re: Ethanol "free" gas in outboards

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I noticed that the truck stop on hwy 70

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It was ethanol free for awhile, I was told the reason they took them down was because they were having trouble getting ethanol free gas...last time I put gas there 93 was the only ethanol-free grade

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last time I put gas there 93 was the only ethanol-free grade

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Me too, but that's all we run in the boat and small engines anyway. That motor we have starts idling like shite and gets harder to turn over if your run low octane in it, plus since we switched to 93 we haven't had any engine problems.

Stumps is the only place we fill up the boat now.

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that's all we run in the boat and small engines anyway

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I've never put anything but that in my outboards.

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that's all we run in the boat and small engines anyway

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I've never put anything but that in my outboards.

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If you're running mercury outbards, from EFIs to the Pro XS, 87 octane is the recommended fuel grade, you're wasting your money if you're using nothing but 93...have been told this by numerous mechanics.

I can't speak for older outbards, but I would agree that a higher octane is better for carbureted outboards since it's cleaner burning

This is what I see...

mercurymarine.com

What octane rating should the gasoline that I use in my motor have?
United States and Canada
Use a major brand of automotive unleaded gasoline with a minimum-posted octane rating of 87. Leaded gasoline is not recommended. Performance Products will have different requirements, consult your Operation, Maintenance & Warranty manual.

LINK

Also for newer mercury outboards

Mercury Pro XS recommended fuel - click on specifications

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Use a major brand of automotive unleaded petrol (ULP) with a minimum posted octane rating of 91These recommendations apply to Mercury and Mariner 2-Stroke, 4-Stroke, Verado and OptiMax models unless specified otherwise (ref to "Notes & Exceptions" following)

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this comes from mercurymarine.com.au - australian or european grades?

Ive never had a single problem running 87 and 89

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And the corn lobby bullied/conned/paid EPA to approve the sales of E-15

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This subject makes my blood PSI go up a good bit.

Do not run the fuel out of your motor. Ever.

Some of ya'll are giving bad scoop of what happens if the alcohol sits in your motors. Most if not all newer motors have the right rubber hoses that alcolhol doesn't screw with. Just read your fuel line! If it doesn't state it, replace it.

The biggest problem with ethanol base fuel is that it goes "stale" or just seporates after 30 or so days. Myself, with some stabil, I burnt fuel as old as 1 1/2 years old. Another problem is that the alcolhol sucks up mosture which lays out at the bottom of your fuel tank. After some time, along with alcolhol, it starts to etch the alummunn tank. After a bit of time, that crap carrys over to your injectors or carbs. Rebuilding them, one will find a white powder build up pluging up jets.

To help provent the later problem, use 10 micro prefilters. Yes all newer motors do have a filter, but an extra prefilter will save you bucks in the long run. They are a lot cheapper then name brand filters for your motor. Make sure the you are using atleast a 3/8" inlet and outlet on a prefilter. You do not want to run your motor lean with a smaller prefilter. Read your manual on installing one.

For 2 strokes, The reeds in the jets will stick if it is done too often. Also, running the fuel out also means you have no oil on the cylinder walls durimg your next startup.