10% Methanol Fuel

[Stone]

Are there any reported problems with using the gasoline blend with Methanol? Does this eco-fuel eliminate the need for using a "dry gas" additive to remove water from our fuel tanks? Will our Yamaha 225 engines handle this fuel?

[Ken]

Stone,
I don't think any of the outboards are designed to run on an ethanol/methanol blend. I wouldn't take a chance of damaging seals, gaskets, hoses and O2 sensors.
Yeah, ethanol/methanol might soak up a little moisture in the gas tank, but that would be the only redeeming quality as far as I am concerned.
Good luck,
Ken K

[miss kate]

Doesn't all of the fuel in the states contain 10% ethanol? I see at all of the roadside pumps they have a decal for 10% ethanol. I read an article that since they started adding this to fuel that the mechanics in the article have seen alot of older motors with blown power heads. I don't know what else you can do.

[Littoral]

Ethanol-oxygenated fuel is not a national thing.
Only certain areas of the country are using ethanol instead of MTBE to oxygenate gas to make it cleaner burning and less polluting. Long Island is one of those areas because MTBE is a known carcinogen, and Long Island gets its drinking water from wells... Sounds great, right?

Several problems, however: 1) Ethanol doesn't just absorb water that happens to be in your gas tank... It really likes water...so much, that after it absorbs what is in your tank, it keeps drinking...and continues to pull water from the air into your tank (if your tank happens to be vented, like in BOATS) until there is so much water that your gas actually separates into two layers -- a top layer of pure gas, and a bottom layer of ethanol and water (search "phase separation" on the web for more info). 2) Ethanol likes to dissolve, deteriorate, or swell many types of rubber and plastics...like the ones they use to make many of the components used in boat fuel systems (including fuel pumps and filters). 3) Ethanol is a great solvent. It likes to dissolve any "crud" that has accumulated in the tanks and lines of gas stations, marina fuel tanks, and your boat (if it has been around awhile), and then move it through your engine's fuel delivery system.

There's a lot more to the ethanol story. Do some web searching and you will find that Australia went through some serious ethanol problems a few years ago. Long Island boaters are having some very serious engine problems associated with ethanol in their gas...but generally don't know the cause. The marine industry, the government, and the engine manufacturers are aware of the problem, but because it is regional, and not national, it is not getting the media attention that it should....

[Ken]

Stone, miss kate, Ken,
Go out of state if you have to get fuel w/o any alcohol - don't run that crap in your outboards!
Ken K