"Woodchuck" wrote in message ...
Over here in Western Pennsylvania I use Sunoco 93 octane and haven't had any
problems. I used the same fuel since 99 in my Mercury OB. 10%, don't think
so as the max is no more than 5% from Sunoco.
"Larry Weiss" wrote in message
...
Both of my power boats have developed severe engine hesitation
problems. They run okay at idle but sputter and stall when revved. My
mechanics have complained that they are seeing this problem left and
right - and are blaming it on the gasoline, which around here (Long
Island, NY) now contains 10% ethanol. I know ethanol is not good for
rubberized fuel lines, but did not know it caused running problems
(unless the fuel lines are deteriorating and clogging). The gas in each
boat was purchased at a different fuel dock.
If my mechanics are correct, this is a serious regional (national?)
problem. Anyone else experiencing difficulty? Any comments or
suggestions? How can we get gasoline without ethanol in it? How is the
marine industry addressing this?
Larry Weiss
"...Ever After!"
"a little after..."
Ok here some fact about alcohol addition to fuel:
For a long time people have sometimes added a bit of alcohol to the
gasoline in areas where water might get into the gas tank. The water
does not mix with the gasoline and in cold climates can freeze in the
gas line and in warmer climates prevent the engine from starting.
Water is not a good fuel. Addition of the alcohol will cause formation
of a ternarty mixture with the water and the gasoline and avoid the
water from separating out.
More recnetly in some states like california the EPA in order to
reduce engine pollution the government has mandated the use of
Oxygenated fuels. This is gasoline that has up to 10% alcohol added to
make the gasoline burn cleaner. The 10% number comes from an agreement
of automobile engine manufacturers who have agreed that up to 10 % the
engine is not harmed and no special adjustment is required.
With more than 10% alcohol the power of the engine is reduced and
parts may suffer. In Brazil some cars use pure alcohol, these are
special engines and people don't like them because they have no power
( I used to live there and had a car with an alcohol engine)
For these reasons I don't think that poor running of an engine with a
gasoline/10% alcohol is the problem. Water tends to cause starting
problems but once the engine is running at high speed the water tends
to disperse ( not dissolve ) and go through the engine with the
gasoline.
There may be several reasons for the stalling problem. Most likely the
engines are starved of fuel when revved. Since it occurs on both
engines it may be a simple as some blockage in the fuel line that
allows some fuel to get through, enough for idle, but not enough for a
high rev. S I would look for the problem in the fuel filters, fuel
line, fuel pump etc
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