[matthewwhill]

I imagine that while cruising, there are some times when one is out of gas when one will have to buy whatever is available and not be picky and hold out for no-ethanol gasoline.

My outboard owners manual specifically recommends avoiding ethanol containing fuel.

I gather that the problem is that over time it will absorb ambient water from the air.

My question: if you burn through the fuel pretty quickly does it have any time to absorb water? Is this really much of an issue?

 

[Frogwatch]

Use it up and you'll be fine. Just don't let it sit for a long time. Run the motor dry after taking off the gas line (for a carburated motor). Prob is that eventually, somehow, it sits in the carb and then yer screwed.

 

[capta]

Outside the US I don't think any place else in this hemisphere uses that crap. At least nobody has ever mentioned it anywhere I've ever been.

 

[capt vimes]

Outside the US I don't think any place else in this hemisphere uses that crap. At least nobody has ever mentioned it anywhere I've ever been.

That is not true...
EU requires that each country produces at least 10% of its energie productions comes from renewable resources and this lead to bioethanol being mixed to gasoline...
Right now you wont find any petrol not fulfilling the E10 requirements which means that 5-10% of ethanol are added to the petrol...

 

[Minnewaska]

I know someone who buys avgas at their local general aviation airport and uses it in all their small engines, from outboards to lawn mowers. 100 octane too! You can expect to pay somewhere between 6 and 7 dollars per gallon, but no ethanol. The stuff has a shelf life of something like 30 years too! It's not technically the same as auto gasoline. He is a pilot, so I don't know if they sell it to anyone that walks in off the street.

 

[capta]

That is not true...
EU requires that each country produces at least 10% of its energie productions comes from renewable resources and this lead to bioethanol being mixed to gasoline...
Right now you wont find any petrol not fulfilling the E10 requirements which means that 5-10% of ethanol are added to the petrol...

OK then. I really thought that "this hemisphere" didn't include the EU, but perhaps I'm wrong? So, rephrased, as far as I can tell none of the Caribbean islands we have visited, other than St. T. use ethanol. Most get their fuel from Venezuela, which, to the best of my knowledge, is not an EU country, but I could be wrong, I guess?

 

[kd3pc]

I know someone who buys avgas at their local general aviation airport and uses it in all their small engines, from outboards to lawn mowers. 100 octane too! You can expect to pay somewhere between 6 and 7 dollars per gallon, but no ethanol. The stuff has a shelf life of something like 30 years too! It's not technically the same as auto gasoline. He is a pilot, so I don't know if they sell it to anyone that walks in off the street.

Some states allow the sale of ethanol free, unleaded fuel. I can go to several stations and buy 100%unleaded fuel - no ethanol. It generally is about the price of mid grade, in my area last week $3.55-3.65 per gallon. But well worth it in my small engine tools. I use it in my 1992 pick up truck as well.

To the OP, the only thing you can really do is make sure your fuel system (tanks, hose, carb, gaskets, etc) components are as ethanol resistant as you can make them. I have replaced every hose with one that is approved for "ethanol use" same with tank caps, bulbs, stops, filters, etc.

 

[Frogwatch]

Many non-marine stations in Florida sell non-ethanol gas and most marinas sell ethanol free gas.

 

[pdqaltair]

To answer the OP's actual question...

* If you are burning a tank every few weeks you will never know the difference. The process is far too slow. Make certain, of course, that your fill gasket is good.

* If you have a very small outboard (<4hp) with a built-in tank, they can actually be trouble in just a few rainy days. Close the vent EVERY NIGHT and when not in use and try to keep the tank full. That will solve the problem.

 

[azguy]

There are options..

we have a small airport near two that will sell aviation fuel.

I only add 1 gallon at a time to my outboards 3 gallon tank.

use a fuel additive.

Run motor dry after each usage..

 

[capt vimes]

OK then. I really thought that "this hemisphere" didn't include the EU, but perhaps I'm wrong? So, rephrased, as far as I can tell none of the Caribbean islands we have visited, other than St. T. use ethanol. Most get their fuel from Venezuela, which, to the best of my knowledge, is not an EU country, but I could be wrong, I guess?

Well - a hemisphere is by definition half a sphere...
On our planet we usually refer to two hemispheres - the northern and the southern divided by the equator...
So yes, the US and the EU are in the same hemisphere, aren't they?
South america is not, mostly...

 

[Minnewaska]

Well - a hemisphere is by definition half a sphere...
On our planet we usually refer to two hemispheres - the northern and the southern divided by the equator...

There are Eastern and Western hemispheres as well. They are delineated by the Prime Meridian that runs through Greenwich, England. The Eastern hemisphere is the half that is East of that longitudinal line. Therefore, most of Europe, Africa, all of Asia and Australia are all in the Eastern Hemisphere, as a result.

 

[jimgo]

Minne, while that's helpful from a geographical perspective, the response in question by the OP mentioned that EU countries also had Ethanol requirements as it relates to marine fuel and marine engines. Given that many of the European countries with significant coastline, including Spain, Portugal, and Ireland, and most of France and the UK are in the Western Hemisphere, and given that the EU is the third largest producer of Ethanol, I don't think you can so easily brush-aside the responder's comment. No matter how you slice the world using conventional "hemisphere" definitions (North/South based on the Equator, or East/West using the Prime Meridian) Europe's use of Ethanol would still be valid.

I'm the first to admit that I use the wrong terms a lot. But I don't usually lash out at others when I've used the term incorrectly. Before the OP wrote his snide comment about "in this hemisphere", he probably should have looked it up.

 

[Alex W]

When I had an outboard I would just dump the boat fuel into my car every few weeks and buy fresh boat fuel. I even made up a second fuel line that made this easy (it was just like a regular fuel line but missing the part that connected to the outboard engine). I also had two fuel cans, a 2 or 3 gallon one for day sailing and a 6 gallon one for cruising.

I live in the same city as MatthewWHill and never found ethanol-free gas sold here. Even most of the marine stations that I found sell fuel with ethanol.

 

[safira]

I use the ethonal fuel in my outboards and have in the past had problems with the fuel, but it was really no big deal.
I have found out that replaceing the fuel line about every year or two is a must if you use the ethonal fuel.
On my dink engine if it does not start in a few pulls then I just drain the carb bowl and turn the fuel on and wait for the milky fuel to go clear. Then replace the drain screw and the engine fires right up and I am on my way.

 

[cthoops]

Like AlexW used to do, we replace the gas in the external fuel tank every four weeks. We just dump the extra fuel in our car's gas tank. We also disconnect the fuel line after each sail and run the engine dry.

After we cleaned the carb and replaced the fuel lines, we adopted the above method and haven't had any trouble since.

 

[matthewwhill]

Morrison's North Star Marine gas dock near the Aurora Bridge on Lake Union sells no-ethanol gas (or so they say). The only two other places I've found in the area are The Grange (a cool gas station, gardening/farm supply, horse tack outfit) out in Issaquah and the Market St. Spirit gas station in Ballard.

 

[hellosailor]

"The stuff has a shelf life of something like 30 years too! "
Folks keep pulling your leg, you're going to need a better tailor to get the pants cuffed right.

Avgas might be more stable than mogas but all gasoline is a witches brew of about 60 ingredients, including propane and butane and they'll literally be boiling off at room temperature inside of 90 days. Avgas may have more additives to inhibit the formation of varnish, but even the best gasoline stabilizers (like Stabilant) won't claim to make gasoline "stabile" for longer than two years. Sure, you can use it longer. But try to find a pilot who wants to try that.

 

[azguy]

I have two friends that own planes and they have both told be that aviation fuel is good for 8-10 years...FWIW...

 

[hellosailor]

Dunno. I found some BP specs that list stability, but they list it with arbitrary numbers that have no context. I'll worry about it next time I need to fly a plane that's been stored as long as the VW in "Sleeper".