What kind of fuel/gas do you use.

[amateurfishing]

Just had my motor worked on, mechanic told me only to use non oxygenated premium gas with no ethanol for my 1984 75 hp mercury.

just curious what anyone else uses or recommends.

[hamms-scooter]

Non oxy for sure! I have a early 80's 15 hp and a 1970 25 hp both johnsons. I use johnson/evinrude oil mix at 50:1.

[Down Deep]

I have 2008 Merc 115 4S and use 87 regular right out of the pump. I always add a proper measurement of Stabil to at each fill. The manual recommends this fuel. Your motor is older technology and is engineered differently. In 1984 Ethanol wasn't in the gas and the motor makers were building motors made for leaded gas. Your specific motor may require premium fuel. I think I'd take the recommendation of your mechanic or at least check the manual.

[amateurfishing]

I have 2008 Merc 115 4S and use 87 regular right out of the pump. I always add a proper measurement of Stabil to at each fill. The manual recommends this fuel. Your motor is older technology and is engineered differently. In 1984 Ethanol wasn't in the gas and the motor makers were building motors made for leaded gas. Your specific motor may require premium fuel. I think I'd take the recommendation of your mechanic or at least check the manual.

thats what mechenic said, ethanol was not made yet back then and the alchohol inside can eat away at fuel line and other parts of motor inside while sitting idle. he also recommended to always disconnect fuel line when boat not in use to releive gas line pressure on motor/prevent deterioration build up.

[Jim Almquist]

I use Non-Oxy in all of my motors(outboard, 4 wheeler, lawmmower, weedwacker, Ice auger)

Knock on wood but I have never had a issue with any of them relating to a gas problem.

[LightningBG]

I use Non-Oxy in all of my motors(outboard, 4 wheeler, lawmmower, weedwacker, Ice auger)

Knock on wood but I have never had a issue with any of them relating to a gas problem.

+1

[GlassEyeangler]

91 octane non-oxygenated gas only, and i have a 2007 Yamaha 25hp 2-stroke. i also add a ring oil additive on each fill up.

[RebelSS]

Non oxy. No garbage ethanol in my engines.

[reinhard1]

i use non-oxy pure premium as well in my 115 2002 merc. 4 stroke. no problems and runs great. only changed spark plugs once. good luck.

[Scott K]

I use 87 octane with ethanol (E-15) in all of my stuff, and never had problems. This would be everything from snowmobiles, atv's, boat motors, lawn mowers, vehicles. I have never added any additives in any of them. No problems, and I saved a lot of money by not paying extra for the high octane fuel, and additives. Another thing to consider is, if your engine isnt designed to burn high octane fuel, it will actually run worse on it, and less efficient. So not only are you paying more for the fuel, then spending more for an additive, but you are also getting less power, less economy, and can actually harm your engine by running high octane fuel in an engine that isnt designed for it.

Now I will admit, ethanol doesnt store as long, and in some old models, it can break down some rubber components in the fuel system, but if your running a pre 80 motor, or vehicle, the rubber fuel hoses, and components, more then likely have already been updated, or the old stuff is do for replacement anyhow. Ethanol has been added to fuel tanks by the owners for many years, in the form of HEET, to remove water, and to make the driver think he is getting some sort of extra protection when it gets really cold. With E-15 there is no need for HEET any more. I wonder how many people were afraid to put HEET into their tanks, like they are to put E-15?

The one exception I have to this is, if your boat is stored on the water all summer, without running much fuel through the boat, then I would be looking for non-oxy fuel, so the ethanol doest draw extra moisture from the water/lake, into the fuel tank, through the fuel vents. Other then that, in most cases, you are just throwing money away.

By the way, I am running a 2000 Yamaha F-115, always ran E-15, and never ran into any issues. And my motor gets many hours of use a year, then stored with whatever was in the tank at the end of the season, and I have never used any additives for the fuel. Same would go for all of my toys, and equipment.

[Pat K]

I have 2008 Merc 115 4S and use 87 regular right out of the pump. I always add a proper measurement of Stabil to at each fill. The manual recommends this fuel. Your motor is older technology and is engineered differently. In 1984 Ethanol wasn't in the gas and the motor makers were building motors made for leaded gas. Your specific motor may require premium fuel. I think I'd take the recommendation of your mechanic or at least check the manual.

I agree about the ethanol in a 1984 motor, but unleaded gas became standard in the early 1970's.

[Wanderer]

Here's something to think about if you're going to get a gallon or two of premium (or any grade) gas for your small engines:

If the pump has all three grades but only one hose, you should pick your grade and pump the first gallon or two into your vehicle to flush out whatever gas the last person chose. Then fill your small gas can.

You won't be getting what you selected until the gas at the valve in the pump gets pushed out of the pump and all the way out of the hose. On 1 hose per pump set up you don't have to worry about it.

[BobT]

I use 87 octane with ethanol (E-15) in all of my stuff, and never had problems. This would be everything from snowmobiles, atv's, boat motors, lawn mowers, vehicles. I have never added any additives in any of them. No problems, and I saved a lot of money by not paying extra for the high octane fuel, and additives. Another thing to consider is, if your engine isnt designed to burn high octane fuel, it will actually run worse on it, and less efficient. So not only are you paying more for the fuel, then spending more for an additive, but you are also getting less power, less economy, and can actually harm your engine by running high octane fuel in an engine that isnt designed for it.

Now I will admit, ethanol doesnt store as long, and in some old models, it can break down some rubber components in the fuel system, but if your running a pre 80 motor, or vehicle, the rubber fuel hoses, and components, more then likely have already been updated, or the old stuff is do for replacement anyhow. Ethanol has been added to fuel tanks by the owners for many years, in the form of HEET, to remove water, and to make the driver think he is getting some sort of extra protection when it gets really cold. With E-15 there is no need for HEET any more. I wonder how many people were afraid to put HEET into their tanks, like they are to put E-15?

The one exception I have to this is, if your boat is stored on the water all summer, without running much fuel through the boat, then I would be looking for non-oxy fuel, so the ethanol doest draw extra moisture from the water/lake, into the fuel tank, through the fuel vents. Other then that, in most cases, you are just throwing money away.

By the way, I am running a 2000 Yamaha F-115, always ran E-15, and never ran into any issues. And my motor gets many hours of use a year, then stored with whatever was in the tank at the end of the season, and I have never used any additives for the fuel. Same would go for all of my toys, and equipment.

Ditto including my 1973 Evinrude 25hp outboard. I personally think the ethanol fears are mostly hype.

[BassNut33]

To add my two cents, I bought a new boat last fall and had a bunch of problems with what I thought was the motor bogging down. I finally brought it in and was expecting a large repair bill. I was told by the technician that due to the previous owner using gas that had ethanol in it, the ethanol collapsed the fuel line. Every time the motor was taking in gas the fuel line would shrink up and no gas was getting through. Since the fuel line has been replaced the motor has been running great.

[JohnMickish]

I use the junk right out of the pump in all of my stuff. If its going to sit in the tank it gets treated, if it's going to be used quickly I don't do anything.

Just like my vehicles, my toys and tools get the cheap junk out of the pump with no problems.

I can understand the non oxy stuff in older equipment, but if you guys where to park you car/truck for a few months would it even cross your mind to put in a different gas than what you normally use?

[BobT]

To add my two cents, I bought a new boat last fall and had a bunch of problems with what I thought was the motor bogging down. I finally brought it in and was expecting a large repair bill. I was told by the technician that due to the previous owner using gas that had ethanol in it, the ethanol collapsed the fuel line. Every time the motor was taking in gas the fuel line would shrink up and no gas was getting through. Since the fuel line has been replaced the motor has been running great.

Could it have just been the age of the fuel line? Old lines will collapse as they get soft and weathered.

[BassNut33]

Could have been, the boat is a 2001 and I don't know if the previous owner had replaced it. It is just what they told me at the place I got it repaired. They said that they see a lot of fuel related problems.

[amateurfishing]

just checked owners manual, says anything 86 octane or higher so will look for that without ethanol.

[EBass]

I use non-oxy too. 1988 25H Merc so I gotta.

[SkunkedAgain]

My two cents is that I haven't had a carburetor rebuilt since I switched to non-oxy. That's saved me more than the increased gas cost.

[BobT]

Could have been, the boat is a 2001 and I don't know if the previous owner had replaced it. It is just what they told me at the place I got it repaired. They said that they see a lot of fuel related problems.

I'm going to go on memory here so some of this may be a bit sketchy.

When ethanol blends first began hitting the market in the mid 80's (about 1986) there were some issues with carburetors such as those on snowmobiles. The material used for the various diaphragms tended to get soft and degrade. For this reason using Heat or other ethyl alcohol based products was a known no-no for preventing fuel line freeze-up due to moisture in the fuel. For those carburetors you had to use isopropyl alcohol instead. Note that this was not an issue with automobile carburetors and Heat or other ethyl based alcohol was not a problem. Once the ethanol blends began to hit the market, it didn't take long for the manufacturers to come up with a different type of material to use in those carburetors. This problem only exited for a couple years during the transition.

Another issue that I can recall was that when ethanol fuels were introduced into older models the alcohol tended to loosen sediment and other gunk inside the fuel systems often plugging fuel filters. This was a temporary problem and not all that common although it seemed to get a lot press anyway.

[BassNut33]

I read an article that talked about the gas and ethanol separate when it sits for some time which in turn creates moisture. The moisture from this then causes havoc to the metal inside your engine causing rust. Please note I am mechanically incompetent and some of the that may be off. I will continue to spend the extra money on non-oxy gas if it may help prevent problems with my outboard.

[311Hemi]

I use 87 octane with ethanol (E-15) in all of my stuff, and never had problems. This would be everything from snowmobiles, atv's, boat motors, lawn mowers, vehicles.

x2....although I put marine stabil in most of my gas on these things if they will sit for any period of time. I have started filling the boat with non-oxy (vs 87) when I put it away for the year......but I have never had problems when storing with 87.

[pulleye16]

The question I have for non-oxy users, do you put SeaFoam in with your tanks or other stabilizers? if so, aren't you adding almost 100% alcohol anyways? Not a mechanical person either but I thought products like SeaFoam were almost 100% alcohol????

[RebelSS]

Seafoam contains no alcohol. I don't find it necessary to add Seafoam to FRESH non-oxy gas, unless you have a dirty carb/injector system, of which a proper cleaning is the correct answer.Some of the other popular "Stabilizers" do. As bassnut 33 stated, the gas/ethanol will seperate. Yes, I am mechanically competent. Rebuilding engines since the 70's. In a nutshell: Ethanol WILL and DOES degrade rubber, plastic, nylon, and fiber gasket parts, although less so in the newer engines.

Alcohol is a drying solvent that will leach plasticisers out of the the material in contact with it, rendering them prone to brittleness and cracking. Adding certain products will help but not prevent the problems associated with ethanol. Read some of the API's TSB's and reports. Read the spring article in Popular Mechanics on gasoline and ethanol by some of the experts...excellent article. Explains in detail about ethanol/gasoline in a lenghty, technically excellent article. I've seen enough damage to engine components to be 100% convinced of the damage wrought by ethanol products. Have a pile of the damaged ones in my garage. My new 2010 pickup owners manual states not to use E-85, a higher concentrate ethanol garbage "gas", more than 60% of the time unless maintenance intervals are increased by FIFTY PERCENT. Go talk to a good small engine/marine mechanic..get their opinion. Check out the facts...there's a lot out there to read/see with fact-backed information. Just my