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Posted

Hi Raiders,

I have recently purchased a new boat and won't be able to use it till I get back in Sydney in mid April.

I have been told by someone that you can't use premium fuel for 4 stroke motors.....

My question is, when unleaded fuel gets phased out with E10 can you use E10? or have I been told the wrong information and you can use premium fuel?

Cheers

Thien

Posted

Hey mate,

Premium fuel is fine. I have used it in my brand new yamaha 4-stroke and it is fine. It ran slightly smoother and more responsive but with the amount of trolling i do its not worth the extra money.

Just don't put that E10 crap in the boat mate. It will destroy many of the lines and it will separate of you don't use the boat for a couple of weeks.

Posted

Hey mate,

Premium fuel is fine. I have used it in my brand new yamaha 4-stroke and it is fine. It ran slightly smoother and more responsive but with the amount of trolling i do its not worth the extra money.

Just don't put that E10 crap in the boat mate. It will destroy many of the lines and it will separate of you don't use the boat for a couple of weeks.

Thank you!

Fishmaniac :thumbup:

That's why I thought I ask the question.

Hope to see you out on the water soon...

Cheers

Thien

Posted

Im pretty sure all normal unleaded has ethanol in it these days and as for seperating i have heard it does that but i have put some ethanol feul in a see through container that,s about 6 months old now and i have,nt seen any separation of the two feuls yet.I use it in my boat and have had no problems at all i also recall many years ago pulling up to a country service station and seeing super with ethanol i dont want say that it doesnt cause problems but why arn,t they building engine,s etc to run on ethanol blend feul because we are going to see alot more of it.

Posted

Im pretty sure all normal unleaded has ethanol in it these days and as for seperating i have heard it does that but i have put some ethanol feul in a see through container that,s about 6 months old now and i have,nt seen any separation of the two feuls yet.I use it in my boat and have had no problems at all i also recall many years ago pulling up to a country service station and seeing super with ethanol i dont want say that it doesnt cause problems but why arn,t they building engine,s etc to run on ethanol blend feul because we are going to see alot more of it.

Not all normal fuel has ethanol in it, there is still 91 RON that doesn't have it in it and it must be displayed if it does have a mix in it. Eventually 91 RON unmixed will be phased out and then it'll be 95 RON unmixed, 98 RON and E10 or even higher mix of ethanol.

Many motorists are still unaware that 91 RON unleaded petrol is to be phased out in NSW by 1 July 2011. Its place will be taken by the existing E10 ethanol blend.

In February 2007, the State Government made several commitments “to promote renewable biofuels in New South Wales.” Part of that commitment was to introduce an E10 mandate, which implies that all regular unleaded petrol sold in NSW from 1 July 2011 will contain 10% ethanol – specifically, from that date, “a primary wholesaler must not sell regular unleaded petrol unless the petrol is E10.”

REASONS WHY ETHANOL BLENDED PETROL IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN SOME OLDER VEHICLES

Introduction

The following information outlines the key reasons why vehicle manufacturers do not recommend the use of any ethanol/petrol blended fuels in vehicles made before 1986. This information is also applicable to post-1986 vehicles listed as unsuitable to use ethanol blended petrol.

Ethanol has a number of important chemical and physical properties that need to be considered in a vehicle's design.

Carburettor Equipped Engines

Vehicles made before 1986 vehicles were predominantly equipped with carburettors and steel fuel tanks.

The use of ethanol blended petrol in engines impacts the air/fuel ratio because of the additional oxygen molecules within the ethanol's chemical structure.

Vehicles with carburettor fuel systems may experience hot fuel handling concerns. This is because the vapour pressure of fuel with ethanol will be greater (if the base fuel is not chemically adjusted) and probability of vapour lock or hot restartability problems will be increased.

As a solvent, ethanol attacks both the metallic and rubber based fuels lines, and other fuel system components.

Ethanol also has an affinity to water that can result in corrosion of fuel tanks and fuel lines. Rust resulting from this corrosion can ultimately block the fuel supply rendering the engine inoperable. Water in the fuel system can also result in the engine hesitating and running roughly.

Fuel Injected Engines

In addition to the issues mentioned above for carburettor equipped engines, the use of ethanol blended petrol in fuel injection systems will result in early deterioration of components such as injector seals, delivery pipes, and fuel pump and regulator.

Mechanical fuel injection systems and earlier electronic systems may not be able to fully compensate for the lean-out effect of ethanol blended petrol, resulting in hesitation or flat-spots during acceleration.

Difficulty in starting and engine hesitation after cold start can also result.

Exhaust And Evaporative Emission Levels

Lean-out resulting from the oxygenating effect of ethanol in the fuel may affect exhaust emissions.

Of more concern is that fuel containing ethanol can increase permeation emissions from fuel system components, particularly those that have aged for nearly 20 years. Therefore the increased vapour pressure of fuel with ethanol (if the base fuel is not chemically adjusted at the refining stage) will lead to increased evaporative emissions.

Posted

"...will lead to increased evaporative emissions."

Hmm wonder how long before they introduce an ethanol tax like the carbon tax!

If they want to promote it, simple....reduce the price!

Posted (edited)

Some urban myths here.

E10 will not separate. The mix is as stable as regular. Is used up to 80% ethanol in parts of the world without problems.

What can happen, is that the ethanol component can absorb and hold far more moisture than regular fuel. It is likely that this would not be a good idea for marine use, when you are in close proximity to water, and fuel problems can be high risk.

E10 will not "gum up " or sediment any worse than regular, in fact the opposite. BUT, where you have been using tanks and lines for many years, these develop a "varnish" of fuel residue from regular fuel. When you then run E10, one of the effects of ethanol, is to dislodge this varnish, which can then block filters, injectors, jets etc. Not a good idea. In fact when E10 first hit the market, every second servo had pumps which were taking 10 min to fill your tank, due to blocked filters. Now that it has been around for a couple of years, the crap has cleared out, and you don't see this any more.

Huey would be able to comment on newer motors, but a VERY serious problem with E10, however, (as with older cars) is that some of the seals and pipes in older systems may not be fully specced for ethanol fuels, and can swell/degrade, which can be expensive.

Again, where hi ethanol is the standard for motor cars, these problems have been fixed in the engine design.

A thought for discussion....... In Brazil, there is NO fuel with less than 25% ethanol. (Wikipedia) What do they do for outboards there?

regards

Edited by Alastair

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