POLL: Plastic tank problems

Transcribed from 'Outdoor Life' magazine, the following article was written to educate boat owners of the impact our 'new' fuels are having on marine motors. As the fuel we use in our motorcycles is the same, and the mechanics of the motor greatly similar it is likely that we are getting similar problems as boat owners, including tank distortions. Note that the author refers to additives. These are not octane boosters but stabilizers specifically meant to counter the effects of ethanol in fuel.

E= Exasperation Squared

Ethanol can make for expensive outboard repairs, unless you understand the chemistry.
By Terry Gibson

Last year, a change in diet- thanks to the recent addition of ethanol in Florida gasoline- made my super-reliable 2000 Suzuki HP sick as hell. What an expensive mechanical misadventure! I had the fuel line, filter and screens changed twice, which helped for about a week. Then she seemed gas-starved again. The new filter was already clogged up and full of water. The screens and injectors were fouled, again. When I took the boat in to St. Lucie Outboard Marine, my local Suzuki dealer, owners Bud and Vicky Tillman knew exactly what was causing the problem: ethanol.

OIL AND WATER
If you let ethanol sit in the tank for more than about eight weeks, especially in climates where there are dramatic swings in temperature and humidity, "phase separation" will occur.
Gasoline and ethanol molecules form a weak, or non-polar, bond. Water and ethanol form a strong, polar bond. Unless you keep the tank filled to the brim and add a fuel stabilizer, water molecules from condensation will bond with ethanol, break the weak bond with gasoline and drag the ethanol and its octane-enhancing benefits with it. Deprived of the additive the now-weakened fuel will float to the surface.

GUMMED UP
Senior Honda Marine engineer Vernon Gabbert calls ethanol "an exceptional cleaner." What a backhanded compliment! It's a varnish that dissolves any gunk in the tank, including rust caused by condensation. Ethanol even dissolves fiberglass fuel tanks, so if you're in the market, buy a boat with a metal tank. If you buy a new boat or if ethanol is coming to a pump near you, have your mechanic drain the fuel and swab out the tank. Otherwise, water and crud will foul the fuel system. once they're in, no outboard, regardless of age, make or model, can run much above idle, if at all.

LOW OCTANE
All outboards are certified to run on e-10 fuels, unlike some cars, which can use the E-85 Flex Fuel. E-10 fuel is also 28 percent less efficient than pure gasoline, and can cause outboards to bog down. It loses even more juice as phase separation occurs. If you run an E-10, 87-octane mix, you might experience knocking- a cause for other serious mechanical issues. Exceeding 10 percent ethanol content can void the engine's warranty. Spring for the highest-octane fuel you can find, and avoid additives with ethanol.

8 OUNCES OF PREVENTION
Since finding pure gasoline is becoming difficult, mechanics recommend keeping the laced fuel fresh and keeping screens and filters clean and water-free. Clear Racor filters allow you to see when they need to be cleaned.
Keep your tank filled to the brim to reduce condensation, and add the fuel stabilizer Star Tron, by Starbrite, at each fill-up. like microscopic Pac-Men, its between water and ethanol, preventing phase separation for up to one year. It even rehabilitates degraded fuel- to a degree. Its benefits are longer when you run your boat, because the enzymes spread throughout the tank when the fuel is sloshing around.