What actually happens when you mix small amounts of E-10 fuel with a tank full on non ethinol?(80 gallons of regular fuel mixed with 15 gal. of E-10 ethinol. ) We can not get any more non ethinol fuel. the boat has a bout 90 hrs on a Yamaha F-225. there is a 10 micron fuel filer and water seperator and all of the fuel on board stabilized with Stabil. The boat is 3 years old. Should I look for any thing to indicate a problem? It is running GREAT! (now)
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What Actually Happens
- Thread starter mistymorn
- Start date
Since you already have the 10 micron filter/separator you're pretty much set. If you have racor's you can see if any jelly like junk forms and settles in the bottom. If you never had any water problem or any traces of water in the fuel don't worry. The only thing I'd do is let the tank run down before filling it up.
You're probbaly ok now with such a small amount of E-10 in there, but I would strongly suggest to NOT add anymore E-10 gas until you use most of that you have in the tank. If you get too high an MTBE:E-10 ratio, you'll get separation of fuel and you'll gunk up your engine.
When E-10 came out, it was suggested to have not have more than 10% MTBE in the tank (i.e. run your MTBE down until you have less than 10% of the tank left)
When E-10 came out, it was suggested to have not have more than 10% MTBE in the tank (i.e. run your MTBE down until you have less than 10% of the tank left)
gradyfish22
GreatGrady Captain
You should be fine, but as a precaution, run the tank to 1/4 or below then fill, if you are mixing, I'd make sure you are adding a product like star tron to be safe incase water does form. If the fuel is going to be burned and used quickly, within 2 weeks or so it will not be much of an issue but if it may sit for a long time, like over a month or two with little usage, you may put the gas more at risk. I'd try and run it down to maybe 15 gal then fill the tank and add star tron or something similar, that will prevent some gunk and let any water that may form pass through as well. If you lose rpm's or the engine runs rough, you may need to change the filter, I'd highly recommend carrying a spare 10 micron filter, there is a chance it may get some gunk or residue in it after the first change, but once that is done you should be set. We switched over a few years ago like this and did not even need to change the filter everything went smooth, but we ran the tank down to about 15gal in a 92gal tank and put a liberal amount of star tron in for the first mix. Good luck!!
NautiBuoys
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Gas
Take it from one who has been there, done that (when my state switched over to E-10 and my station did not label the tanks till a week later)-burn it up now before it sits too long. The longer it sits, the more it gels/scours the tank and the more problems you will have. I'd run/burn it all up just as fast as you can, and have a few extra Racor filters ready to go. My brother, who learned from my experience, did the switch and had no issues but he burned the tank down to as low as he dared go and had no issues.
Take it from one who has been there, done that (when my state switched over to E-10 and my station did not label the tanks till a week later)-burn it up now before it sits too long. The longer it sits, the more it gels/scours the tank and the more problems you will have. I'd run/burn it all up just as fast as you can, and have a few extra Racor filters ready to go. My brother, who learned from my experience, did the switch and had no issues but he burned the tank down to as low as he dared go and had no issues.
Thanks for your replies....I will run it down then fill with E-10,startron and ring free...however, does any one actually know what happens to the fuel when E-10 and regular gas are mixed ( assuming no water is present) The reason I ask is I am sure that the gas station that I use did not have new tanks installed nor were the existing tank cleaned out...therefore there must be a mixture at the pump. A few people have told me there is some compatability due to new ethinol formulas...however, most opinions are the same as you'all have expressed.
I am going to answer my own thread. I want to pass this along to you all as there still seems to be a lot of questions. I contacted the fuel company as well as the gas station to confirm what was told to me. The gas station did nothing other than frequent changing of the 10 micron fuel filters at the pump. The fuel company explained that ethinol does not mix with MTBE (which has been banned in our area) We have not had any MTBE in our fuel in two years. They did say that ethinol and fiberglass do not mix and of course as we all know about water and phase seperation. I also asked if you mixed 5 gal of E-10 with 5 gal of regular gas..will you get 10 gals of E-5...the answer was yes. Perhaps it will not be as bad as we are being told....would love to hear your comments and or experiences.
Curmudgeon
Well-Known Member
Perhaps it will not be as bad as we are being told....
You're a little late to the party. Not only has ethanol NOT proven to be the panacea Congress and the EPA promised, it's generally proven to be much worse. It's NOT cheaper, it costs MORE to produce than it saves, the marketing nightmare hasn't been fully realized, and the cost hasn't fully hit your grocery store yet..
Maybe when gas hits $5 per people will demand an end to the 45 grades of fuel now being produced, a beginning of utilization of proven oil reserves within our borders, some freakin common sense when it comes to expanding energy production. Like it or not, this country runs on oil and it will take decades to change that (if our way of life isn't destroyed first). Maybe they'll take the Dumocrats to task when they claim oil companies can drill on 12 million acres already leased, like there's oil under every damned acre. Regardless, ethanol is a solvent that does more harm than good when one looks at the big picture. [/u]
You're a little late to the party. Not only has ethanol NOT proven to be the panacea Congress and the EPA promised, it's generally proven to be much worse. It's NOT cheaper, it costs MORE to produce than it saves, the marketing nightmare hasn't been fully realized, and the cost hasn't fully hit your grocery store yet..
Maybe when gas hits $5 per people will demand an end to the 45 grades of fuel now being produced, a beginning of utilization of proven oil reserves within our borders, some freakin common sense when it comes to expanding energy production. Like it or not, this country runs on oil and it will take decades to change that (if our way of life isn't destroyed first). Maybe they'll take the Dumocrats to task when they claim oil companies can drill on 12 million acres already leased, like there's oil under every damned acre. Regardless, ethanol is a solvent that does more harm than good when one looks at the big picture. [/u]