Re: Ethanol Gas
My comment was based on this simple quote:<br /><br />"Will the use of fuels containing ethanol void my engine warranty? <br /><br />Fuels containing up to 10 percent ethanol are considered acceptable for use in Mercury engines."<br /><br /><br />The section you quote is specifically referring to the 1990 cut-off. And of course Mercury had no idea what kind of fuel tank is in your boat (they don't make their own fuel tanks), so they warn you to check the material it's made of, especially pre 1990. So obviously if you have pre-1990 tanks, especially fiberglass, I fully acknowledge you may have a problem with it. <br /><br />Based on what they write, phase separation is only an issue if a.) you mix with mtbe gas (highly unlikely as it's extremely rare, being phased out country wide), and b.) if you leave gas in your tank for an extremely long tiem and allow it to soak up an excessive amount of moisture so it becomes saturated (a maintenance and proper storage issue, not a regular use issue.)<br /><br />And based on my 15 year unscientificly documented experience with using 10% ethanol almost exclusively in my 1968 thru 2005 vehicles, so far I can confidently state that phase separation has not occured, nor has excessive corrision.<br /><br />If you don't want to use ethanol blends, I certainly respect that. I was just sharing my expeirence. But good luck in your search for pure gasoline....most states do NOT have any requirement that ethanol content be disclosed at the pump (a few do require it, and some gas marketers voluntarily put the sticker on the pump regardless). But I wouldn't be surprised if you've been running a lot of ethanol blends over the years and had absolutely no idea. And I assume you probably had no problem. Big name brands are no different. Here in Indiana about 80% of the gas sold at BP stations for instance, is a 10% ethanol blend. And they rarely put the sticker on the pump. BP's site mentions the content of ethanol in much of their "Amoco Ultimate" premium gasoline...Shell's web site freely states that they are the largest blender of oxygenated fuels in the United States.<br /><br />Do some simple internet searches, like "ethanol in (insert your favorite station here) gasoline" and you might be stunned to find out how widespread it is used. Many states and metropolitan areas with pollution controls REQUIRE that all gasoline contain 10% ethanol, and have for years. There it's actually illegal to sell non-ethanol blends. Here's a quote from Chevron's site about labeling ethanol at the pump:<br /><br />"The information available to the retail consumer about the oxygenate composition of the gasoline varies. There is no federal labeling regulation; this is an area controlled by state regulations. Some states require dispenser labels for oxygenated gasolines in wintertime CO nonattainment areas and RFG gasolines. A typical label reads: The gasoline dispensed from this pump is oxygenated and will reduce carbon monoxide pollution from motor vehicles. Some labels, like this one, do not provide any information on which oxygenate(s) the blend contains; others do. Few, if any, states require labeling for gasolines containing low levels of ethers added to increase octane. A national association of state weights-and-measures agencies responsible for dispenser calibration and labeling issued a revised standard guideline for dispenser labeling in 1996. Several states recently have dropped ethanol labeling requirements and some are now requiring labeling for MTBE."<br /><br />Out of curiosity, has anyone on this site ever had or heard of a documented fuel system failure that could be directly attributed to the use 10% ethanol blends? And NOT just attributed to old age, maintenance, or improper storage?<br /><br />As a side note, I'm not for or against ethanol blends in any way. I just happen to be deeply entrenched in the automotive industry and have a fair bit of knowledge and experience with it. Just sharing what I know, not trying to sway anyone any particular direction. I just honestly have come to the conclusion for myself that 10% blends are essentially harmless to run in most anything...and I have found VERY little documented proof to the contrary, beyond the warnings of POSSIBLE problems, which are just about everywhere you look and in my opinion likely the result of today's lawyer-happy society, just in case there happens to be one failure...I have never seen any of the warnings come to fruition however. And the stuff is just about everywhere, and most people don't even realize they've been burning it for years.
