Do you use non-ethanol gas?

Steve195 said:
I always thought ValveTect was ethanol free plus some additives, but after looking at their website, you appear to be correct. Although their website claims "ValvTect Marine Gasoline is "specially formulated" for marine engines and is designed to prevent the problems of ethanol gasoline". It doesn't specifically say it's ethanol free. I think I made an assumption that it was.

I purchased my boat from PWM and it was full of their gas. My boat is on Lake Anna and Anna Point Marina has ValveTect, so I've kept using it, all along thinking I was ethanol free. Oh well, the boat runs well so I guess I'll keep using it.
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You should be fine. I ran my last boat for 10 years on gas purchased at Anna Point and never had a single motor issue. Would still have that boat at the "Yacht Club" but my lift cable snapped and boat hit the dock and was totaled. Turns out cables should be replaced every 5 years on an overhead lift.
 

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Pierpressure1 said:
You should be fine. I ran my last boat for 10 years on gas purchased at Anna Point and never had a single motor issue. Would still have that boat at the "Yacht Club" but my lift cable snapped and boat hit the dock and was totaled. Turns out cables should be replaced every 5 years on an overhead lift.
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Wow! That would suck. My boat is in one of the newest lift slips at LAYC, so the lift and cables are brand new. Hopefully I should be good for awhile. I sure do like the convenience of the yacht club!
 
We have no reasonable choice around here. We have to use gas with ethanol in it, Been using it for years and add Startron religiously. Never had a problem.
 
I use ethanol free only. The only place that sells it here is chevron in a 92 octane fuel or on the lake. There is a 40 cent per liter mark up buying gas on the water so I usually tow it to the station and fill. I think it may have helped some when I was having vapour lock issues with a tank of e 10. But I made some other changes as well to solve the issue so I'm not sure how much it was related to vapour locking. I think it's just not worth the risk if you can avoid it.
 
when I had a smaller trailer boat (Sea Ray 215EC) I used to always use fuel with ethanol added...I would just top off the fuel tank at the nearest filling station when we went out....the engine ran fine and I did not have any issues....I remember the first time I filled the tank with non-ethanol fuel....the tank was just about empty so I filled it with the non-ethanol fuel.....I could tell a definite improvement in the way the engine idled and the 'crispness' of the throttle response.....the engine just seemed to run smoother and accelerate faster....to an untrained ear this would have gone unnoticed but I was extremely familiar with how that engine ran as I am with all of the engines in my vehicles/boats.....I was skeptical that I would notice any difference running non-ethanol fuel but I was wrong....there was a noticeable difference.....at least with my engine....this was a carb'd engine.....not sure if the difference would have been noticed in a fuel injected engine....

cliff
 
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CliffA said:
....so I filled it with the non-ethanol fuel.....I could tell a definite improvement in the way the engine idled and the 'crispness' of the throttle response.....the engine just seemed to run smoother and accelerate faster....to an untrained ear this would have gone unnoticed but I was extremely familiar with how that engine ran as I am with all of the engines in my vehicles/boats...
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I agree... I felt the opposite when I filled my 502 Mag EFI with E10. It was noticeably sluggish and had a different sound to it. It's hard to describe but when you know your boat, you know there's a difference. And I wasn't trying an experiment where I was looking for a difference. My tank was at about 1/8 after a full weekend on the lake pulling the kids and restaurant hopping with friends so I filled up with E10 on land on my way home from the lake that weekend. I was out again 2 days later with a friend and noticed the difference right away as it idled at the boat ramp. As soon as I tried to get on plane it felt like the engine was holding back on me and had a roughness I hadn't ever experienced.

When I burned that tank and refilled with non-ethanol it was, as you said, crisp and I had my old boat back. Never again with E10 for me. I suppose if you've always used E10 then you don't have a frame of reference to make a comparison.
 
There are no land based gas stations that have Valvetact gas anywhere in my region, and while there are two on the water, the closest is about 12 miles from my dock. I did fill up my 300 Sundancer a couple of times at one of them because I happened to be in that area, but I honestly didn't notice any difference in performance.
Again though, I religiously use Startron, and my gas isn't in the tank long enough to get old so that may have something to do with it.
For the winter I run the tanks down low, dose with Stabil before the last run of the season so it mixes and goes through the system, and then top off with fresh gas in the spring. Never had a problem.
I always thought that Valvetect gas is something to be used in place of adding Startron and Stabil, and that if you can't buy gas with it already in it, that you could add it.
 
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We have a gas station that is on a canal and on Mondays/Wednesday offers fuel to boats at street price. They have a pump near water. Took on a 140 gallons for $298 threw some star trim in and off I went. I'll let you guess if it was E10 lol
 
I'm checking the ValvTect website and can't find anything that says they don't use E-10. I did find one document from 2010 that states they will NOT sell any E-15. Nothing about not selling E-10.
 
No.

I've used ValvTect with no extra treatments with zero trouble.
 
rondds said:
I'm checking the ValvTect website and can't find anything that says they don't use E-10. I did find one document from 2010 that states they will NOT sell any E-15. Nothing about not selling E-10.
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All the marinas in this area that sell ValvTect are Non Ethanol that have been certified by Valvtect to be ethanol free. It depends on your area if they can get ethanol free from the refinery.
From the marina I fuel up at most of the time
Our conveniently located fuel dock is immediately accessible from Commencement Bay and the Foss Waterway and provides deep-water access for vessels up to 100' in length. We are proud to offer ETHANOL-FREE gasoline and diesel with ValvTect premium fuel additive! Hail us on VHF channel 71 or call 253-272-4404 for docking assistance.

Right from the page to search your state

ValvTect Marine Fuel can be purchased from these Certified ValvTect Marina Locations:

The following search returns a list of Certified ValvTect Marine Fuel Locations. These locations have been certified to provide ValvTect Marine Gasoline and/or ValvTect Marine Premium Diesel with BioGuard in accordance with ValvTect's strict quality control guidelines. Marinas have the option to sell recreational grade (non-ethanol) or ethanol (E10) gasolines based upon geographic availability. Dispensers must identify if the gasoline contains ethanol by Federal requirement. For more information on ValvTect Products, or for information on quality control requirements to qualify your Marina, please call 800-728-8258.
 
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My son plays hockey so the admiral and I drive to Canada all the time. Up there gas is non ethanol and my truck runs so much stronger, sounds better, better mileage. It's amazing to me that I can feel and hear the difference.

here were I live there's one ethanol free gas station 35 miles away. I drive up there filled the truck up @ $3.75 gal. Drove home and the fuel gauge needle didn't budge.

Valve tec here has ethanol though so I'll be trailering up to fill the boat tank. It's just worth it to me.
 
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I've been boating on Chesapeake Bay for 13 years. It's impossible to find ethanol-free gasoline at a marina in Maryland. My previous boat was a 2002 Wellcraft with twin Volvo Penta 4.3L fuel injected engines and I had a lot of fuel-related problems with it, especially after periods of time when it was seldom used. The marina that maintained the boat attributed the problems to the E10 fuel used, and apparently they see it all the time. They actually began offering a winterizing service in which they pump the remaining fuel out of your tank and put in about five gallons of 100LL aviation gasoline from a local airport, then run the engine(s) for a few minutes, and then shut down and winterize normally. They said the people who opt for this service have fewer fuel-related problems.
 
El Capitan said:
My son plays hockey so the admiral and I drive to Canada all the time. Up there gas is non ethanol and my truck runs so much stronger, sounds better, better mileage. It's amazing to me that I can feel and hear the difference.

here were I live there's one ethanol free gas station 35 miles away. I drive up there filled the truck up @ $3.75 gal. Drove home and the fuel gauge needle didn't budge.

Valve tec here has ethanol though so I'll be trailering up to fill the boat tank. It's just worth it to me.
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Ontario automotive gasoline does contain Ethanol. It is mandated by government regulation that retailers must blend at least 5% ethanol in their total gasoline sold. Most stations blend up to 10% ethanol in regular and mid grade, but do not add ethanol to premium grade, but that varies. Our marina sells mid grade, ethanol free gas (or at least that is what they say it is).

So if you were filling up with regular, and feeling a difference it is just "placebo effect".
 
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