Ethanol free gas vs. Regular with 10% Ethanol

[Ski]

The president of the Bass club I am in,  is also a very good friend of mine and has just purchased a new Ranger with 250 four stroke Yamaha.

He is convinced without a shadow of doubt that Ethanol free gas should be the ONLY fuel to use. Even though the motor specs say regular with 10 % Ethanol is safe. In a upcoming tournament in which we are fishing together I have located big fish about a 1 hour run from our starting point.

Because this is a club event there is not much money to be won so he has decided that it is just is not worth the 1 hour both ways seeing as Ethanol free gas is running about $4.30 a gallon here in Jacksonville Fl. I have no idea what his burn rate is at WOT(wide open throttle) but he is claiming that it is substantial enough to not make it worth it. What say you?

[GreenPig]

A search showed 25 GPH. So $215 round trip, would be a hard no for me.

[Tennessee Boy]

The manufacturer probably also recommends ethanol free gas if it’s available and lists all the reasons why e10 is a bad idea.  I’ve never put ethanol in my tank but I wouldn’t worry much about it if I was going to burn it all in a day.  It’s his boat so his opinion is all that matters.  Sounds like an expensive run regardless of what gas you use.

[Bird]

I'd avoid the corn fuel myself but non ethanol is readily available here.

[A-Jay]

13 hours ago, Ski said:

What say you?

Sitting in that rig and doing advanced fuel cost consumption calculations is weak salad.

I say if you buy ~ run it.

A-Jay

 

[gim]

Those VMAX outboards suck up fuel like a monkey at a banana buffet.  You can literally watch the needle drop when you run it at high speed.

 

Obviously the math doesn't add up here if the numbers posted are accurate.  Its his boat, so he makes those decisions.

 

Nice boat BTW

[GaryH]

 

Definitely his decision. On the other hand I didn’t purchase a 21’ boat with the same motor to worry about how much fuel I’m going to consume. No different than purchasing my truck with a 6.2 L @A-Jay and then worrying about the fuel I’m going to use to haul the boat. 
Great motor Andy. I love mine.

 

[A-Jay]

12 minutes ago, GaryH said:

 

Definitely his decision. On the other hand I didn’t purchase a 21’ boat with the same motor to worry about how much fuel I’m going to consume. No different than purchasing my truck with a 6.2 L @A-Jay and then worrying about the fuel I’m going to use to haul the boat. 
Great motor Andy. I love mine.

 

Thanks - Me too.

And I'll be using both V8 motors later today.

(pic's from last years, doesn't look like here that now)

A-Jay

[DaubsNU1]

I run ethanol-free fuel in boat, ATV's, lawn mowers, weed-eater, power-washer, generator. About the only thing that doesn't get ethanol-free is the daily-driver Accord.

 

The Duramax is a bit of overkill for the Lund...but serves me well when I hook up the 5th wheel camper AND the Lund.

 

But in the immortal words of Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith: "Overkill is underrated"

 

[gim]

23 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

The Duramax is a bit of overkill for the Lund...but serves me well when I hook up the 5th wheel camper AND the Lund.

 

I'm guessing the size of the tow vehicle for a 5th wheel camper needs to be sizable.  Makes zero sense to have two, so by default you have to go with a bigger one instead of just one capable of towing an aluminum boat.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I agree with your friend. 

[Capt Ed]

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind.  Run what you want to run.  Yes, most engine manufacturers recommend non-ethanol is available.  However, Mercury engines manufactured since 1999 and Yamaha's since 2003 are computable with E-10.  

 

For those that might be on the fence, I've run E-10 since 2004 in Yamaha and Mercury engines without any problems.  Every thing from F300 Yamaha's to my current 2020 Mercury 150 XS.  I do add the appropriate manufacturer fuel additives.  

 

-All models- MAXIMUM ETHANOL CONTENT: 10%. Ethanol content may adversly affect engine performance.
 

Make your fuel selections based on the following criteria, IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:

-High Traffic, Top-Tier (Name Brand) Fuel
-Appropriate Octane Rating (see above info)
-Lowest possible ethanol content (NEVER to exceed 10%).
-While it may be preferable to utilize a fuel that contains lower (or no) ethanol, use of fuels that are SUBSTANTIALLY higher octane can result in decreased performance, decreased fuel economy, and potential for carbon buildup. Higher octane fuels burn SLOWER and COOLER.

[Bankc]

It depends on the engine for me.  If the engine was designed for it, it should have no problem using it.  You might lose some MPG, but you usually more than make up for it with the price difference.  Since his engine says e-10 is okay, e-10 will be okay.  If it wasn't there's no way a manufacturer would say it was.  You'd have warranty issues and eventually a class action lawsuit on your hands, that could both easily be avoided by just printing the words "no e-10".  I mean, what company wouldn't spend a penny to save hundreds of millions of dollars?  And it's not like you'll sell more engines because yours says it can take e-10 if it can't.  That's not something anyone really looks at when buying a new boat motor.  So it's just common sense that if it says it can take e-10, it can, and all of the lawyers and engineers are fully confident in that.  

 

I probably wouldn't want to store the motor, long term, with e-10 fuel in it, even if it was designed for it.  But a few weeks wouldn't matter.  So long as the tank is sealed, so air and thus water vapor couldn't get in, you should be fine.  But over winter, I'd be a little more worried about that.  I'd probably still do it if I had to.  But if given the choice, I'd choose not to, just to be safe.  

 

But mostly these e-10 worries come from horror stories of people putting it into engines that weren't designed for them.  In those cases, they can do serious damage over the long term.  It's basically like the old leaded fuel thing.  When they first switched to unleaded, there was a similar backlash for similar reasons.  But now, no one cares.  

[Jig Man]

It is his boat, therefore his decision.  Pony up and pay for whatever he wants.  After all he has $$$$$$ tied up in his rig.

[GreenPig]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Thanks - Me too.

And I'll be using both V8 motors later today.

(pic's from last years, doesn't look like here that now)

A-Jay

Get us some pics of fat brown fish.

[A-Jay]

23 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

Get us some pics of fat brown fish.

I'm working on it my friend - 

Freezing my arse off, but I'm working on it.

😨

A-Jay

[Susky River Rat]

I always run ethanol free. I have gone on trips and loaded up a few gas tanks of it for the weekend just in case.

[gim]

I just realized that the OP is in Florida, so I'm guessing E-10 would be fine given that the outboard is used all year round.

 

Ethanol is bad for seasonal engines that tend to not get used for months on end.  If the boat is being used regularly all year and the manual says E-10 is ok, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.  The motor is gonna suck down fuel regardless though.

[airshot]

If fuel cost is a worry, then owning a boat is not a good hobby to have. It is the boat owners money so they can spend it or throw it away, however they choose.  Most E10 issues start where the fuel is purchased, not stored properly, or filters not changed.  Like anything else, if proper maintenance is done, then no issues with E10.  Been using it in everything since it came out and I have a lot of toys as does my neighbor, neither has ever had an issue with E10 fuel.  The money I save allows me many more boating trips..But to each his own.....

[Bankc]

4 hours ago, Jig Man said:

It is his boat, therefore his decision.  Pony up and pay for whatever he wants.  After all he has $$$$$$ tied up in his rig.

That's a good point.  It doesn't matter who's right or who's wrong if it's his boat.  

[Woody B]

11 hours ago, GreenPig said:

A search showed 25 GPH. So $215 round trip, would be a hard no for me.

Vs ~$165 using E-10?   

[GreenPig]

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

Vs ~$165 using E-10?   

Yeah, I don't partake in the burning of corn gas and usually burn less than $10 of E - Free gas per trip. The low payout and $82.50 each way doesn't make sense to me.

[Ski]

16 hours ago, Jig Man said:

t is his boat, therefore his decision.  Pony up and pay for whatever he wants.  After all he has $$$$$$ tied up in his rig.

It is not a matter of me to "pony up"  I always buy breakfast, pay total fuel expense for truck, boat plus total entry fee in the TNT.

It is about the value of TNT vs. fuel and the 2 hours lost of fishing.

[Woody B]

One of the reasons I don't fish tournaments is once I get started I'm WAY to competitive.  I'd spend $1000 on gas to win a $5 prize just to keep someone else from winning it.  I enjoy fishing too much to let this happen so I stay away from tournaments.  The 2 hours lost fishing is a big consideration too.   

 

FWIW, in Florida even with engines that are compatible with E10 the high humidity can still cause some problems.  E-10 works for me with my location and application.  Burn what you want to.  I was trying to point out earlier that the cost difference isn't really all that much.   A 2 hour round trip in a big boat with a 250 horsepower engine is going to burn a few bucks worth of gas regardless of flavor.  

 

 

Added: Nice boat!!!!   Good luck in the tourney.  

[slonezp]

On 3/29/2024 at 6:06 AM, GreenPig said:

A search showed 25 GPH. So $215 round trip, would be a hard no for me.

25gph? Where did you get that number? Most outboards average 3-5gph at WOT