E-10 Fuel in the Florida Keys

[Robert Cibran]

I just read on another forum that one of the major companies which brings fuel down to the florida keys will be changing over to E-10 this month,at first it will be 10 gas staions until all are converted,also learned that all Hess staions in Florida have E-10.

Just would like to confirm with someone who knows,is it correct that you can not mix E-10 with non E-10 fuel,must wait until all old fuel is used up ??? I have the 10 Micron filter from Yamaha on my 250 four stroke.

What else should I do to protect engine from any type of contamination ??

Robert Cibran
2300 CCDV
Key Largo,FL.

 

[TomS]

Robert,

My advice would be to do whatever you can to avoid mixing the two types of gas. Would I go to the trouble of draining my gas tank and as much gas as I can from the motor? Yes, without question.

The worst E-10 related problems seem to arise from folks who mixed the two types of gasoline. Typically they put the boat away for the winter with half-tank of MTBE and then topped off with E-10 in the spring (being in the Keys, I realize you don't have seasons down there When the two different types mix, they create a nasty opaque sludge that can really gum up your fuel filters, carbs/fuel injectors, etc.

Once you make the transition to E-10, try not to let it sit around too much without being used. There are still folks up here that have troubles if they don't use their boats every couple of weeks, but this might also be a long reaching aftereffect of not draining the old gas out first. There are other issues with E-10 that have been debated ad-nauseum on the various boat sites but from what I've seen, once you make the transition and don't let the gas stagnate, you won't notice any differences.

In my opinion the best thing to do when winterizing the boat is to drain the fuel tanks as best as you can, then top off with fresh fuel in the spring. If you can't drain the tanks completely, try to add as much fresh gas as possible.

Good luck!

-- Tom

 

[Robert Cibran]

Tom,

All fully understood and I will try and stay away from E10 as long as I can,thanks.

Robert

 

[goinsfishin]

Stock up on extra filters and keep them on-board. Especially fuel/water separator filters. The ethenol will actually clean the accumulated gasoline varnish thats in your tank and hoses, and will quickly clog up a filter until you've run the first tankful or 2 thru.
Once E-10's cleaned the system out you shouldn't have any more problems if you run it regularly.
Storage? I've had water separation problems the last 2 years with a full or partially filled tank.....next year it will be drained.