Amish Bill Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 I've asked a few questions, and was told any gas in the state of Mo. has ethenol in it. The exception to the rule is buying gas from a marina. Never heard of burning plugs up, guess it could happen. As for blowing fuel out, take a lesson from the boys in K.C. electric drill to the bottom of the tank..."GIT ER DONE"... or my favorite the last words spoken by a red-neck...HEY GUYS WATCH THIS... "Life's too short to fish with a dead minner..."
Bman Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 My understanding is that unless you go to a marina or a special gas station out in the stix, ethanol is in all fuel blends. Shell, BP, Phillips66 in all three octanes. Some experts say running higher octane in an engine with lower compression ratings designed for low octane ratings is not a good thing. Newer marine engines are designed to tolerate 10% ethanol. I ALWAYS add Sta-Bil year round EVERY fill up. Ethanol absorbs water into the fuel. The only good line is a tight line
fishinwrench Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Everyone is into adding Stabil and Sea-foam to their fuel, all the time, and I'm sure the manufacturers are loving you for it, but according to MMI (Marine Mechanics Institute) where I get my training, it is entirely pointless, and sometimes detrimental. I don't want to get into a huge fuel additive debate (stabil, sea-foam, octane enhancer, heet, ect.) but I will brief you on how fuel stabilizer works, and what I have been taught. First off, many additives are heavy in alcohol and even though most hoses,seals, and pump diaphrams nowadays are resistant to alcohol...it still is not recommended if other options exist. Stabil increases fuel life by forming a barrier on top of a fuel storage tank, isolating the fuel from the environment and sacrificing itself to evaporation which preserves the fuel below (for a while)....like a floating "seal". Once all the stabil evaporates...then the fuel below is once again exposed to the outside air. Fuel stabilizers can only do their job if the fuel tank is sitting still (not being shaken up). Mixing Stabil into fuel that you are planning on using up within the next few weeks does absolutely nothing except cost you money. And it has been known to throw off oxygen sensor input, confusing ECM's of EFI/DFI engines. IOW: additives can make the engine run rich by fooling the ECM into thinking it needs to dump more fuel.
Bman Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 Everyone is into adding Stabil and Sea-foam to their fuel, all the time, and I'm sure the manufacturers are loving you for it, but according to MMI (Marine Mechanics Institute) where I get my training, it is entirely pointless, and sometimes detrimental. I don't want to get into a huge fuel additive debate (stabil, sea-foam, octane enhancer, heet, ect.) but I will brief you on how fuel stabilizer works, and what I have been taught. First off, many additives are heavy in alcohol and even though most hoses,seals, and pump diaphrams nowadays are resistant to alcohol...it still is not recommended if other options exist. Stabil™ increases fuel life by forming a barrier on top of a fuel storage tank, isolating the fuel from the environment and sacrificing itself to evaporation which preserves the fuel below (for a while)....like a floating "seal". Once all the stabil evaporates...then the fuel below is once again exposed to the outside air. Fuel stabilizers can only do their job if the fuel tank is sitting still (not being shaken up). Mixing Stabil into fuel that you are planning on using up within the next few weeks does absolutely nothing except cost you money. And it has been known to throw off oxygen sensor input, confusing ECM's of EFI/DFI engines. IOW: additives can make the engine run rich by fooling the ECM into thinking it needs to dump more fuel. Very interesting, thats what I like about this board a wide diverse array of knowledge and input. What do you know about what I mentioned about various octane ratings and ethanol? The only good line is a tight line
Bman Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 I will note that my boat guy told me to add nothing to my new Merc optimax 200 2 stroke. And use regular 87 octane fuel. The only good line is a tight line
fishinwrench Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 What do you know about what I mentioned about various octane ratings and ethanol? At one time I thought I had a good understanding of it, but now I'm not sure. I keep getting conflicting information that personally doesn't compute in my brain. LOL I was first taught (or at least it is what I thought I was taught) that higher octane fuel burned faster than low octane fuel. Then I was corrected and taught (by someone that really should know) that it was the other way around...(low burns faster than high) which made more sense when I thought about it. But then for awhile there is was a conflicting thing happening: Alcohol was being added to fuel to "boost"? the octane. But wait a second here....alcohol burns slower than gasoline, and any vapor particles in the combustion chamber that do not burn still serve to take up space within the combustion chamber which would have to....increase compression, right ? So which is going to give you more power per stroke of the piston, slow burning fuel that may not burn completely out... Or fuel with a faster flashpoint that burns completely WHILE LESS COMPRESSED ? Which could truly be considered "more efficient" in a 2 stroke engine ? ......I really don't know. And neither did my instructors. They just stated that running higher octane (slower burning) fuel in a 2 stroke, in which the burn has already been slowed down considerably by the addition of OIL to it, was not recommended. Not that it would do any harm whatsoever...but that it simply "was not recommended". I remain totally confused and clueless to the chemical qualities of the "fuel" that we get at the pumps these days. And unless I'm forced to, I have no desire to try and understand it any more clearly than I do. I have read all the BS on the internet that attempts to describe and explain it...but there are many little details that just don't jive... so I just work with the understanding that I have and leave it at that.
DoveTail Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Interesting results on a vehicle. A fuel injection did not like the E85 - a fuel warning light came on. Burned that tank dry and light goes off! I won't use any of that again. I'm not certain but I think they are supposed to post a content ratio at the pumps if it is not pure 100% gasoline?
Rolan Duffield Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 It's my understanding that they are not required to post anything about ethanol in their gas. The Missouri govenor signed into law requiring 10% ethanol. Hope they never increase that amount which I hear is being considered. What a waste of resources and we loose mpg as well as increasing problems. Where's the savings? Recently read an article that indicated it takes 6 gal of water to make 1 gal of ethanol. Rolan
taxidermist Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 1200 gallons of water to grow a bushel of corn. Not counting fuel cost. then another 6 to distillit. there is no savings.
fishinwrench Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Recently read an article that indicated it takes 6 gal of water to make 1 gal of ethanol. I have seen it printed from two different sources, that it takes 18 gallons of water to produce 1 gal. of ethanol. See what I mean about conflicting info? I don't know what to believe.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now