Spring Cleaning Fuel Question

[MaxOut]

I also have mixed E-10 and (what's now called) recreational fuel...ethanol free, left tank half full six months at a time, never used any startron type additives....I DO use Yamaha RingFree and genuine Yamaha big blue filters, they were developed by Yamaha for ethanol problems. I also like to fuel up from hi-volume highway stations.

Not a fuel problem in 7 seasons.

Same here, I also always fill up on land as the fuel is coming and going much quicker through the busy gas stations. I think Dale made a valid point that the problems were more serious in the beginning of the switch to ethanol. Older boats and cars are more likely to have varnish in there systems making things worse for them. I like to top up at the end of the season and have not had any fuel problems. I spoke with a marina owner a couple days ago and he said the regulations are muck tighter on the gas stations who are receiving ethanol fuels. He said it used to be ok to have as much as 6" of water in there tanks but now if they discover more than an inch they will not deliver the fuel.

 

[esfishdoc]

I went ahead and drained the tank. I wound up having about 70 gallons. 20 of that is in my wife's Avalon... hope she doesn't need a tow?

Assuming it runs OK in her car I'll just keep burning it up that way.

I'll add all fresh fuel to the boat and have the peace of mind knowing the fuel is good.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[sparky]

Can someone point out any solid info that mixing E10 and E0 is bad?

I think you missed this! I personally know of DOZENS of boats up on the No shore of Mass to NH that had similar issues. I also towed in 6 or more boats myself. I probably helped others at my boat club install Racors, a good another dozen or more, and we even had to put small Racors on our fleet of 12' skiffs using 8hp outboards.

We've done it a hundred times, and have yet to have any trouble.

You sir, have indeed been lucky :!: !

Its just going to mix, and end up with an ethanol concentration between 0 and 10%.

Until the ethanol phase separates, that is ...

maintain your filters, fill your tanks in the winter with fuel (and stabilize it), and don't let the boat sit for months with an empty tank.

Personally I leave my tank as empty as I can in the Winter layover with zero issues.

All of us, as far as E10 contamination, are subject to the "quality" of the source fuel being delivered. IMHO, 90% of the E10 issues were during the switch-over from the plants, trucks, and other pieces of the fuel distribution system. Ethanol scrubbed clean the crap accumlated over years ... and put them into the fuel. Most cars & trucks could handle it, but many autos has serious issues too.

Its not rocket surgery, I promise.

Nope, but when phase separation strikes YOUR tank ... it's worse :shock: !

To say it isn't a problem just because it hasn't happened to you (yet ...) ..., well, I'll leave it at that ... . Just count your blessings Sparky!

Phase separation is caused by the ethanol absorbing water and falling out of solution. Mixing fuels isn't going to accelerate that. If you had phase separation already, nothing is going to fix it. We've towed a few people out of Boston Harbor who had fuel issues, and every one of them had let the boat sit, half full or less, for a month or more.

Just because people had problems when they switched to E10, and the fuel scrubbed the crap out of the tanks at the stations, and out of the boat's tanks doesn't mean that mixing fuels is the cause of the problem. Dirty tanks, excess water and improper maintenance is the problem. You are claiming that if you take clean E0 fuel, and clean E10 fuel and mix them, you'll get phase sep? The chemistry just doesn't bare that out. If you have dirty, phase-sep E10 and add E0, you'll end up with a big mess. Its possible that adding fresh E10 would absorb some extra water from it, but the separated phase won't go back into solution.

Either way, fill and stabilize the tanks, or empty them. Just don't leave them half-full of fuel, half full of air (which will bring in moisture).