Ethanol fuel usage

Tom, First of all welcome to CCFan and be sure to fill out a diaries page and get some pics posted of your boat. We love Pics! Haven't seen too many 89 Sports running round here so it would be cool to see her.

As far as the Ethanol usage, did you put Ethanol treatment in the tank before you winterized her? If not then there is probably your culprit. Also have you changed the fuel supply line to one that doesn't break down from the ethanol? That could be the culprit as well. It's a pretty simple task and can be done in a couple hours from start to finish. I just replaced mine this spring as I got a email regarding fuel line breakdowns. I've not had any issues with using ethanol blended fuels (knock Knock)but I won't let the boat sit for more than a month w/o running her either.( +1 for living in the south). Rebuilding a Carb yourself isn't that hard if you have any mechanical abilities. Get a rebuild kit, change out the fuel line and you should be good to go. Again welcome to CCFan!


Here's the Link I posted on it this spring.

Examine your Fuel Line

Morfoot wrote: ( +1 for living in the south).

Hey Tim,
To early in the morning for you? I don't think so since you are on pretty early like myself so, you must have missed the Pa. location. Yup, the screen name is misleading. Tom must be one of those transplants!

Tom,
Welcome to CCfan. Yes, we almost demand pictures!!

I know the ethanol can be a problem but I really wonder if it's used as a "catch all" excuse by many mechanics. Yes, it doesn't store well over long periods of time but, to date, I've never had an issue with it. Several years ago, I switched to the marine formula for ethanol by Stabil. Ether it's the green dye they use or the word "marine" that makes it so expensive but, as mentioned, so far so good!!

Ethanol is a joke, imo. Big problem with it is that the alcohol separates from the gasoline at about 3 months, give or take. Once it separates, it bonds readily with water in the tank. Then you've got problems. Do a little reading on phase separation. And no, there's no magic additive that can prevent it, not even the green colored stuff. There's also the fact that it's corrosive to older fuel system parts that are not specifically made to handle it. Plus, it's got less stored energy than regular gasoline. Now, my father in law and I have a running dispute as to whether or not i'm wasting my time, but he did just have to get the fuel lines redone on his fishing boat . Sorry you austin guys, boat's sitting out in east texas and i've got a source in carthage. They're very cool--they take my 5 gal gas cans out of the suburban and fill them for me. Nothing like good service to keep you coming back.

Is this your problem? maybe, maybe not. I agree that it's an easy answer or excuse to just say "oh, it's the ethanol". My thinking is that if you're constantly running the boat, the ethanol is probably not a big deal so long as you upgrade the fuel system to handle it, as there's no time for phase separation to occur. Leave the boat for long periods--that's where the problems start. But that's not just an ethanol issue, either.

Morfoot wrote: Tom, First of all welcome to CCFan and be sure to fill out a diaries page and get some pics posted of your boat. We love Pics! Haven't seen too many 89 Sports running round here so it would be cool to see her. As far as the Ethanol usage, did you put Ethanol treatment in the tank before you winterized her? If not then there is probably your culprit. Also have you changed the fuel supply line to one that doesn't break down from the ethanol? That could be the culprit as well. It's a pretty simple task and can be done in a couple hours from start to finish. I just replaced mine this spring as I got a email regarding fuel line breakdowns. I've not had any issues with using ethanol blended fuels (knock Knock)but I won't let the boat sit for more than a month w/o running her either.( +1 for living in the south). Rebuilding a Carb yourself isn't that hard if you have any mechanical abilities. Get a rebuild kit, change out the fuel line and you should be good to go. Again welcome to CCFan! Tim: FYI, SN206's list of ethanol-free stations shows 3 in Jackson. Hope you're healing well, let me know when you can go to Oconee. Jeff Here's the Link I posted on it this spring. Examine your Fuel Line

Thanks for the info. I have found a "GASOLINE SUPPLIER" now. It is 30 miles out of my way (60 Total) but filled up last night for the first time. Going out today for some ski & tubing. Carb has been rebuilt & all is GOOD!     [:)]

Try using Star Brite ethanol enzyme treatment. We switched from stabil marine to it in our shop and it makes a huge difference. I gave away three cases of to get the locals input and so far so good. Of ourse buying ethanol free is always best.