Rec or Corn Juice ???

[Wanaflatsfish]

Trying to get a feel what everyone is doing these days.....Yamaha says don't change it if it's not broken....but, at $1.00 gallon, it's adding up.

 

Pls submit your poll and comment below if you like....

 

Thanks...

[SCFD rtrd.]

Been using Rec fuel in my 23 HPS with 250 SHO since 2013. Never had a fuel issue. But, I'm a recreational fisherman not a guide. 

[jim33042]

Been using 100% Rec fuel for as long as it has been a "choice".

[Big Dave]

Nothing but Rec fuel.  Not sure why anyone would put any other fuel through their motor, perhaps unless you are running the boat every single day.  I also use it in lawn and garden motors like pressure washers and chain saws.  

[redzone1]

i used only regular 87 octane with 10% ethanol in 3 yamaha F150’s, 1 VF250 SHO, 2 Mercury 150 Optimaxes, and 1 VZ200 HPDI dating back to 2007 with never not one single fuel related issue.  For some weird reason I decided to run only non-ethanol 89 fuel in my new F300.  Of course the longest any of boats have sat without being ran is 3 weeks.  i did always use Stabil 360 and change the yamaha 10 micron fuel/water separator religiously every 100 hours which is about 800 gallons on average 

[jh141]

So the latest "info" goes like this, If it has a Carburetor then NON Ethanol is a MUST, If it is high pressure injected then Non Ethanol is a preference.

Also, If it is older then 10 to 15 years, Non Ethanol is a must. This is an approximation of when most devices began using Ethanol resistant fuel line.

My SHO is a 2012 and I have run it on Ethanol pump gas since new. I have never had any fuel issues. It has 818 hours. I just did the 1000 hour (or 10 year) service, Timing belt, plugs, anodes and VST filters. Everything thing was in great condition. 

Disclaimer: I have used K100 gas treatment since new, I can not honestly say I have used it 100 percent of the time, I can say I use it probably 40 to 50 percent of the time.

"Just my experience"

 

[smilemaker]

My 200hpdi is  meat eater.  No corn.

To me the most important aspect is how long the corn juice sits 

As a charter the gas probably is used the same week it goes in so on a newer engine corn juice should be ok.

If engine is older I would stay with non ethanol.

[Lap it Up]

On direct injected Yamaha (main boat) - If I know I’m running most of it through, I will run pump gas.  If I know the boat will sit for a decent amount of time, I’ll run Rec 90.  I also run berryman B12 several times a year.  For my c-class Motorhome - I run regular pump gas and berryman additive when sitting.   I only run strictly rec 90 on lawn equipment and my carbed boat engines at my fish camp.  

[MuddyBottomBluz]

1 hour ago, jh141 said:

If it has a Carburetor then NON Ethanol is a MUST, If it is high pressure injected then Non Ethanol is a preference.

  ^^^This is true because carburetors have many gaskets and seals and 'O'-rings that can not withstand the alcohol. How can we run ethanol in our cars without a problem is because we burn it! The danger comes when it sits or becomes phase separated overtime so treating ethanol when a engine sits for an extended period time is a good idea. If I ran rec in my boat when I was on vacation in the keys it would have added an additional $500 in fuel cost for the week. However I knew I was going to burn it so I filled with jugs from a gas station with no treatment and everything is fine. If it is going to sit for a month or longer I treat it. NOW that being said you need to prevent water from being introduced into the fuel tank in the first place and the 'O'-ring on the fill cap that is cracked or ripped or is the wrong size is typically a very common issue.

  Now if they only made fuel injected lawn mowers, weed eaters and blowers!

[George Seither]

E10 fuel with Stabilmarine SHO 250, also ran 150 Ocean Runner and 175 ETech on the same, no issues, I only buy fuel from 3 local stations as well

[MuddyBottomBluz]

2 hours ago, George Seither said:

I only buy fuel from 3 local stations as well

  I made a mistake of buying fuel from a station I do not frequent but the price was almost 25 cents cheaper a gallon. Filled my boat and one tank on my truck, got down to Key Largo and made it across the bay and engine died. Drained carb and it looked like water downed milk, I figured the filter was dirty but never seen this before. No low speed jet's, yes carbs, so had to high speed shift in gear to get back to ramp. Got in the truck and drove home, switched tanks on my truck and next thing you know, truck was down! The fuel I purchased was phased separated and I was basically running on alcohol and water.

 https://petroclear.com/resources/dont-be-phased.php#:~:text=Phase separation occurs when enough,bottom (see Figure 2).

 

[jh141]

Phase Separation is also really good at killing an aluminum fuel tank, Water just sets on the bottom, This is why I use K100. This was Bob's (Inshore Marine} recommendation and likely has saved me past and future headaches.

Thanks Bob!

[HoneyB]

I spent some time floating down the Savannah River cutting out a section of fuel line that was eaten up so badly on the inside fuel would no longer pass. After that day it’s non ethanol only fer me. 

[smilemaker]

I made up a fuel polishing system that I  use when the boat sits longer than ideal 

Went to an  auto parts store and  bought an external fuel pump for about $30

Took an old fuel water seperator that had gotten a little crudy looking for the  boat

Mounted it all together with  some fuel hose on a board.

To use it I take hose off of separator in boat connect to pump. run other end into the gas fill. cut it on and leave it for the day while working  outside. 

[FINCHASER]

Ive exclusively run the corn juice since it came out on 4 different boats 2 carbed and 2 fuel injected.... zero fuel issues we're talking thousands of hours here.  I thought it was because I run my boats alot but then Ive got friends who only use their boat 2 or 3 times  year and they fire up like they were run the day before everytime so thats not it.....  Its a non issue tho some would like you to believe it is. 

    Im sure it caused some issues in boats when it 1st came out... alot of boats at the time had years of varnish, gunk and water in lines or tank.... put in a fuel that basically acted as a cleaner that broke it all up and it let loose back to the motor and yea she aint gonna run.   I also think mechanics blamed ethanol for some issues it didnt cause as well.  Just dont mix the 2 long term or as a routine pick one and run it

[Bamaskeet]

I ran a F150 on a 2200V for 2400 hours on 10% ethanol without a hiccup.  I’m running my F300 on my 2500 on 87 octane 10% ethanol for 500 hours so far without an issue.  I might lose a little top end with 87 octane vs the recommended 89-90 octane but I run everywhere at 3800 rpm if the seas allow so it doesn’t matter.

 

I do keep my fuel tank full after every trip.

[Headhunter]

My boats run better on non ethanol because of the difference in octane. That being said I ran all of my previous boats except my 15 hpx on normal pump gas with Startron and never had an issue. I did change the 10 micron filter every 50 hours for a while then went to 100 with no change in performance.  That’s 4 mavericks and 3 pathfinders. A lot of good info here. 

[HewesYourDaddy]

11 hours ago, HoneyB said:

I spent some time floating down the Savannah River cutting out a section of fuel line that was eaten up so badly on the inside fuel would no longer pass. After that day it’s non ethanol only fer me. 

Happened to us on my friend's boat many years ago. The inside of his fuel lines looked like grey gel, and that gel then separated and went into the engine-side fuel filter on his Optimax. Shut us down. He went thru weeks of headaches getting lines replaced, filters replaced, tank cleaned, etc. I will never run ethanol fuel in any equipment I have other than my truck, and I even treat that fuel with 2 stroke outboard oil. Yes, you read that right. I mix 2 stroke TCW3 outboard oil in my automobile. 1oz to every 4 gallons. Been doing it for darn near 20yrs.

[HoneyB]

2 hours ago, HewesYourDaddy said:

Happened to us on my friend's boat many years ago. The inside of his fuel lines looked like grey gel, and that gel then separated and went into the engine-side fuel filter on his Optimax. Shut us down. He went thru weeks of headaches getting lines replaced, filters replaced, tank cleaned, etc. I will never run ethanol fuel in any equipment I have other than my truck, and I even treat that fuel with 2 stroke outboard oil. Yes, you read that right. I mix 2 stroke TCW3 outboard oil in my automobile. 1oz to every 4 gallons. Been doing it for darn near 20yrs.

Funny u say that about oil to gas.. was at a guys house and his pressure washer ran out of gas.. all he had was a can of mixed fuel.. I said fill her up. He looked at me like I lost my mind.. after some discussion he put the gas in the pressure washer.. ran like a top and didn’t even smoke 

[HewesYourDaddy]

6 minutes ago, HoneyB said:

Funny u say that about oil to gas.. was at a guys house and his pressure washer ran out of gas.. all he had was a can of mixed fuel.. I said fill her up. He looked at me like I lost my mind.. after some discussion he put the gas in the pressure washer.. ran like a top and didn’t even smoke 

The mixture I’m using is an approximate 1:500 oil/fuel ratio so it doesn’t smoke in my truck either.  The high detergent properties of TCW3 outboard oil will keep your injectors and fuel system clean, as well as lubricant the top side of the pistons.   The old drag racers and gear heads used to do this and they called it “top oil”.   I used to read a good bit about it on some of the performance forums.   Now when you try to search it up, there is nothing available.  I think the search engines have been scrubbing things that they deem not environmentally friendly or something similar.  Anyhow, give it a try.  You may notice your engine is quieter and might see a little bit better performance.