stabilizer?

I am getting a new boat with a Mercury 115 4 str. I was chatting with a mechanic the other day and he suggested that I use stabilizer in the fuel all the time. He thinks that fuel additives and ethanol in the fuel can make it unstable even after a few weeks of sitting and it's good preventative care to drop a bottle into the tank each time I fill it up. What do you think?

Re: stabilizer?

Didn't you post this in another area of the forum? The answer is the same. You use stabilizer to stabilize the fuel between uses. Your mechanic is also "priming" you for excuses when you come in for service because the engine is acting up. There are two types of ethanol fuel in the country at this time. Regular grade gasoline in many parts of the country is called Gasahol or Ethanol Blended fuel because it is actually regular gas which contains up to 10% Ethanol. Ethanol or E-85 is now available in many parts of the country and it is just the opposite. E-85 is 85% Ethanol and 15% regular gasoline. You CAN use Gasahol or Ethanol Blended fuel in your marine engine but you CANNOT use E-85. Many technicians (if you can call them that) are very quick to blame runability issues on Ethanol when in reality it there inability to properly diagnose the actual problem. Yes, there are some ethanol issues primarily with older engines and boats that have had neglected fuel systems. Once cleaned and carbs rebuilt, the engine will run fine.

Re: stabilizer?

I've heard that a few other times. Some people do, but I only use it during the winter storage. I use my boat a few times per month and with a 40 gallon tank it takes a while to need a fill. I have not had a problem yet.

Re: stabilizer?

A little SeaFoam in the gas seems to help keep things clean.
I find the alcohol blended fuels tend to keep poorly in storage. Even though I can burn a hellovalot of fuel in a short time, I use 92 octane non-oxygenated (no ethanol) fuel in all my off road engines. I find the premium price is easily covered by the maintenance parts and time avoided.

John

Re: stabilizer?

Silvertip said:

Didn't you post this in another area of the forum? The answer is the same. You use stabilizer to stabilize the fuel between uses. Your mechanic is also "priming" you for excuses when you come in for service because the engine is acting up. There are two types of ethanol fuel in the country at this time. Regular grade gasoline in many parts of the country is called Gasahol or Ethanol Blended fuel because it is actually regular gas which contains up to 10% Ethanol. Ethanol or E-85 is now available in many parts of the country and it is just the opposite. E-85 is 85% Ethanol and 15% regular gasoline. You CAN use Gasahol or Ethanol Blended fuel in your marine engine but you CANNOT use E-85. Many technicians (if you can call them that) are very quick to blame runability issues on Ethanol when in reality it there inability to properly diagnose the actual problem. Yes, there are some ethanol issues primarily with older engines and boats that have had neglected fuel systems. Once cleaned and carbs rebuilt, the engine will run fine.

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Thanks for the info. No, I haven't posted this before and I did a search and couldn't find any other information but if there's a thread I missed, maybe you could post a link. I'd be interested. Is there anything that should be included in the fuel to keep injectors clean, do you think? I hear a great deal about people who regularily run seafoam in their motors.