Why boaters hate ethanol
Photo: Flickr/lemoncat1 -- Creative Commons 2.0
"BOATERS BEWARE" is how a Portland, Oregon's local news KGW NewsChannel 8 report begins. What's the big threat? E10, which is gasoline blended with just ten percent ethanol. It seems, the report says and AutoblogGreen readers will remember, that when water gets into a fuel tank with E10, it can cause the engine to stop working. Old fiberglass tanks are the most susceptible to problems. The report recommends buying a filter and says the state government probably won't back off mandating E10's use. Water getting in the fuel tank is a big problem no matter what fuel you put in, but there is a small amount of water in most ethanol, which most older boat motors can't handle.
Related:
- Ethanol "tastes just like vodka"
- The Economist says everyone is wrong about ethanol
- Water demand for ethanol production causes concern
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wildgoosechase 1:30PM (2/19/2008)
California has had E10 since the MTBE scare, no complaints from boaters there. How about fixing your leaky gas tank?
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stevefazek 5:50PM (2/19/2008)
E10 Blows on boats. ethanol absorbs moisture in the atmosphere. You need to change the damn filters all the time. And if you wanna say the boat is old. Its a 2006 Edgewater.
Also the fuel lines dont last as long. Salt water attacking them from the outside. Constant exposure the UV and ethanol eating it from the inside isnt good.
But i am all for E10 in cars thats what CT requires. I just wish MTBE was kept in boats or better yet Neither. They are not needed.
Does you car have a O2 sensor or modern electronics?
If you said yes the MTBE and Ethanol additives are pointless since they where put in to trick the carb into running lean. Now that modern cars for the past 25 years have EFI its pointless
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Bill 6:26PM (2/19/2008)
We don't want E10 in our planes, either:
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/region/2007/071129or.html
--Bill
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stevefazek 2:36AM (2/20/2008)
Exactly bill. For cars e10 E85 is fine. If theres water in the lines the car will hick up and still and you call AAA to get more fuel put in.
Water in a tank is a serious issue for a plane is is the most probable cause for the 777 Crash in london.
With Boats and aircraft if the engine fails due to water its not a inconvenience but a matter of life and death. A plane with no engine wont really glide like people think but just smash into the ground a few min later at an ROD of around 30-40 FPS depending on way to many conditions.
A boat with a failed engine can be a death trap. The edgewater is in Groton CT and the waters there during tide is pretty nasty since LIS narrows at that point causing extremly swift currents going out to open sea.
My whaler which is kept at a house in maine i can tell you this i went from flat seas to 16-24 foot sweels in about 15 min with no real warning just the radio went nuts. I turned back and and just started to reach safe water before the swells hit.
oh yeah, I am an aerospace engineering student and currently work in the industry and a avid boater, car nut, electronics geek, chemistry nerd, and love motorcycles as well as an aviation buff.
For planes dump Av100 blah. JetA with flex fuel pistons are the future i say. JetA is much easier to find in many places then Av100. Plus these new aviation diesels run on jet A, Kerosene, Diesel, Biodisel, I wouldnt dare run vegi oil since they are exposed to cold temps up there.
These things are amazing the computer automatically adjusts to an ratio of those said fuels. Its even Throttle by wire.
This new radial design thats being worked on is a modular design. Ranging from 90-300 HP all with the same block. Most cylinders are just added. The louded part about this engine is the Prop.
300HP and 20ish GPH hell yeah. I want to build a Small Pusher 2+2 or even2+2+2
a laminar wing with blended winglets, a lifting T tail, and Cunards would be one mean machine.
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