Curious thoughts on fuel for a newer 4 stroke. I’ve been running no ethanol 91. I’ve been so used to putting it in previous boats I never even thought about putting 87 in it. My brother just bought a similar boat and he asked the dealer what gas they put in it they told him they put 87 in. My owners manual recommends 87 but says you can use premium.
I think the non ethanol fuel will absorb less moisture. Probably a good thing. I also think it lasts longer.
Gander outdoors or whatever it’s called has water fuel separator filters for $40, comes with 2 filters. Easy peasy to put on, be prepared to pump the bulb to death though on initial startup.
If you refill your gas at least every couple weeks I wouldn’t hesitate on 87 all summer. Gets closer to storage time non ethanol is best for long term sitting.
Ethanol never gets put in tanks of ANY powersports or lawn equipment of mine. I’ve see what it can do when it sits, so I don’t bother. If an engine recommends 87, there will be no negative effects using NO premium fuel. Some parts of MN and quite a bit of sconnie offers 87NO, I use that when I can get it.
Like Nick, running a few tanks early summer when you know you’ll plow through it easy isn’t an issue. With a young and growing family, I don’t know when I’ll be going out next, so I just use Non oxy. Pay a little more up front but my fuel systems thank me.
Hopefully Sheldon will chime in on this one.
wouldn’t be priming anything would be 4 stroke fuel injected.
More than likely plan on just sticking with premium. I was just curious how many people are putting 87 in the newer motors. My dads logic is that its just like a car motor why not put in the same gas. Personally I’d prefer no ethanol.
Just don’t get caught up that the “premium” tag is doing anything for you. Premium doesn’t mean better unless you have a high-compression motor that requires it. If you want to run non-oxy, that’s probably not a bad idea. If you can get non-oxy 87 octane, that’d be perfect, but it’s scarce in MN.
Personally, if I burned plenty of gas, I wouldn’t hesitate to run the same thing I run in my truck.
Personally, if I burned plenty of gas, I wouldn’t hesitate to run the same thing I run in my truck
Ahh the magical time when I can actually put real hours on my boat 
I’m with the theories above. Too many days it’s not being used so it’s cheap insurance to use non-oxy. Definitely non-oxy in the fall before storage.
I run regular 87 pump gas. I have never had a issue. I run it at least 3 times a week. But I’ve never been a stickler on non oxy as long as it’s not rotting in your tank for long periods of time.
I use ethanol free in everything except my vehicle. Corn goes on a plate not in a tank
Simple. If you use it regularly, using ethanol blends will be absolutely fine… no different then your car. Anything that sits for extended periods, use non-oxy.
As far as using 87 vs 89 vs 91 or whatever, use what is recommended. Unfortunately in MN most all places that sell non-oxy are 91 oct.
Remember, if you don’t see the non-oxy sticker, you probably are putting an ethanol blend in your tank, even if it’s 91+ octane. I see a lot of guys gassing up at a station near our cabin and they think they are getting non-oxy but they aren’t.
I run 87. My gas doesn’t sit around long though. If it took me a few weeks to use a tank I’d use Non-Oxy. I fill with Non-Oxy from late October on, just in case winter hits and it goes into storage.
I see where I was being asked to give my thoughts,may be a bit of a read so hang on and read with your thinking cap on as what I am going to say is fact.
one of the rules of physics,you cannot create or destroy an energy source without using one that already exists.
ethanol is a huge joke being played on us by investors,take a long hard look at what it takes to make the stuff,and think about how many acres that should of never seen a planter,many fields here are self leveling now thanks to the acres needed to produce enough corn to sustain what is trying to be done.
ie,the extra fossil fuel it takes to plant,spray,harvest,truck,manufacture and truck again to a holding facility until its needed for blending.
it takes a huge amount of fossil fuels to create the stuff,if ethanol was such a great thing,we could use it to produce itself,aint happening.
reason being,ethanol has half the heat energy per pound as gasoline does,ethanol has around 10300 btus of heat energy per pound.
gasoline has over 24000 btus of heat energy per pound,now think about that for a minute.
it takes a little over twice as much ethanol to produce the same amount of energy per pound !!!
ethanol also quits evaporating around forty four degrees,that is why it has to be blended with gasoline so the crap will ignite in cold weather.
it also boils at a very low temperature,around 173 degrees making for vapor lock problems in carbureted engines,this is the majority of the reasons for pressurized fuel systems today as pressure helps keep the boiling raised,sure,pressurized fuel systems are more efficient a point I wont argue.
ethanol is also a solvent that will not blend well with oils and it will wash oil off of cylinder walls hence the need for extra additives in oil to prevent this,this is taking place of fuel that could be making power and you also need more additives to prevent what is known as phase separation.
ethanol is also hydroscopic meaning it has an affinity for water and can absorb almost its entire weight in water.
it will not absorb water out of the air,it cannot do that but it sure will absorb the bit of water naturally occurring in gasoline,water from condensation,and water inadvertently introduced for what ever reason.
now,think about this next point.
if ethanol is blended at ten percent,thats 12.8 ounces of ethanol for every gallon blended in gallon of gasoline,point?? if ethanol can absorb nearly its one weight in water,that leaves with you a little less than a quart of crap that will not burn and will leave you stranded.
I will not argue that that much water alone would strand you,that is obvious.
most vehicles on the road today suffer a bit of mileage loss when using ethanol,think about this too,if we are using more fuel per tank vs miles traveled,doesnt that add up to more pollutants being pumped into the air out of the exhaust stream?? yep,and ethanol is not as safe for the environment as they claim it is,not only for this reason but the reasons stated in making it if you look at it as a whole.
I could go on about phase separation and why your gasoline turns to gum after a while and why we need even more additives in fuel,why its shelf life without those additives is less than sixty days in normal storage but that takes a lot more space than what most of you are willing to read.
you can also look up the tests the big three outboard manufacturers did and what they have to say about ethanol,but be warned,even though all of the engines tested never made it past the fifteen hour mark they will not blame ethanol directly,you have to read the exhaust temp graph to see that the temps went high enough to cause melt down,ring scraping and piston scuffing that occurred just before the failure from those too high temps.
slowly the manufactures are saying you can run it as better materials for engine construction that will withstand ethanol’s effects are coming on line,give em about ten to fifteen more years and they may have it where you can run it without fear in our toys.
as far as me using ethanol?? yes,I use it in my vehicles about every other tankful but I flat out refuse to use it my outboards,saws,airplane,and other toys,I dont need the extra headaches.
for those of you that say you use it without any problems in your toys???
yes,you will get away with it,for a while,then guys like me soon enough will see you darken our doorway,thats a guarantee as it happens over and over and over.
hope I was able to make you think a bit and I hope you learned something.
let the flaming begin,but trust me,if you take the time to study everything I have said and see what I see everyday,you wouldnt use it in your toys either.
What he said.That is some good reading iowaboy.
x2 Iowa. My F150 can run e85 but I never run any ETOH. Sticker on the truck says per tank on ETOH gas is 469 with non-oxy its well over 600. EPA has finally put out the statement with figures that Oxy gas is bad for the environment. Don’t get me started on Windmills and Climate Changegate.
My lawnmower literally will not run with that crap. Once I switched, four years ago, never once have I had an issue with my lawnmower. Never once.
If I have to put it in the boat, I do very very sparingly. Only enough to burn off for the need I have.
What IB says is total truth. It’s literally a conspiracy. Our politicians have been duped to make this into law and we have to pay the expensive consequences. Easily in the trillions.
It’s a very complex issue. I believe I also heard it is being used to help set corn prices so the private farmer can’t compete.
Well put IB.
I’ve said it for years. There are way more negatives with ethanol than there are positives. Good old government propaganda. I never run ethanol in boat, mower, weed whip, chain saw, etc. Have never had a fuel issue in any of them.
It was created to stop our dependance on foreign oil. How can that happen when you loose mileage when you use it?
Also the USA is #2 in oil exports in the world. If we are so dependent on imports WHY are we exporting crude oil???
When Sheldon comes up and pours it in my tank i’ll use it. Until then i’m happy with what I do.
Sheldon, you forgot to mention the ethanol effects on fuel lines…
fuel-line.jpg
Ethanol and Radon = Scams pulled on the American public.
from what I understand mxskeeter is that there is more profit if it is sold overseas,crude is not the only thing that is being sold overseas from our wells,propane,natural gas,even refined fuels are being sold over there due to profit.
I detest the fact that ethanol fuels are sold forty cents a gallon cheaper than regular when it costs more to put the crap in it !!
we are being forced into it but for now for miles gained per gallon running non ethanol I can still afford to burn the good stuff.
too many people only see the difference at the pump and think about what it costs now.
I read a study once a few years back that had me shaking my head and wondering why the EPA is not all over this one.
In MN it was noted that tamarack trees and other conifers were dying at an outstanding rate starting in the southern part of the state and moving like a fan shape northward.
it was noted that the predominate cause was the use of ethanol fuels in Iowa and other southern states being carried northward by the summers southerly winds.
to this day,I cannot find that study,my only guess is it was taken down and hidden from public view.
it also sickens me to think of the millions of tons of extra chemicals that are used that is not good for any living thing on this earth.
we dont have anywhere near the weaver birds and others that use to live on the little river bank and its trees close to my house here just twenty years ago.
there will be a day when we have eaten and fueled our own extinction.
Dutchboy,you dont have to worry about me showing up at your place unless its for a toddy lol.
walleye student,I thought of typing up a whole page and then some with what ethanol fuels do to things but most likely much of it would get skipped over and the truths would be missed.
that is why I post little things once in a while with pictures pointing out what can happen with its use,especially WHEN ADDITIVES ARE HORRIBLY OVERUSED !!!
Andy,was that fuel line off of your boat?? good Lord I’ve seen arteries that looked like that !! and of course a couple hundred fuel lines lol.
Good feedback. I think I’ll continue to go with the non oxy premium. I want my setup to last until I’m dead seems only negative with the non oxy premium is cost.
I may have totally misread the first post but thought he was asking about running 91 non ethanol vs. 87 non ethanol. I run 87 non ethanol because that is what is available to me here. If in fact both were available to me I’d likely run 87 during the summer and switch to 91 in the fall because the boat sits more. I might be again mistaken but I believe gas looses octane as it sits.
Original question was regular unleaded 87 vs the non oxy premium. Down the road from me the station has no Ethanol 91 or regular unleaded 87. I was suprised dealers and a lot of people are putting straight regular unleaded 87 in.
Using non-ethanol fuel is the key. Doesn’t matter if it is 87, 89, or 91. Use what ever octane rating your units manufacturer recommends.
Using non-ethanol fuel is the key. Doesn’t matter if it is 87, 89, or 91. Use what ever octane rating your units manufacturer recommends.
And just to add that not all fuel labeled “Premium” is ethanol free. There are lots of pumps that have so-called premium fuel that has 10-15% ethanol just like the “regular” blend. It has to say ethanol free or it’s not, no matter what grade.
Grouse
Non-ethanol fuel for all small engines.
Non-ethanol fuel for all small engines.
Yup
And I’m at the gas station 3x a week with the boat.
Sort of off topic but one thing to note too when you go to gas stations in the TC metro area.
When you see the mid grade fuel that is cheaper than the 87, be aware that it has a higher ethanol content. Usually 15% versus the standard 10%.
Also, mid grade does absolutely nothing for your vehicle when your vehicle requires 87. There are literally only a couple Chrysler vehicles that require mid grade 89. Everything else is 87 or 91.
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