill up my truck and have not seen any indication of E10 fuel on pumps, does anyone know if E10 is in NJ? Thanks

Think Tweiss · 06-01-2006, 07:10 PM

I suggest that you stop worrying because you have no options...you will be using 10% gas immediately or in the very near future. The only thing you can do is to carry an extra Racor and be prepared to change it when you're out fishing. If you've never changed one yourself, I think you should do it at the dock the first time so you know what to expect.

and make sure you're sea tow is paid up....just in case.

north coast · 06-01-2006, 07:56 PM

I mixed 25 gal. of the old stuff, with 25 gal. of e10. honda 4 stroke, racor water seperator, 6-7 long days on the water. no problems yet.

BigShrimpin · 06-01-2006, 08:03 PM

Quote:

jpv - 5/31/2006 12:21 PM

Long story short....I went to great lenghts to get one more straight gas fill up before fooling around with this ethanol crap. I called the marina via phone and VHF and both times they told me that they were selling straight gas. Before I filled up and topped off, I asked the attendant one more time and he said yes this is just straight gas no ethanol. So I loaded up and topped off. When I was done, I had the balls to ask the attendant to call his supervisor to confirm that this was gas and on the speaker phone his supervisor said no, its 10% ethanol. My question is.........I have 70 gallons of gas and 70 gallons of ethanol gas mix. Should I do anything special other than check my fuel/ water separators often?

Booh-Hoo . . . Stop whining and go fishing.

I'm running a 1981 Merc . . . the boat sat with the tank half full for 3 months. Ran the tank dry and refueled . . . The boat never ran better. No water in the fuel filter either. I think you got your panties in a bunch over nothing.

jpv · 06-02-2006, 11:07 AM

Bigshrimp,
As you said, you ran your tank dry so you dont have a mix of gas and ethanol which is the issue that I am talking about. Good to hear your not having any problems with your 81 merc. Hope your success continues. Now if you will excuse me I have to straighten out my panties they seem to have gotten all bunched up.

rbiss1359 · 06-02-2006, 11:30 AM

I keep my boat at All Seasons Marina in Marmora, NJ and the gas guy told me last weekend that they had just gotten the first shipment of E'Fuel. He gave me a photocopied article regarding the potential problems of mixing the 2 fuels. They recommended trying to run as far down as possible before refueling.

I told Mrs. B we gotta go for a canyon run!

You know, I think she bought it.....

morechaching · 06-02-2006, 07:56 PM

You all need to get it straught.

Panties are not bunched up, the're wadded up.

neil_t_us · 06-02-2006, 08:00 PM

I think you should just give your boat to the dockboy, because that ethanol will just eat through the engine and into the hull.

Actually, I have ran E10 for years in two motors, no problems. If you really want something to worry about-worry about where you source your gas and what crap is floating around in their tanks. That will clog a filter quicker than E10.

jpv · 06-05-2006, 12:08 PM

OK nevermind the ethanol question..........Whats the difference between bunched up and wadded up?

Fishing FINattic · 06-05-2006, 12:17 PM

I have been having some trouble with my 200hp HPDI's.... just figured out it was due to the first tank of ethonal gas.....
Filled the Yamaha fuel filter (the big blue one) in six hours of boat running time.
Dumped the contents of the filter out and couldnt believe all of the garbage in the filter...
Going to buy new filters right now!
Tim

rwidman · 06-05-2006, 02:28 PM

Apparently, it's a problem to mix gas containing ethanol with gas containing MTBE. On the otherhand, if you had 25 gallons of "plain" gas and added 25 gallons of 10% ethanol gas, you now have 50 gallons of 5% ethanol gas. No problem.

For those of you who have had gasoline problems, what were the symptoms and if you drained the tank, how did you do this? Hire a specialist?

My engine won't start and I'm suspecting water contaminated gas. There's no water showing when I drain the water seperator into a jar, but when I try to start the engine it won't start. Removing the plugs shows water on them.

FireFly · 06-05-2006, 02:34 PM

My racor did not show any water but the under cowl filter was filled and continued to fill.

I connected a primer bulb to a hose and hand pumped 25 gallons out. Used the bulk for my Jeep and lawn mower. Have the remaining gallon of crud in a container and not sure what to do. probably use to start an outdoor fire in the firepit but only a little at a time