Could this new gasoline kill your engine? Gas from corn is coming to your marina and with it there's good news and bad news.
Using renewable resources like ethanol to reduce our need for foreign oil sounds great. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 required that 4 billion gallons of such fuel be added to motor fuel in 2006, with that number nearly doubling by 2012. But when the gas known as E10, with 10 percent ethanol, flowed at some marinas this past summer, boats started ... stopping. With preparation, this doesn't have to happen to you.
Mike Monarchi, product manager for Pennzoil, has been paying close attention to the move to ethanol. "In cars we consume fuel rapidly and fuel systems don't collect contaminant s that form in our boats," he says.
"The problem comes when boaters switch to E10 from MTBE fuel," Monarchi says, referring to the common fuel additive that helps gas burn cleaner. "Ethanol is a solvent and loosens varnish, rust and particulates that form on marine fuel tanks, lines and delivery systems over time. Switch to ethanol and the sludge is dissolved, loosened and sent through the fuel system."
The transition means you'll need to inspect and change fuel filters more frequently to remove the particulates. If you don't, fuel flow can be interrupted, or worse, deposits will form in fuel injectors or carburetors, sending your boat to intensive care.
Most production runabouts have polyethylene or aluminum tanks, which are impervious to ethanol, but larger, older boats sometimes have fiberglass fuel tanks that aren't up to the dissolving power of ethanol. Ask your dealer to inspect your boat to see if you're in the clear.
Another problem with ethanol is its ability to absorb water even through an air vent.
"If a fuel system isn't airtight, ethanol will absorb 10 times the water of MTBE," says Monarchi. "It will actually pull water out of the air. That makes shelf life shorter. If you leave ethanol in the tank for three months, it continues to pull water, and it stratifies into the fuel."
That stratified fuel — think of oil floating on water — becomes unburnable.
So what should you do when your local gas pump switches to ethanol?
Monarchi thinks it may be wise to drain or burn fuel as close as possible to empty before refueling with ethanol.
"To stop fuel stratification, use non-alcohol-based fuel stabilizer," says Monarchi. "You don't want to add more alcohol. Add the appropriate amount in every tankful for at least the next year." With E10 fuel, stabilizers like those from Pennzoil, Sta-bil and PRI-G are more important than ever — all season long.
John McKnight, director of environmental safety compliance for the NMMA, has been up to his elbows in the ethanol transition.
"We're going to get through the E10 transition. Our members' engines will handle it," he says. Yamaha Marine and Volvo Penta sent out press releases giving boaters the same reassurance.
But the ethanol issue may be far from over as its use increases. Minnesota, for example, wants to have E20 — fuel with 20 percent ethanol — by 2013. That would require significant re-engineering of engines that are now being built to handle E10, which may be the line the boating industry won't cross. As McKnight says, "We'll fight anything over 10 percent."
Getting Ready
When you stow your boat this fall, do it with a full tank and the appropriate amount of stabilizer like Pennzoil's fuel system cleaner and fuel stabilizer or Sta-bil. This will prevent gumming and fuel stratification, and give you a head start for the fuel transition. Visit pennzoil.com.
In the spring, go joy riding and burn the fuel, as close to empty as possible, before you go back to refill. Add fuel stabilizers again and do it every time you fill up the tank.
Add a new fuel/water separator to your fuel line. Yamaha developed a 10-micron filter for its engines with a 98 percent efficiency level that guarantees it will stop the water without slowing the fuel flow. It'll work on any engine. Visit yamaha-motor.com.
Check your filter regularly for gum and debris. Carry a spare filter cartridge with you at all times. It's good insurance against breakdowns from clogged filters.
