how is fishing in buffalo

[bailey]

So it begins something tells me captainjoe is off this weekend. LOL so it begins ha ha

[captainjoe]

Bailey you are right. But I do have to work next weekend.
Fishkiller someone just blew my surprise secret of hiding in your boat - under the tarp so I could go to Ohio on your excursion.
Everyone check your shrink wrap.

[Poles293]

For smartphone users there is an app that shows all the gas stations near your location that sell ethanol free gas. I'm lucky Delta Sonic on Ridge Rd has 2 dedicated pumps that are 91 octane and ethanol free. The app is Pure-gas.org. They also have a web site you can check stations in your area. When I bought my Crestliner I had to sign a waiver of warranty on the boat and motor if I use gas that has more than 10% ethanol in it and the salesman said that if you have problems with the motor the first thing they test is the gas for ethanol. After messing up my snowblower I only run the ethanol free in all my small engines too.

[milt]

hey poles do you have a two stroke or a four I don't remember signing a waiver when I brought my crestliner in 2008 I have a 150 merc verado
jeff

[joes spot]

been useing a ethanol treatment with gas ether sta bil or phase4 guard/ a little goes a long way 8oz for 80 gal with this stuff- all so but on a water separater 30 bucks/ cheep insurance i hope/ no problem so far been running it in 40 mariner and 75etec . takeing etec in shop this week for 300 hr check see what they say

[Poles293]

Milt, I have a Mercury 115 4 stroke. Bought it last June. I still use the Stabil marine formula every fill up also. The salesman showed me a picture of the fuel pick up tube in the gas tank they just took apart and it was a mess.

[wnyguy]

Some years ago I had a problem with my snowblower, the damn thing was hunting all the time. (revving up and down) It was at least 15 years old, so I figured it was due for a carb rebuild, which I did. Get it all back together again, and wouldn't you know it acted the same way, still hunting. So I figure, maybe I screwed up rebuilding the carb, and do it all over again, with another rebuild kit to boot. Get done, and still it's hunting! Now it's getting very close to "snowblowing season", I break down and bring the snowblower into Hodgson's pool, and tell him I give up, I'm sick of working on it, please take a look at it. Next day or so I stop in and he tells me, there's nothing wrong with your snowblower, it's water in the gas. Then he goes on to tell me how may times he's done a snowblower repair, only to have it return because the owner is using ethanol gas and having problems with it. I learned my lesson that day, all small engines get 100% gas, stabilized with an additive, including the boat. I can't imagine how many problems this 15% stuff is going to cause... I don't use stabil, because that's what I used before, but I believe they have changed their product to something more "water" binding.

[copo427ss]

I could go on and on about ethanol gas. In my line of work I deal with the consequences of it all the time. Ill just mention a few things. 1) phase separation. Ethanol and gasoline do not mix chemically. So after a while the ethanol separates from the gas as it can only be suspended in the gas for a short period of time. One thing I've noticed is when it sits in carb bowls and separates, it leaves these little golden balls( nuggets) that look like pine tree sap. We've had a few 2stroke meltdowns come in that were specifically caused by dirty carbs leaning out the mix. 2) ethanol is alcohol, which draws in water(moisture) from the atmosphere. 3) ethanol gas in smaller engines almost always needs carburator adjustments to richen it up. You will run leaner with ethanol fuel over straight gas. Fuel injection isn't affected as much because it can richen itself and adjust timing. These newer engines should have been built to run on ethanol fuel. I don't know dealers are saying they're gonna test the fuel. Unless they're looking for water. 4) Older bottles of stabil (if anyone has some sitting around still) is NOT ethanol fuel compatible. When mixed it has a chemical reaction and turns your fuel into a gell. They had to revise they're formula just for ethanol fuels. So do not use older bottles of stabil.
5) ethanol gas starts to turn bad in as little as 2 weeks, depending on quantity.

A product called k-100 is a excellent weapon against ethanol fuel. It's made locally (tonawanda), its been tested, and it works. No I don't work for them. But I use it all the time and we have done our own testing of it and its the real deal.

A fuel water separator is a good idea for all boats that can install one. I'm pretty sure all the marinas that sell gas are still non ethanol. Unless they've had to succumb to the poison too.

[captainjoe]

Great discussion guys. Last year when I got the new boat & motor (225 merc). They told me to just fill up . The engine was made for the 10% ethanol. They didn't recommend any addative. What is interesting my trolling motor is about 5 years old (15 merc big foot) and is hooked to the same fuel line. So far I haven't seen any problems.

[copo427ss]

Great discussion guys. Last year when I got the new boat & motor (225 merc). They told me to just fill up . The engine was made for the 10% ethanol. They didn't recommend any addative. What is interesting my trolling motor is about 5 years old (15 merc big foot) and is hooked to the same fuel line. So far I haven't seen any problems.

I see the biggest problems in the older machines. 80s 90s. We've literally had to drill out main nozzles in carbs to fix the mid range lean condition caused by ethanol fuel.