[Gerry Zagorski]

Ethanol has several downsides in a marine environment... First and foremost it tends to break down some of the materials in a boat's fuel system.. The first sign of this was noticed when they introduced it back in 2003. It was breaking down the fiberglass fuel tanks that some high end boat manufacturers like Hatteras and Bertram use... Many people had to replace those tanks at great personal expense. It can also attack fuel lines and plastic fittings.

The other issue is that alcohol more readily aborbs mositure. What happens then is the water and alcohol tend to separate from the gasoline and potentially get sucked up into the engine. With older non oil injected 2 strokes the separated alcohol and water mix can also separate from the oil which your engine depends on for it's lubrication.


A few tips from the reading I have done on this subject:

- Try and reduce the moisture when storing E-10 over long periods of time like over winter lay up.... Best thing to do is top off your tanks before you lay up...If your entire tank is filled there is no room for condensation to form in your tank which is how water gets introduced into your tank.

- During the running rather then top off your tanks, fuel up as needed so you don't have old potentially separted fuel in your tanks.

- Install a good fuel filter/water separtor like a racor and inspect it often for the presence of water... These filters will separate the water from your fuel and the water can be drained from the filter bowl.

- If you have an older boat you should consider replacing your fuel lines. Ethanol tends to break down the inside of the fuel line which causes it to collapse and restrict the fuel flow... Your boat may run fine at idle speeds but when you go to throttle up the engine starves for fuel...I was talking to a mechanic at the yard and he told me the story of one of his customers who replaced a whole buch of stuff on his boat trying to resolve the issue. Turns out there was a 6 inch section of fuel line that collapased. He replaced it and that solved the issue.