ethynol gas

[pintails82]

Hello, Was wondering if anyone else was having problems w ethynol gas sticking needle valves. I talked w/ a marine dealer and he said he is starting to see alot of older motors w/ this problem. he told me the only thing I could do was to run the gas out of the carbs. Is there a better answer or fix. I have a 1985 75 hp johnson

[lameduck]

If you are using a quality oil it already has the additive to protect your engine from any wear that the ethanol may cause. I do not think it is the ethanol that is causing your problems, but mechanics like to blame everything on it. Also ethanol is a solvent, which would not make anything stick.

[Brodie James]

But it does attract water which causes rust which will make things stick.

[duckkllr04]

I always run my boat out of gas unless I'm going to run it again that day. If your running mix it is not detrimental at all and it actually helps my boat start after it has sat for a week or two. It solves a lot of problems, not just ethanol.

[cjg]

Also ethanol is a solvent, which would not make anything stick.

As a solvent it loosens up all the old crap in the whole fuel system from the tank on and all that crap eventually ends up in the carb. It seems to cause more problems on older motors.

[pintails82]

Thanks guys I didn't think it was the gas but, it was all the crap loosing up and running out

[lameduck]

Also ethanol is a solvent, which would not make anything stick.

As a solvent it loosens up all the old crap in the whole fuel system from the tank on and all that crap eventually ends up in the carb. It seems to cause more problems on older motors.

True.

[flyxpl]

Ethanol will eat up some types of seals and plastic.I have a small ohnan genarator,it was leaking fuel.The problem was ethanol or something else that was blended with the fuel litterly melted/deformed the plastic bowl on the bottom of the fuel petcock.I use aviation fuel or racing gas in all my outboards and small engines.

[Dingbatter]

I'm using blue formula Sta Bil ( ethanol formula) to help prevent problems caused by ethanol. Starton also has a E10 ethanol formula too. I hear a lot of guys saying they use Sea Foam or the orginal red formula Sta-Bil but I'm not sure they will prevent problems caused by ethanol. I also check everywhere I buy my fuel for my boat, I have found a few places that advertise 100% gasoline and I try to get it there everytime. I stil use my fuel treatments though.

[940AC]

I'm using blue formula Sta Bil ( ethanol formula) to help prevent problems caused by ethanol. Starton also has a E10 ethanol formula too. I hear a lot of guys saying they use Sea Foam or the orginal red formula Sta-Bil but I'm not sure they will prevent problems caused by ethanol. I also check everywhere I buy my fuel for my boat, I have found a few places that advertise 100% gasoline and I try to get it there everytime. I stil use my fuel treatments though.

The original Red Sta-Bil will work just as good as the Blue Sta-Bil. If you read the back of the Sta-Bil bottle, it says it is designed to help the problems associated with ethanol.

[Dingbatter]

After a little more investigation SeaFoam also states their product will help prevent Ethanol problems. Sea Foam recommends 1 oz / gallon with their product.

[pintails82]

Thanks Guy for all the info, I've talked to a couple marine dealers and they said to use sea foam or sta-bil, but to just run carbs out of fuel is best problem solver.

[Dingbatter]

I'm planning to do both!

[RestlessWoodie]

Definately use Stabil. I was having the same problem with my 1996 outboard, i had to clean out the carbs everytime i let it sit for more than a week because the gas was causing my needle to stick and rust the inside of the carb. Put the stabil in my gas and it fires up first time no matter how long it sits. They also make ethanol treatments for outboards at any boat store or gander/bps.

[Deano]

I had my '72 20hp merc mess up with ethanol gas..... the composite float in the carb swelled up and it wouldn't float to kill the fuel flow when full.
I make a point to NOT use gas with ethanol in it.

Q

[lameduck]

Hey deano- Just wanted to let you know that even if the gas station says it is 100% gas it is still blended. They would be breaking federal laws if they did not blend the gas, even though every gas station in OK has 100% gas signs out, they are all lying. If you ask them, the honest ones just say,"Well its just a little bit of ethynol, not as much as the other stations."

Treat all gas as if it has ethynol in it, but good quality motor oil should already have an additive to protect your outboard from ethynol.

On another note- hope that mojo is working out well for you!

[jehler]

If your boat has fiberglass fuel tanks avoid ethanol gas, it can cause some real headaches

[Dingbatter]

Local oil company here has 100% gasoline, its more expensive than ethanol blended gas. There are also a couple of local stations who also sell 100% gas in my area. The goverment is pushing ethanol really hard now and gives a discout to stations who sell it. The guy at the local oil company also said in NC that if a station sells ethanol blended gas and it has less than 10% ethanol then the station does not have to list it on the pump. Therefore you are probably buying ethanol blended fuel even if you don't see it on the pump. I'll continue to buy from this local oil company as long as they have pure gasoline and use Sea Foam or Sta-Bil for extra protection.