Bass Boats & Ethanol Gas
Since the onset of the mixture of gasoline and ethanol there have been tons of problems popping up all over the country. Injector issues, motors running rough, gas breaking down and more have plagued the bass boat owner. The latest is motors blowing up from filters clogging in the 2 stroke motor. I thought I would share with you some of the real problems ethanol is causing with today's boats.
There have been four major problems caused by E-10 ethanol fuel the first being that the fuel tends to have debris in it and as the fuel ages it tends to gum rapidly in the fuel tank. Ethanol itself is a strong cleaner that will strip away this gumming of the fuel. The problem is it disperses it back into the filters and injectors or carburetors, robs the motor of performance and causes your motor to run and act differently than it did before the E-10 fuel was used.
Next ethanol tends to collect moisture and cause large amounts of water to build up in the tank. Ethanol normally holds .5% water in suspension and as the gasoline collects moisture in the tanks it exceeds this percentage and causes the engine to run rough, stall and cause internal combustion issues in the engine. The problem is that ethanol provides the fuel with its octane and when it builds water the water is heavier than the fuel so it drops to the bottom of your tank and hence you're using a fuel that has a different octane rating than you anticipated.
Third Ethanol fuel loses its components over short periods of time, it breaks down decreases its octane and stagnates causing hard to start engines, or engines that make a pinging sound or a knock. Hence your engine is hard to start, reduces its power and causes engine damage.
Lastly ethanol actually decreases fuel economy, yes; ethanol gas produces less energy than fuel without ethanol, so you get an inefficient combustion response, changing the engine timing and reduces throttle response. So, you have 2 choices use an additive or use gas without ethanol, I prefer E-10 ethanol free gas!
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry