blake
Life Member
Boaters Oppose Ethanol Increase
The Environmental Protection Agency has gone ahead with allowing fuel companies to increase the amount of ethanol found in their gasoline from ten to fifteen percent.
While this might not sound like a big deal, ethanol increases the acidity of fuel. If you're the owner of an older boat and motor - and that covers most of us - you may find this new fuel can cause problems. Problems that can range from dissolving older fuel lines to eating away the insides of gas tanks, causing clogging and other serious damage to engines. Those engines can be anywhere from the putt-putt unit on your favorite sailboat to your lawnmower.
For nearly two years, we've periodically written about the potential for problems this new E-85 fuel can pose for boaters, but we were surprised to learn that a Southwick and Associates/AnglerSurvey.com found that a majority of respondents (55.9 percent) weren't even aware of the increase in ethanol levels (read the entire release in today's news section).
Despite that widespread awareness, nearly sixty percent disagreed with the decision - and nearly the same number said they felt the levels should be rolled back to ten percent. It's not likely to happen, but political happenings in the past few months might make legislators and bureaucrats a bit more attentive were there widespread complaints at the new ethanol levels.
Unlike gasoline with no ethanol, gasoline with ethanol, even in the ten percent volume, absorbs moisture. E-10 gasoline, according to research from BoatUS, can hold up to one half of one percent of water by volume. Those water molecules dissolve in the fuel. This "solubilized water" will bypass the water separator and burn through the engine. The danger for engines happens if there is a phase-separation of the fuel. In essence, you get a water/ethanol mixture on the bottom of the fuel tank, and a reduced-octane gasoline at the top of the tank. Either of those will damage your engine.
That's why the fuel filter is essential. Even in new engines, however, Volvo Penta's Richard Kolb says there is sometimes a mysterious gooey substance that will clog fuel filters. Kolb theorizes the problem is ethanol reacting with any one of the 108 approved compounds used when mixing gasoline. His suggestion for getting around that problem is to change gasoline brands, but occasionally carburetor cleaner will remedy the problem.
Kolb's theories, however, were based on ten percent ethanol. There's really no way of knowing what the E-15 mixture will ultimately do in engines.
Here are some tips for dealing with ethanol, courtesy of BoatUS:
• Be ready to change fuel filters more often;
• Make sure all your hoses are marked J-1527. Not all hoses are ethanol-compatible.
• Confirm that your boat's fuel tank will handle the newer ethanol. If not, you may need to replace the tank with another material like aluminum.
• If you're leaving your boat sitting for any length of time, fill your boat's tanks to 95% of capacity. That allows room for your fuel to breathe, while limiting the space for potential condensation.
• Use fuel stabilizer, although it does not prevent phase separation.
The Environmental Protection Agency has gone ahead with allowing fuel companies to increase the amount of ethanol found in their gasoline from ten to fifteen percent.
While this might not sound like a big deal, ethanol increases the acidity of fuel. If you're the owner of an older boat and motor - and that covers most of us - you may find this new fuel can cause problems. Problems that can range from dissolving older fuel lines to eating away the insides of gas tanks, causing clogging and other serious damage to engines. Those engines can be anywhere from the putt-putt unit on your favorite sailboat to your lawnmower.
For nearly two years, we've periodically written about the potential for problems this new E-85 fuel can pose for boaters, but we were surprised to learn that a Southwick and Associates/AnglerSurvey.com found that a majority of respondents (55.9 percent) weren't even aware of the increase in ethanol levels (read the entire release in today's news section).
Despite that widespread awareness, nearly sixty percent disagreed with the decision - and nearly the same number said they felt the levels should be rolled back to ten percent. It's not likely to happen, but political happenings in the past few months might make legislators and bureaucrats a bit more attentive were there widespread complaints at the new ethanol levels.
Unlike gasoline with no ethanol, gasoline with ethanol, even in the ten percent volume, absorbs moisture. E-10 gasoline, according to research from BoatUS, can hold up to one half of one percent of water by volume. Those water molecules dissolve in the fuel. This "solubilized water" will bypass the water separator and burn through the engine. The danger for engines happens if there is a phase-separation of the fuel. In essence, you get a water/ethanol mixture on the bottom of the fuel tank, and a reduced-octane gasoline at the top of the tank. Either of those will damage your engine.
That's why the fuel filter is essential. Even in new engines, however, Volvo Penta's Richard Kolb says there is sometimes a mysterious gooey substance that will clog fuel filters. Kolb theorizes the problem is ethanol reacting with any one of the 108 approved compounds used when mixing gasoline. His suggestion for getting around that problem is to change gasoline brands, but occasionally carburetor cleaner will remedy the problem.
Kolb's theories, however, were based on ten percent ethanol. There's really no way of knowing what the E-15 mixture will ultimately do in engines.
Here are some tips for dealing with ethanol, courtesy of BoatUS:
• Be ready to change fuel filters more often;
• Make sure all your hoses are marked J-1527. Not all hoses are ethanol-compatible.
• Confirm that your boat's fuel tank will handle the newer ethanol. If not, you may need to replace the tank with another material like aluminum.
• If you're leaving your boat sitting for any length of time, fill your boat's tanks to 95% of capacity. That allows room for your fuel to breathe, while limiting the space for potential condensation.
• Use fuel stabilizer, although it does not prevent phase separation.
