Which fuel is better?

[armstead]

I was told by a saleman at a marina that the fuel you buy at a boat marina is different from the fuel at a regular gas station. he said it has less additives or something.:huh: How much truth is there to this?. Also is there a special fuel i should use ie; premium, or regular unleaded? Also is there any additives I should always use..

 

[Hampton]

Most boaters want to stay away from ethanol. In our area, most marine gas stations (if not all) don't have gas with ethanol - it attracts water. Many marine gas stations add fuel stabilizers. These variations cost extra, but can really be worth it. If you're going to burn it out in a couple of weeks or less, I don't think it matters that much, but I could be wrong.

 

[armstead]

Most boaters want to stay away from ethanol. In our area, most marine gas stations (if not all) don't have gas with ethanol - it attracts water. Many marine gas stations add fuel stabilizers. These variations cost extra, but can really be worth it. If you're going to burn it out in a couple of weeks or less, I don't think it matters that much, but I could be wrong.

So what about all the guys that trailer their boat like me, do you find a Marina to get gas, or use the ethanol gas and use some type of stabilizer?

 

[Hampton]

So what about all the guys that trailer their boat like me, do you find a Marina to get gas, or use the ethanol gas and use some type of stabilizer?

We used to use gas from car stations. Never thought about it much then. We only used stabilizer during long periods of non-use, such as winter.

 

[armstead]

I see, so I guess it is safe to say you never had any problems using the car station gas.. That looks like the way I will have to go.

Thank you:thumbsup:

 

[Fishnut]

You should let us know what boat and engine you have.

Having said that, if you are going to use "car" gas it would be a good idea to use the Stabil additive and I think they have one for Ethanol. The issue is condensation and water accumulation. Make sure your water separator filter is regularly maintained and you should be fine. I have used car gas on my fishing boat for years with no issues but I have consistently used either Stabil or Seafoam and have always made sure the fuel filter is good.

 

[armstead]

I have the Mercruiser 5.0 Bravo III drive 260 hp. So how often should I use a stablizer? Every tank of gas or other. And should it be premium gas for basic 87, 89. I assume I get the Stabi or sea foam from any boat store?

 

[sbw1]

I've watched fuel being delivered to a marina before. The tanker stopped at a gas station across the street from the marina and filled their tanks and then came to the marina and filled its tank. The marina manager was there dumping in Valvetech just before his underground tank was filled. As I understand the process, e10 is made up in the same way. Alcohol is added to the tanker just prior to filling it with regular gasoline. We had an issue at our local Shell station where a lady filled he car up and it stalled after drinving just a block or two. As it turned out, her gas tank had mostly ethanol in it due to a miscalculation when the delivery tanker was filled (not filled?) with gasoline. We get our gas from the southern US. It comes up north via the Wolverine Pipeline and contains pure gasonlilne. The marinas all specify non-e10 fuel. Some add Valvetech and others add nothing to it.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Marina gas can be better or worse than car gas. It all depends on what the owner brings in. 87 octane is fine - that is what your engine is desgined to run on. 89 octane will not provide you with any benefits. You might find that some marinas only carry 89.

MTBE used to be the "octane improver" - it raised gasoline's octane to 87,89, etc. Ethanol is the new octane improver (apparently MTBE is bad for the environment when you dump it on the ground.....). As noted above, ethanol is hydroscopic - attracts moisture. Because water is heavier than gas, it pulls the ethanol to the bottom on the tank - phase seperation. I have noticed that a few car gas companies in my area are advertising "ethanol free gas". I'm sure it's available other places.

With a carb'd engine, especially 4.3L's, it is sometimes beneficial to run a higher octane as they are more susceptible to run-on. Depending on where you live, the formulation used in "car gas" will change with colder weather. More octane is typically needed to make a boat engine run well. But, EFI's and MPI's usually don't have a problem.

I use Startron as an additive at every fill. They were the first to come out with a product to fight the possible effects of ethanol. Like Stabil, it is also a fuel stabilizer. Per gallon, it is less expensive than Stabil.

 

[Chris R]

I use Startron as well- so far, so good.

I have a question- I had the opportunity to fill with Valve Tech (no Ethanol) the other day but saw something somewhere that said to NOT mix non-ethanol gas with ethanol gas (I hope that makes sense). Anyone know why?

 

[sbw1]

If you mix e10 with regular gas you get something less than 10% alcohol. Shouldn't be a problem. We use no additives during the normal boating season, run on non-e10 fuel and have no problems.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I have a question- I had the opportunity to fill with Valve Tech (no Ethanol) the other day but saw something somewhere that said to NOT mix non-ethanol gas with ethanol gas (I hope that makes sense). Anyone know why?

Well, I have never heard that before. But, you got my interest peaked. I did a quick a google search for "mtbe mix with ethanol" and returned quite a few results. I only read through a few of them, but the same thing was referenced: mixing MTBE with Ethanol can result in a slush-like mixture.

I'd say this topic, at the very least, deserves some more attention.

 

[fwebster]

Check with your marina on whether or not their fuel contains ethanol. You cannot assume because a certain distributor sells to both convenience stores or gas stations and marinas that all their fuel contains ethanol. Our marina's gasoline does not because they specifically request unblended fuel and will not accept E10/E15, but the same disrtibutor pumps full at several service stations within a mile of the marina.

 

[Fishnut]

I have the Mercruiser 5.0 Bravo III drive 260 hp. So how often should I use a stablizer? Every tank of gas or other. And should it be premium gas for basic 87, 89. I assume I get the Stabi or sea foam from any boat store?

You can get Stabil at hardware and other retailers that carry car supplies.

The issue is condensation so you don't need to put in every take you put in. I use it every other tank. Also make sure you regularly service you fuel separator. It really should be that big an issue but it is probably smart to error on the side of caution.

 

[Uplate]

We fill the trailered boat at gas stations that advertise No Ethanol. The sundancer gets fueled at the Marina who also advertises No Ethanol. But who really knows what you are getting in the end. I use Startron additive just in case on the Sundancer.

 

[springer3]

One of the problems with ethanol in an older engine is the rubber hoses, seals, and diaphrams are "conditioned" (damaged) by the fuel and its additives. Changing fuels only adds to the damage. That is the only reason not to switch around any more than you have to.

 

[Chris R]

Well, I have never heard that before. But, you got my interest peaked. I did a quick a google search for "mtbe mix with ethanol" and returned quite a few results. I only read through a few of them, but the same thing was referenced: mixing MTBE with Ethanol can result in a slush-like mixture.

I'd say this topic, at the very least, deserves some more attention.

I agree. One would assume that mixing the E-10 and straight gas would be a good thing as it would help dilute the E-10. I'm not a petro-chemist, but there must be something that makes these two not compatible.

Oh well. I'll keep using fuel additive and just not think about it.
There's no Valve Tech (non E-10 gas) conveniently nearby anyway.

 

[billandamy]

So what about all the guys that trailer their boat like me, do you find a Marina to get gas, or use the ethanol gas and use some type of stabilizer?

I always just get it at the lake marina. It is a few $'s more but worth it as trailering to a the nearest gas station is a pain.

I keep meaning to ask the marina if they use ethanol free. I assume they use regular gas station gas. I havent used stabilizers yet, but during the summer it is running often. I stabilize for winter.

 

[sbw1]

Well, I have never heard that before. But, you got my interest peaked. I did a quick a google search for "mtbe mix with ethanol" and returned quite a few results. I only read through a few of them, but the same thing was referenced: mixing MTBE with Ethanol can result in a slush-like mixture.
I'd say this topic, at the very least, deserves some more attention.

I don't believe gas has MTBE added to it any more, so adding regular gasoline to e10 should produce something less than e10.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I don't believe gas has MTBE added to it any more, so adding regular gasoline to e10 should produce something less than e10.

The way I understood it, ethanol is the new octane improver. It replaces MTBE (the old octane improver). I took that to mean if you get "non ethanol" gas, it still is the old stuff - with MTBE. Is that not correct?