Pay attention to the articles regarding ethanol and the damage it can do your fuel system. New fuel lines, new fuel filter, 2 new fuel pumps and not sure what else at this point = not cheap and even worse, no fishing!
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Pay attention to the articles regarding ethanol and the damage it can do your fuel system. New fuel lines, new fuel filter, 2 new fuel pumps and not sure what else at this point = not cheap and even worse, no fishing!
dang what a bummer, hope it does not get to bad. stupid ethanol, should be sold as terminal. (cause it kills everything)
That stinks! Does the stuff affect only older motors, or is it hard on newer models also? And, is there a way to offset the negative affects (like some sort of fuel additive)?
Yes, grb there is. Use Marine formula Sta-Bil. counteracts the effect of ethanol in your boats engine.Quote:
Originally Posted by grb22
Seafoam also works very well.
grb22 - Mine is a 2003 Optimax 150 mounted on a Lund, due to not paying attention I thought the problems with ethanol were only related to "older" engines. I ran some seafoam maybe a couple times a year but the mechanic told me I should have been adding an additive for ethanol with each fill-up. Heck I've added Heat, which I think is ethanol, to my trucks for years in the winter to get rid of water, now ethanol causes water to build up...I sure don't know the chemistry but Jack and DD are right so if you have a boat and haven't read up on additives and how to prevent ethanol related problems, please do and save yourself a headache and some cash
Mark, my boat mechanic once told me he's seen alot of problems out of the newer motors, I run a can of seafoam with every 20 gals of gas which on my boat is 2 cans per tank full. So far no problems.
Use Stabil, and even add it to your lawn mowers and chainsaws (everything with a motor in your buildings) if you want them to last.
We fortunately have a couple of local stations that sell premium gas without ethanol. That's the only place I'll buy gas for my boat because of this. Sorry to hear about your troubles.
Here is what you should be running in your Opti for every fill up. This along with DFI oil will keep it happy. This is called Don's cocktail for the man Don Weed who came up with it. He is a (Dual Master Technician)- for Mercury Outboards, Racing & Mercruiser Sterndrives.
-1oz Marine Stabil or Mercury QuickCare per 6 gallons fuel
-1oz Quickleen per 6 gallons fuel
-1-2oz SeaFoam per 6 gallons fuel
a little will do a little good a lot will do a lot of good. i put in at least a half can of seafoam to each tank and probably 3 oz of the blue stabil. first tank of the season i put in a whole can of seafoam to 6 gal.
I know of 4 blown motors in the past 6 months all attributed directly to ethanol. My buddy Sam and I have talked about it quite a bit. The gas people need to tell you when there is 10% ethanol. We think there is a lot of 9.9 out there that you never hear about. I got pretty concerned about and called Mercury. I run a 2003 Merc EFI. The rep I talked to strongly suggested that if i had never changed out the fuel line that I do so BEFORE I RAN THE MOTOR AGAIN!!!! So I did. When I cut the bulb apart it had started to deterioate. Merc came out with a more ethanol resistant fuel line in the past 18-24 months. I started running marine stabil in every tank 2 years ago. When I talked to Merc they would not comment on stabil or sea foam as they were promoting their additives but off the record the guy said he knew of many who were using that combo successfully..they did say to add to every tank and to not run more fuel in the tank than you will use in 10 days. He also said to run premium only. The motor does not need the 91 octane but tthe 87/88 regular breaks down in about 30 days to 83. That is when the ethanol seperates and takes the water with it to the bottom of your tank so you get a straight shot of junk straight to your injectors. This is bad. The premium takes about 9 months for the breakdown to 83 if you use and additive. I also found out that Stabil forms a film on the top of the gas that is an oxygen barrier. Thats all I know on the subject hope it helps. I run a white Champion with black & yellow striping mostly on Smithville so if you see me wave my down I would like to meet a few more guys and visit some. John (Crappiejt)
John, Welcome and good info. I'm sure I've seen ya up there before so I'll try to say high next time. Platte Clay fuel in Kearney and Platte City both have non-ethanol fuel, premium only. Paradise general store also sells it.
This may show twice as I thought I had sent it but I know even less about computers than I do about fishing. A friend of mine owns 8 convenient stores and he tells me not to trust the "ethanol free" claims. So I won't start my motor without the additives. Please flag me down i would look forward to meeting you. John
Welcome aboard JT .. good info!
Thanks billD hope it saves a motor. JT
SeaFoam does not have any water absorbing properties which is what you need to prevent the damage caused by ethanol.
I found out the hard way with my duckhunting mud motor. The carb got all jacked up in the off season with corrosion from water in the bowl. Been using GREEN STaBil and have not had a problem. SeaFoam may be a good cleaner but it will not absorb water to prevent corrosion.
I use the StaBil in my Optimax also and it has not had any issues......GREEN not RED....fyi. The red has no water absorbing ability just like SeaFoam.
Welcome to the board, JT...from another Kearney resident.
I'm a seafoam dude.
Just a little bit goes a long ways on controlling ethanol. I run half of the recommended amount on the can.
G.
JoeDog, how many more Kearney & Liberty fisherman are on the site? JT
There's at least eight from Kearney that I know of off the top of my head, (but some of those West-Siders are a little shifty, so...:D). There's three or four more from the Liberty area that I know of, but sure haven't met them all. Then there's some from Lawson and Smithville and Plattsburg, etc.
In the past, we've been known to get together for a burger and a beverage, or tournaments on Smithville...heck, some of us even got together and camped out there this past spring.
Probably have to get another get-together going here soon. I'll be sure to PM you when we do.
(Sorry Mark!! Kind of hijacked this thread. Back on topic!!)
Um...I've always just used SeaFoam, but better start looking at the green Stabil. Lots of great info and tips here...thanks!!
JoeDog, I was out of town for the campout & missed it but I think my buddy Billy has us in line for the July 30 tournament. Maybe we can shake hands then. JT
Great info crappiejt and welcome, got the boat back yesterday, $1250 later but I was gald they overnighted the pumps so I could get out this weekend. Will now be using the Mercury additives in every tank and paying a lot closer attention to the fuel I use. The mechanic also said they have seen several boats brought in with problems associated with ethanol...so if you aren't using additives be forewarned, its no joke.