1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

The gas cap on my boat motor says “do not use ethanol fuel”

Almost like they are trying to send me some sort of message……

^^^^clear message^^^^

Tom

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

The gas cap on my boat motor says “do not use ethanol fuel”

Almost like they are trying to send me some sort of message……

Doesn't have the apporoved hoses and gaskets. 

My 2 cents worth.  I never give it a second thought when pulling up to an ethanol based pump.  To find places with anything different is few and far between in my neck of the woods.  

I have a "little bit" of experience with motors and such and I feel a lot of these ethanol horror stories are the same as the oil injection problems you hear about.  95% of them are the scape goat for the mechanic to blame a problem on, when there was some other problem that actually caused/contributed to the failure.

 

Now matter what kind of gas you run today, you have to be prudent about how you use it, it's all junk!  Hot roders generally prefer 91/93 octane ethanol gas, because the non ethanol doesn't make the HP (because it won't burn) the ethanol gas makes.

 

The main thing is how you how and how long you store it.   Back in the old metal tank it was considered wise to store vehicle/boat with a full tank of gas to prevent condensation from forming in the tank.  With the plastic tanks mostly used in boats today, condensation is not as big of a problem, so you are better to store it with no gas in the tank and purge the fuel system if it's going to be for an extended time. 

 

PLEASE NOTE: when I say purge the fuel system, on a Two stroke engine, I DO NOT mean disconnect the fuel line and run the motor until it cuts off from being out of gas.  That is actually a VERY BAD idea.  It purges the protective oil film left inside the motor as well. Also, on multi-cylinder engines you can have some cylinders running with no lubrication and extremely lean as the last few burn the remaining gas.

 

I always bought just a few gallons more than I planned to use, so the next trip, there would only be a small amount of old gas and the new gas would dilute that.  If I knew I wasn't going again for several weeks, I would add 1/2 to 1 ounce of Seafoam per gallon.  Even then, if the boat sat for more than two months, I would pump that gas out of the tank and use it in the mower or an older vehicle.   This has worked fine for me for over 50 years.   

 

As for the original post, if that gas was only two months old, I seriously doubt that was the cause of his problem.  Not unless he had almost a full tank of very old gas and just topped that off with a couple gallons of fresh gas.   It's a fuel delivery problem, not a fuel burning problem.  This fuel delivery problem is probably caused by improper storage practices and leaving old gas in the system.  Doing that has an accumulative effect that eventually plugs things up.  Now, when I say fuel delivery, I'm referring to the cylinders are not getting fast, that's everything from inside of the fuel to the spark plug.

 

 

4 hours ago, Way2slow said:

My 2 cents worth.  I never give it a second thought when pulling up to an ethanol based pump.  To find places with anything different is few and far between in my neck of the woods.  

I have a "little bit" of experience with motors and such and I feel a lot of these ethanol horror stories are the same as the oil injection problems you hear about.  95% of them are the scape goat for the mechanic to blame a problem on, when there was some other problem that actually caused/contributed to the failure.

 

Now matter what kind of gas you run today, you have to be prudent about how you use it, it's all junk!  Hot roders generally prefer 91/93 octane ethanol gas, because the non ethanol doesn't make the HP (because it won't burn) the ethanol gas makes.

 

The main thing is how you how and how long you store it.   Back in the old metal tank it was considered wise to store vehicle/boat with a full tank of gas to prevent condensation from forming in the tank.  With the plastic tanks mostly used in boats today, condensation is not as big of a problem, so you are better to store it with no gas in the tank and purge the fuel system if it's going to be for an extended time. 

 

PLEASE NOTE: when I say purge the fuel system, on a Two stroke engine, I DO NOT mean disconnect the fuel line and run the motor until it cuts off from being out of gas.  That is actually a VERY BAD idea.  It purges the protective oil film left inside the motor as well. Also, on multi-cylinder engines you can have some cylinders running with no lubrication and extremely lean as the last few burn the remaining gas.

 

I always bought just a few gallons more than I planned to use, so the next trip, there would only be a small amount of old gas and the new gas would dilute that.  If I knew I wasn't going again for several weeks, I would add 1/2 to 1 ounce of Seafoam per gallon.  Even then, if the boat sat for more than two months, I would pump that gas out of the tank and use it in the mower or an older vehicle.   This has worked fine for me for over 50 years.   

 

As for the original post, if that gas was only two months old, I seriously doubt that was the cause of his problem.  Not unless he had almost a full tank of very old gas and just topped that off with a couple gallons of fresh gas.   It's a fuel delivery problem, not a fuel burning problem.  This fuel delivery problem is probably caused by improper storage practices and leaving old gas in the system.  Doing that has an accumulative effect that eventually plugs things up.  Now, when I say fuel delivery, I'm referring to the cylinders are not getting fast, that's everything from inside of the fuel to the spark plug.

 

 

Same thing for me and most of my neighbors and friends.  Actually don't know anyone that has had issues other than those that flat out don't take care of anything!!  My only difference is....I keep my tanks full when in storage, especially steel tanks, which I don't even own anymore, now that I think about it....everything is plastic today, even your car !!

One thing I failed to mention, that is critical in what kind of gas you get.  I ONLY buy Tier 1, top tier gasoline.  If you don't know, here's most of them.  You may notice, you don't see those discount, cheap brands on the list.  I also noticed BP is no longer on this list.  Found it was taken off in 2021, but they say it's still a top tier gasoline.  

 

There are a large number of well-known gasoline brands and licensed retailers that offer Top Tier fuels. Any of the stations listed below should offer only fuel that meets the Top Tier standard, though each brand uses a unique formula. If in doubt look for the Top Tier signage when you fill up, to be sure you are getting high-quality fuel that is better for your car. For a complete list of retailers, you can check out toptiergas.com.

• 76
• Aloha
• ARCO
• Beacon
• Breakaway
• Cenex
• Chevron
• CITGO
• Conoco
• Costco Wholesale
• CountryMark
• CountryMark Plus
• Diamond Shamrock
• Express Mart
• Exxon
• Fast Fuel
• GetGo
• Holiday
• Harmons Fuel Stop
• Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN)
• Hele
• Kirkland Signature Gasoline
• Kwik Star
• Kwik Tri
• Marathon
• Meijer
• Meijer Express
• Metro Petro
• Mobil
• Ohana Fuels
• Phillips 66
• QT
• Quik Trip
• Ranger
• Ranger Fuel
• Ranger Mustang
• Ranger Stallion
• Ranger Thoroughbred
• Reeders
• Road Ranger
• Rutter's
• Shamrock
• Shell
• Simonson Station Stores
• Sinclair
• Sunoco
• Texaco
• Tobacco Outlet Plus Grocery
• Valero
• Value America
• WOW
• Win Win

Who Else Adheres to the Top Tier Gasoline Standards?

There are two main parties involved in the support of Top Tier fuel: Automakers and fuel retailers. In 2006, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen recognized that evolving engine technology, coupled with a higher level of detergent and other additives within fuel would benefit engine health and emissions.

Until I retired, I ran a small engine repair shop out of my garage, just as a hobby and mainly chainsaws.

The effects of ethanol was very obvious on small 2 cycle engines that sat for months.

Ethanol draws moisture which settles below the fuel causing pitting in carburetors.

It was much more efficient to just order the carburator and replace it.

 

Do as you please and hopeful that you don't have a failure.

I'm running non-ethenol in everything that doesn't get ran regularly.

14 hours ago, Bird said:

Until I retired, I ran a small engine repair shop out of my garage, just as a hobby and mainly chainsaws.

The effects of ethanol was very obvious on small 2 cycle engines that sat for months.

Ethanol draws moisture which settles below the fuel causing pitting in carburetors.

It was much more efficient to just order the carburator and replace it.

 

Do as you please and hopeful that you don't have a failure.

I'm running non-ethenol in everything that doesn't get ran regularly.

Actually I have had far more issues wuth non E fuels leaving a varnish buildup after setting for months.  Befoe E fuels came out, I worked at a small marine repair/ outboard service shop.  That was my job...cleaning out the varnish buildup in carbs that sat all winter with fuel in them.  Used " gumout" by the case !!  When forced unto E fuels, the E disolved all the varnish and made a sludge.   It was highly recomended to clean your fuel system before switching to E fuel, then use a stabilizer for long term storage ( over 3 months) by the fuel mfgrs.  I followed those recomendations and still do.  No varnish buildup in any of my small engines or any fuel issues.  

Gotta follow the science...

15 hours ago, Way2slow said:

One thing I failed to mention, that is critical in what kind of gas you get.  I ONLY buy Tier 1, top tier gasoline.  If you don't know, here's most of them.  You may notice, you don't see those discount, cheap brands on the list.  I also noticed BP is no longer on this list.  Found it was taken off in 2021, but they say it's still a top tier gasoline.  

 

There are a large number of well-known gasoline brands and licensed retailers that offer Top Tier fuels. Any of the stations listed below should offer only fuel that meets the Top Tier standard, though each brand uses a unique formula. If in doubt look for the Top Tier signage when you fill up, to be sure you are getting high-quality fuel that is better for your car. For a complete list of retailers, you can check out toptiergas.com.

• 76
• Aloha
• ARCO
• Beacon
• Breakaway
• Cenex
• Chevron
• CITGO
• Conoco
• Costco Wholesale
• CountryMark
• CountryMark Plus
• Diamond Shamrock
• Express Mart
• Exxon
• Fast Fuel
• GetGo
• Holiday
• Harmons Fuel Stop
• Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN)
• Hele
• Kirkland Signature Gasoline
• Kwik Star
• Kwik Tri
• Marathon
• Meijer
• Meijer Express
• Metro Petro
• Mobil
• Ohana Fuels
• Phillips 66
• QT
• Quik Trip
• Ranger
• Ranger Fuel
• Ranger Mustang
• Ranger Stallion
• Ranger Thoroughbred
• Reeders
• Road Ranger
• Rutter's
• Shamrock
• Shell
• Simonson Station Stores
• Sinclair
• Sunoco
• Texaco
• Tobacco Outlet Plus Grocery
• Valero
• Value America
• WOW
• Win Win

Who Else Adheres to the Top Tier Gasoline Standards?

There are two main parties involved in the support of Top Tier fuel: Automakers and fuel retailers. In 2006, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen recognized that evolving engine technology, coupled with a higher level of detergent and other additives within fuel would benefit engine health and emissions.

In my area we have a large refinery operation, have a number of friends that work there or for the refinery in some capacity.  All fuel comming out of the refinery is the same except for octane ratings.  When the tanker is filled, a bag of chemicals is added to create " Shell" , BP,  Sunoco etc.  From that, how the fuel is handled, stored, maintained, etc is the fuel you buy at the pump.  Our state/ city requires inspections of inground storage tanks at refuel centers and gives out yearly reports on who maintains and who doesn't there fuel supplys.  Many brand name fuel suppliers do not maintain their storage properly and this is where folks get poor quality fuels, especially the cheap discount fuel stations.  I have had poor fuel at many of the brand name retailers in my area, even the popular ones that get used regularly.  Currently buy all my fuel from a small farmer owned station that has scored the top scores on every inspection and not one fuel issue..  

Here’s some good science on engine wear and engine cleanliness (sludge, varnish) using different fuels.

 

Not a very accurate video, no one uses methenol in there fuel, it is not allowed in any state !  Ethenol is the only type of alcohol allowed so why bother comparing methenol ??  Second is he talks about valve stem and cam lobe wear ????  Fuel never touches those areas so why would it cause any wear in that area ?   Lots of fancy talk and big words to try and impress those that do not understand how an engine operates.