Ethanol-free gas for boaters

F

fiddlersgreen6

New member
Hello everyone--- On a recent trip to Hawaii, I heard many complaints from boaters about their gas engines not operating properly because of 10% Ethonal in the fuel resulting in water and rusted parts in their engines. On Monday, Feb 26th on the front page of the Hawaii Tribune Herald www.hawaiitribune-herald.com it stated that Aloha Petroleum was going to offer non-blend fuel to isle marinas effective immediately, it will be called classic gasoline rated at least 89 octane. Price was not mentioned, but the idea is to eventually do away with mid-range gas at the pumps. Hopefilly this will start a nationwide trend.---Rich
 
One of the things about the ethanol fuel for boat use is that it eats fiberglass. A lot of older larger boats with gas engines have fiberglass fuel tanks. the ethanol eats away the inside and the goo that results ends up in your carbs. this is happening a lot in the mid -west with all the older ski boats and out here with the mid-sized cabin boats. many ( I have heard) of the older tolley craft, glassply, etc..) have glass tanks that are built in to the boat. so if this happens to you it means cutting the tanks out and replacing with plastic or metal. Either way its a lot of money for a old boat.
 
I've posted on this in the past.

I use av gas with my Honda 90. I have also sold it to a number of boaters who didn't want to use the ethynol mix and I have regular customers buying it for race cars and motorcycles.

It works very well - its 100 Octane and it contains lead - One day leaded gas may be banned in aircraft engines but for now safety trumps other concerns.

There is a large premium to be paid over the ethyno mixedl pump price, a bit less when comparing to marina prices. That said, the quality control for aviation fuels is extremely high. We have to test daily.

You can check prices at your local airport here:
http://www.airnav.com/fuel/

If you know how many gallons you use a year, you can do the math and make your own decision.
 
silly question, but, are our fuel tanks fiberglass? or plastic? is plastic 'ok' for such fuels with the additive mentioned that eats fiberglass?
my c-dory is a '92.

jeff
 
I forgot to mention, there is now a C-Dory dealer on Maui, seems to have at least a 16' and a 22' in stock, maybe we can start a gathering over there!-----Rich
 
Yes I use Costco gas...it probably is alcohol free if that is what they say... In California by law they may add up to 10% alcohol into fuel without telling you...if the alcohol is above 10% they must inform you that it is added....so any gas station that tells you that alcohol is added...is usually way over 10% (AM-PM Gas Stations...Arco etc.)
I have a bunch of strips that you dip into the fuel and it will tell you if there is water in the fuel....I use those when I buy fuel at any marina....as a commercial diver I work on underwater fuel delivery lines...from the above ground tank to the pump located on the dock....and there is definitely leakage....and seepage.
There are tests to measure the amount of alcohol in fuel, but not worth doing aboard...requires accurate measurements and special containers...


Joel
SEA3PO
 
In order to not add one more new thread to the C-Brat site, I resurrected this 2007 thread since the title is appropriate for the following comment.

Yesterday I viewed the site puregas.com and was surprised to learn that the fuel dealer (Nelson Petroleum in Arlington, Washington) that I've used for 37 years is now offering non-ethanol fuel.
To confirm this I stopped in to ask about it because previously they had told me they didn't offer it.

The great news is that one month ago they did begin offering 87 Octane Non-Ethanol Gas. Today's price is 3.89/9. The only down side is that you can only access it during business hours (being a member and having their fuel card will not work on the designated non-ethanol fuel pump).

Their business hours are 0700-1700 HRS Monday - Friday and 0800 - 1600 HRS Saturday.

(Note: At the end of October, they will not be open on Saturdays for the winter months).
 
I am very fortunate. 3 miles from my house is a Country Mart that sells Non-Ethanol 93 octane. It fluctuates with the price of regular gas but it is currently 3.91 a gallon.
I always fill both tanks there before heading to the beach along with my Aux 14 Gal tank with hose and pump. It lasts for a week and then I fill up with the 93 Non-Ethanol when I get home. I use 2 OZ of Stabil per 5 Gal of Gas. I recently used the boat for a week with last years Non Ethanol and stabil. After 11 months of sitting in the tanks, the 90 Yamy ran great. I ran out the tanks then filled them up with Non and Stabil.
 
Here in Boise, COSTCO gas is no longer ethanol free and has not been for several years. Subusequently, I signed up with a card lock company which is also a distributor who offers both ethanol and non-ethanol. So I pay more and us e the non ethanol. Initially, I did not think they would accept retail customers, but they do. So, you might check your local area, and see what they offer. At least in the home port, you will have the good stuff
 
My truck when empty gets 14.5 mpg on 10% ethanol , 16 with 90 Octane, ethanol free gas. Towing Two Bears, I get 9.5 mpg w/ ethanol gas, 12 mpg with 90 octane ethanol free. I built a chart showing cost per mile at 10 cent increments for 10 mpg & 12 mpg and set to show the difference between 14 pmg & 16 mpg. Roughly, it takes more than a 40 cent difference to make the ethanol gas more cost effective.

For example when towing and if 87 octane ethanol gas is 3.80 then I am paying $0.38/ mile. At 12 mpg I can pay more than $4.60 per gallon = $0.37.5 / mile; and be money ahead.

I've really been looking at pure-gas.org. Unfortunately, the stations that sell ethanol free gas are often in strange parts of town. When I am unfamiliar with the town, they are often hard to find.

Chuck
 
I looked up on Puregas.org in Calif: 7 stations all in the Northern part of the state. (I had been told at one of the marinas, that they were not allowed to have ethanol free gas, where as most of the marinas in Florida have ethanol free fuel).

Pensacola has 8 ethanol free stations--more than the entire state of Calif.
 
Last month when I tried to fuel up at the Bellingham Marina, I was surprised to learn that they no longer had non-ethanol fuel. Fortunately I asked just as the attendant handed me the fuel nozzle. (Previously they had non-ethanol). I thanked him for his efforts, handed the nozzle back to him and cast off my lines.
 
I've run E10 in my Honda 90 EFI and not had any trouble. I run the boat regularly, fuel doesn't sit for a long time, and I use a fuel/water separator (never had water in the fuel, though). I've also run plenty of E10 through a carbed Yamaha 200hp 2-stroke and not had any problems.

That said, fuel economy does suffer somewhat.

For boaters in the PNW, the company I work for publishes a fuel price survey every two weeks in the summer and month in the winter. We also note which fuel docks sell ethanol free fuel. We won't do another survey until mid-month, but here's the link to the webpage with the current survey: http://fineedge.com/fuelsurvey.html
 
Back
Top