oxegenated fuel in boat motor???

[thehawk]

Does anyone know anything about oxegenated fuels and holiday gas stations? I have heard that oxegenated fuels can ruin your boat motor. I have also heard that holiday gas stations sell oxegenated gas. I have heard that running these fuels in your boat can ruin your motor, any thruth to that? What type of fuel do you guys run in your boats? I have a two stroke thats oil injected, any recomendations on fuel. Also any truth about holiday gas being bad for your boat? What octaine gas do you guys use in your 2 stokes? Thanks in advance.

[Ybone]

By law all gas sold for road use in Minnesota is oxygenated not just Holiday gas. Some stations will sell nonoxygenated premium. There will be a sticker on the pump saying for small engines, classic cars, marine etc. It's not legal to use in your car.

[SkunkedAgain]

TheHawk - These forums are a good resource, but judging by your post, you believe a lot of things you hear and see. Besides trusting all of us, do some real research. Holiday is a great chain of gas stations, and I patron them because they are a Minnesota company.

As Ybone said, the premium non-oxy gas is for the applications that he listed. Some boats require non-oxy gas (mine says it in the manual), but most don't. However, a lot of older motors were not designed to run on the oxygenated gas so a lot of people use the non-oxy now. If you don't know what to do, go into a boat motor repair shop with your motor and ask them what you should be using. Otherwise, do some internet research about your specific motor.

Don't just believe what we all say. I could be a nut.

[shizzy]

search will be your friend.

as a sid enote, if your engine is on the newer side yo ushould be fine.

I have a 1965 Johnson outboard that I run regular gas in. it has a fresh carb rebuild and a new hose and bulb. been running it on regular oxy gas for three years with no issues.

[magnum mike]

A common problem is the alcohol in the gas reacts with the fuel line. If your fuel line is not alcohol resistant, it will get rock hard brittle and can break.

[caughtacase73]

I have heard that the non-oxy does not break down as fast. Even if that is true, the problem I see is how many people use the non-oxy and how old is the non-oxy gas thats sitting in the tanks at the station.

I have heard pros and cons from both and my mechanic suggested finding the station that sells the most gas and put the amount of regular gas in that you think you will use.

[BobT]

The fuel in the tanks at a retail outlet is not likely to be very old. Fuel that has been sitting your boat tank on the other hand might be, depending on how much you use the boat.

With that said, I have personally never had any trouble using 10% ethanol blends in any of my equipment including the various boat motors I've owned over the years including a 1973 Johnson 25hp, chain saws, lawn mowers, ATV, car, truck, and my 1946 Farmall.

My 1998 Johnson 90hp recommends 87 octane and that's what I use. The only piece of equipment that I use non-oxygenated in is my ATV although as I've already mentioned I have used blended. The reason I use the non-oxygenated fuel is not because of the alcohol but because it comes in 91 octane or higher and that is a more stable fuel for use in my air-cooled ATV engine. Air-cooled engines run hotter than liquid cooled and lower octane fuel is less stable and more prone to pre-ignition.

[Scott K]

Unless your engine is designed to run high octane, it will actually run worse, and less efficient, therefore you are just throwing high priced fuel out of the tail pipe.

[harvey lee]

No issues wirh E-85 in my 4 stroke Mercury.

[FishGUY]

No issues wirh E-85 in my 4 stroke Mercury.

I would not recommend E-85 in any boat motor, I know it states not to use E-85 with my 4 stroke Yamaha.

I found this on Mercury's HSOforum.

Are Mercury engines compatible with ethanol fuels?

The fuel-system components of Mercury engines will withstand up to 10 percent ethanol in gasoline � the maximum level currently allowed by the EPA in the U.S. There are some efforts to establish E-20 (20 percent ethanol mixed with 80 gasoline) for use in some areas, but that will require agreement from EPA to grant a waiver. Part of the EPA waiver process will require verification from studies that demonstrate that higher levels of ethanol do not create problems with fuel-system materials or operation of hardware. E-20 has not been extensively studied by Mercury and is not acceptable for use in Mercury products. E-85 fuels must not be used in any Mercury engines and could seriously damage current Mercury products. It is not legal in the U.S. to market any ethanol fuel as gasoline if it contains more than 10 percent ethanol.

[Scott K]

I think HL meant ethanol, not e85, but I could be wrong!

[harvey lee]

You are correct Scott.

ethanol.