FUEL ADDITIVE QUESTION

[Proheat]

Since they are adding ethanol in the gas now- and it is supposedly a cleaner, should I or we still be adding additives to prevent outboards from carboning up. I have a Mercury and I've been adding "RING FREE" (yamaha) or "QUICKLEEN"(mercury) to my fuel, but don't want to cause problems with too much cleaner in the fuel.

Maybe someone could help with some info.


Thanks,

Barry

[Deep C]

Barry
I can relate a little story from a couple years ago.
I was at Chub Cay with a gas boat for about six weeks. The fuel there is 20% ethanol and we had a Volvo 5.7 go south on us. I won't detail the hell I went through trying to get volvo to help but lets just say they didn't. I found a very good man in Nassau who tore the best down and found the blown valve. As he tore the beast down he already knew what the problems was.
The injectors volvo were using in US engines were not ethanol resistant and caused an improper burn. This in turn loaded the carbon up real bad and eventually locked the valve open and croaked the motor (no compression). After he milled the head and fixed all the stuff he had me walk to an outboard place to get some Carbon Guard by OMC. I guess that is similar to the additives you are using.
When I got back stateside some intense words with Volvo got us a fresh set for our troubles. We have used carbon cleaners on the new mills since and now that Jersey has the Ethanol I think it gives us a leg up. When I rev the mills (forward or back) we no longer get the soot we used to...

[tolmaz]

I still use ring free in mine. no probs so far

[capt rog]

I use a Quart of Marvels mystery oil for every 100 gal. I have 310 hours with no probems on my PCM Sea Maxx 5.7 L 330 hp engines. My engines are set up from the factory to be able to use ethenal.
Capt. Rog

[matey1]

barry, i just read an article that says that starbrite makes an additive that will help w/ the new e-10 gas. it is called startron. by adding it to the gas it helps keep the water and all solutionized in the gas to burn and not crap out in your filter. supposed to be good stuff by all accounts. i added 30 gals of e-10 to my tank last week on top of 40 of the old mtbe. did a trip in the del bay and had no troubles. i am going to fill up this week but i am going to add the startron to be safe.

[Tuna Tyme]

All the problems I had this spring was from the gas stations emptying there tanks with the old gas and me filling up with new gas and all the junk that came free cloged everything up.

I have been talking to people up north where they have been running it for a couple of years. If you fill up and go a month or so with out running her, the fuel sites and it will drop in octane. Boat tanks are vented and the ethonal will evaporate out of the gas making it not burn as hot and letting the carpon build up on the valves, O yeah im talking 4 strokes. So I keep the tanks 1/2 full and fill them the morning I go. And add ringfree just to make sure I don't have proplems.