Fuel question(s)

[fish4lunch]

Recently bought a 200 Lowe FM165s with a 50hp Johnson 2 cycle. My Bro-in-law suggested getting rid of all the fuel and start with fresh. Don't know how old the fuel is. He also thought I should only put ethanol-free gas in it. What do y'all think?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Don't waste money on ethanol free

Does the boat run? If so, after you do the impeller and other PM, burn off the fuel

 

[Chris1956]

Smell the fuel. If it smells fresh you can run it. Gasohol is fine to use in all motors.

If the fuel is premix, and you know what oil was used, mix up some fresh stuff and compare the color to see if significant evaporation of the gasoline component has occurred.

 

[rxl650]

I've never had an issue with ethanol. Boats, bikes, snowmobiles, blowers, lawnmowers, ect. Having said that, if I dont know the history of a new purchase, then I ALWAYS start with all new fuel lines, filters and fuel. Cheap insurance on the water and an hour or two of your time. As mentioned, impeller wouldnt hurt. 40+ years and never towed. I dont winterize or summerize or use additives but I'm anal about fuel delivery and start with fresh every season. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Tassie 1]

I recently got my old boat ' ready ' for the water again after it sat in the backyard for a couple of years ( family health issues etc )

I'd regularly run it on muffs and a couple of times l took it down to the boat ramp a block away to run it on the trailer.
It ran well so l didn't bother dumping the old fuel ( full, 40 litres ) it looked and smelt ok.

A couple of weeks later ( a month ago ) l went fishing again...went well...put the ' pedal to the metal ' a few times as ya do.


Time to go back in came...starts well but dies after a couple of mins...constantly.

Managed to get it started each time...until l couldn't.
300 hundred mts away from the boat ramp or 30 metres from the shore.
Frustrating.

Ended up enduring the tow of shame, first time in that boat in 15 + years.
( Ironically, the govt tow boat was returning to the ramp as one of its new motors was not running )

I've since replaced the old fuel with new
Replaced the fuel pump and all the fuel lines
Just put in new carb kits.
Brought a nib primer etc
Then took it back as it wouldn't prime.
Mechanic tried it and replaced with new one
Says it has probably been sitting on his shelf for 3 years.

Anywho...getting back on track
My opinion only
If you don't know how old the fuel is, replace it, even though it will cost you so many $

 

[airshot]

If unsure, just pump out the tank and examine the fuel. You should be able to tell if any water is in the fuel. I bought a small 12v electric pump just for that purpose, less than 20 bucks total. I can drain any tank and check the fuel, not hard to see if fuel is bad. Once you know the tank is clean and fuel is good, add a small amount of stabilizer and fill with good fuel..where you buy your fuel can have a big impact on fuel issues !! We have a local farmer owned fuel station that is well maintained, we have had O issues with E10 fuels, even after a year...

 

[fish4lunch]

Thanks all. Built in 12 gal. tank so it'l be easy to empty and start with new. Is there an additive like Sea Foam that I should use?

 

[flashback]

If the engine runs well on fresh fuel seafood is not needed.

 

[Scott Danforth]

sea foam is naptha and light oil. not needed for anything

 

[flashback]

sea foam is naptha and light oil. not needed for anything

it can clean heavy carbon buildup. a properly tuned engine would never need it...

 

[airshot]

Those are additives for storage, if fuel is used within three months stabilizer is not needed. However, I use it regularly, small amount added with each fillup. I also use Lucas fuel treatment every so often, helps keep idle smooth. I definetly add some type of stabilizer late in fall to be sure fuel is treated before winter storage.

 

[rxl650]

I lied in my earlier post. I picked up a boat late last fall that just went straight to storage. The Etec is self winterizing so I drained the inboard tank, added a couple gallons fresh with Stabil before running the self winterization. I usually have outboard tanks. First time with an inboard tank. Brought it home recently and started the process of replacing everything fuel related. First few times I dunk it I will have an outboard tank on board for backup until I'm convinced it's good to go.

 

[roscoe]

Several problems with ethanol blended gas.

The growing of corn to make ethanol is a disgusting waste of valuable farm land and resources that could be used to feed the world. In Result - higher food prices.

The process of fertilizing, growing, harvesting, processing, and transporting, actually creates more of the pollutants that ethanol is supposed to eliminate, thus causing more harm than using straight gasoline. Documented in several well known university studies.
It also has created a huge ever changing amount of government oversight and taxpayer subsidies, along with more lobbyist to sway politicians decisions.

As far as use in outboards, older engines did not have fuel lines and pumps that were resistant to the ethanol. Caused them to dissolve/delaminate and clog filters and carburators.

Read the posts above, if your motor is older, do what they say.
Then make your own decision on what fuel to use.

Personally, I have 87 octane ethanol free gas available and use it most of the time. Harder to find when on the road or in Canada, so I use what's available.

 

[flashback]

I use straight gas in anything that sits for a while, My truck or car gets the cheapest.

 

[airshot]

Several problems with ethanol blended gas.

The growing of corn to make ethanol is a disgusting waste of valuable farm land and resources that could be used to feed the world. In Result - higher food prices.

The process of fertilizing, growing, harvesting, processing, and transporting, actually creates more of the pollutants that ethanol is supposed to eliminate, thus causing more harm than using straight gasoline. Documented in several well known university studies.
It also has created a huge ever changing amount of government oversight and taxpayer subsidies, along with more lobbyist to sway politicians decisions.

As far as use in outboards, older engines did not have fuel lines and pumps that were resistant to the ethanol. Caused them to dissolve/delaminate and clog filters and carburators.

Read the posts above, if your motor is older, do what they say.
Then make your own decision on what fuel to use.

Personally, I have 87 octane ethanol free gas available and use it most of the time. Harder to find when on the road or in Canada, so I use what's available.

I agree whole heartedly that we shouldn't be burning our food in engines !! A big sales pitch to shore up farm crops and make a tiny dent in emissions to satisfy the tree huggars.. Very similar to the political movement on EV's, only the EV push if failing more than corn fuel. However, if recommendations are followed, and you buy good quality fuels from well maintained fuel stations you won't have any issues with it. I worked with a large group of old car guys and my neighbors are still active rebuilding old cars and engines. The majority use E10 fuels with NO issues at all if recommendations are followed !!

 

[rxl650]

No more ethanol free fuel here in Ontario since Dec. 2022. Drain tanks every new season, replace fuel line every two years for me. All unused fuel goes in my ol' work van. Never a problem so far. I have an old 2006 Tohatsu 25 4 stroke that only gets used in the spring. It fires first turn of the key every year.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, there is still a lot of propaganda about alcohol blended gasoline. I do not have first hand knowledge about the impact of growing the corn, fermenting and distillation effects, but I do have first hand knowledge about the use of it since it was introduced.

After the first tank of the alcohol-gasoline mix, any dirt in the tank will likely be in the fuel filter, so clean/replace that a few times. If the fuel lines are old, replace 'em. You should probably do that anyway. One benefit of alcohol-blended gasoline is that it will absorb small amounts of water, which gasoline will not.

Run the motors as usual. Check the water separator for water, as you would do with straight gasoline.

Alcohol blended gasoline is not a boogeyman, by any means.

 

[airshot]

Gee, there is still a lot of propaganda about alcohol blended gasoline. I do not have first hand knowledge about the impact of growing the corn, fermenting and distillation effects, but I do have first hand knowledge about the use of it since it was introduced.

After the first tank of the alcohol-gasoline mix, any dirt in the tank will likely be in the fuel filter, so clean/replace that a few times. If the fuel lines are old, replace 'em. You should probably do that anyway. One benefit of alcohol-blended gasoline is that it will absorb small amounts of water, which gasoline will not.

Run the motors as usual. Check the water separator for water, as you would do with straight gasoline.

Alcohol blended gasoline is not a boogeyman, by any means.

Also, if you have an older motor, do as recommended and replace all fuel lines/ hoses with ethanol rated lines. When E fuels were first introduced it was highly recommended to replace existing hoses to alcohol rated hoses and add extra fuel filters to catch or trap all the crud that the alcohol broke loose as it cleaned the system. Stations were also told to add filters to the pump s to trap crud from the tanks inground, in many states they were required new tanks for E fuel storage. How many folks actually listened and followed these recommendations ??? And we wonder why E fuel gas gotten a bad name ??

 

[jitterbug127]

I rebuilt/replace the fuel system on all of my motors. Fuel lines, carb, fuel pump. I like everything to be fresh and optimal. I use 93 in my outboard and it seems to work pretty well. Non ethanol fuel is a good 40 minutes away, so not a real option. I put stabilizer in for the winter in all my small engines. I like to start all my motors once per month (outboard and lawn equipment).

 

[Chris1956]

Jitterbug, Production outboards are designed to run on regular fuel. There is no advantage to using premium fuel. Of course, your wallet will be lighter, so maybe you will go a bit faster.