Sept12 (2).pdf - Association of Marina Industries
Sept12 (2).pdf - Association of Marina Industries Sept12 (2).pdf - Association of Marina Industries
14Technical Advice Continued from Page 13older boats that may have had some water in the bottomof the tank for years. Kelley says that once ethanol is introduced,the water — along with more that may be comingthrough a leaking deck fitting — will be absorbed and caneventually lead to phase separation. This leaves a layer ofwater/ethanol on the bottom of the tank. If the fuel pickup— resting at the bottom of the tank right where the mixtureis — picks up a slug of water, the engine will quit. If thatisn’t bad enough, there’s more: “This water/ethanol mixtureis quite corrosive, too, and aluminum fuel tanks are at riskof corroding from the inside if they are in contact with thisstuff,” says Kelley. Preventing water from getting into thetank is much easier than removing it so make sure the fuelfill gasket has a tight fit and keep your tank full, — thislimits the amount of water that can get into the tank fromcondensation. If you suspect you may have water in yourtank, contact a company that specializes in cleaning outtanks. Seaworthy has reported on several insurance claimsfor damage and injuries caused by using improper equipment(such as a wet vac) to clean out a tank — leave it tothe pros. Not sure if you have water in your tank? You canbuy a product called Kolor Kut that’s dabbed on the end ofa stick and lowered into your fuel tank; it changes color oncontact with water. One more thing to mention: Don’t plugthe fuel tank vent in an attempt to keep moisture out. It’sdoubtful much gets in that way and plugging the vent couldlead to pressure in the tank, which could cause a spill.More On Carburetors“Carburetors are dumb,” says Alyanak. “From the factory,they’re calibrated to run on one kind of fuel and can’t makeadjustments on their own, like modern electronic fuel injectioncan.” Engines that were built many years ago, beforeethanol, were calibrated to run on straight gas, he says.“Ethanol has extra oxygen in it, which throws off the air/fuel ratio, making the engine run too lean,” he says. Leanengines run hotter and have what are euphemistically called“drivability problems” — hard starting and rough running.It’s possible, he says, to recalibrate a carburetor to tolerateE10; a good mechanic can do it. New carbureted enginescome calibrated for E10.Older aluminum carburetors tend to suffer from the corrosiveeffects of ethanol much more than newer ones, whichare made out of more resistant alloys. The corrosion shownhere blocked tiny passages and caused hard starting andrough running.Tips For Older Engines:• Fuel-system components on older engines, those builtprior to about 1990, should be inspected before startingthe engine in order to identify any signs of leakageor corrosion.• Mercury’s fuel expert Kelley says if you are going torun on E10 for the first time, check for the presence ofwater in your tank, which is common in older boats.Ideally, your tank should be empty of all fuel and waterbefore you add E10.• Make sure your fuel-fill gasket doesn’t leak, or rainwaterand spray can get into the tank.• Don’t add a fuel dryer, which is often ethanol — it willjust compound the problem. Kelley recommends usinga fuel stabilizer instead each time you fill up (also trueof newer engines). Watch out, he warns: Some octaneboosters contain ethanol as well — read the label beforeyou add any. Incidentally, according to the chemicalengineers, there is no way to recombine separatedwater and E10.***********Charles Fort is associate editor of Seaworthy, the BoatU.S.Marine Insurance damage-avoidance publication, which isfree to all BoatU.S. insureds. For an insurance quote, pleasecall 1-800-283-2883 or apply online at BoatUS.com.Technical Advice Continued on Page 15
15Technical Advice Continued from Page 14Ethanol, The ScapegoatEthanol has been blamed for everything from roughrunningengines to high food prices. And while thereare challenges to boaters using ethanol, it can’t beblamed for everything that goes wrong. Here are someissues we’ve heard from boaters that weren’t caused byethanol:“I haven’t used my boat for four years but when Itopped it off with ethanol last spring, it wouldn’t start.”Four-year-old gas — any gas — can gum up carburetorsand prevent an engine from starting. (It’s goodpractice to empty the carburetor completely wheneverthe boat is being laid up for more than a few weeks.)“My boat won’t get up on plane since I started usingethanol.” E10 has about 3 percent less energy than E0,which is hardly noticeable performance-wise. Somethingelse — a nicked or bent prop, fouled sparkplugs,for instance — is a more likely culprit.“Since I started using E10, my gas tanks are full of water!”Ethanol attracts water from the air but it wouldn’tlikely be enough to cause phase separation — condensationand leaks from deck fittings can, though. Ethanolcan cause the water to separate if there is enoughalready there. The best advice is to keep the tanktopped off to reduce condensation, and make surethere is no way water can leak into the gas tank, eitherthrough the deck fill or sending unit cover.“My boat gets vapor lock since I topped up with E10last winter.” Winter blends of fuel have different vaporpressures than summer blends (whether they haveethanol or not). Vapor lock can be caused by usingwinter blends in hot weather so try to top off in the fallbefore winter blends are sold.“My mechanic says the engine runs rough becauseof ethanol.” While E10 can cause some problems, especiallyin older engines, it’s often used as an excusewhen the real problem can’t easily be found. Tiredcarburetors, faulty ignition systems, and worn enginescan mimic the symptoms of E10 problems.
- Page 1: 1September 2012ADVOCATEIn this issu
- Page 6 and 7: Industry News Continued from Page 5
- Page 8 and 9: Industry News Continued from Page 6
- Page 12 and 13: By Charles FortTechnical AdviceFrom
- Page 16 and 17: Important Safety TrainingNow Availa
- Page 18 and 19: Clean Marina &Environmental NewsFac
- Page 20 and 21: 20Conference CornerIMI’s Fall Eve
- Page 23 and 24: 23Around The WorldMourjan Marinas I
- Page 25 and 26: Around the World Continued from Pag
- Page 27 and 28: 27Legislation &By Wendy Larimerpart
- Page 29 and 30: Training & CertificationBy Kayce Ca
- Page 31 and 32: 31Advertising OpportunitiesAMI Advo
15Technical Advice Continued from Page 14Ethanol, The ScapegoatEthanol has been blamed for everything from roughrunningengines to high food prices. And while thereare challenges to boaters using ethanol, it can’t beblamed for everything that goes wrong. Here are someissues we’ve heard from boaters that weren’t caused byethanol:“I haven’t used my boat for four years but when Itopped it <strong>of</strong>f with ethanol last spring, it wouldn’t start.”Four-year-old gas — any gas — can gum up carburetorsand prevent an engine from starting. (It’s goodpractice to empty the carburetor completely wheneverthe boat is being laid up for more than a few weeks.)“My boat won’t get up on plane since I started usingethanol.” E10 has about 3 percent less energy than E0,which is hardly noticeable performance-wise. Somethingelse — a nicked or bent prop, fouled sparkplugs,for instance — is a more likely culprit.“Since I started using E10, my gas tanks are full <strong>of</strong> water!”Ethanol attracts water from the air but it wouldn’tlikely be enough to cause phase separation — condensationand leaks from deck fittings can, though. Ethanolcan cause the water to separate if there is enoughalready there. The best advice is to keep the tanktopped <strong>of</strong>f to reduce condensation, and make surethere is no way water can leak into the gas tank, eitherthrough the deck fill or sending unit cover.“My boat gets vapor lock since I topped up with E10last winter.” Winter blends <strong>of</strong> fuel have different vaporpressures than summer blends (whether they haveethanol or not). Vapor lock can be caused by usingwinter blends in hot weather so try to top <strong>of</strong>f in the fallbefore winter blends are sold.“My mechanic says the engine runs rough because<strong>of</strong> ethanol.” While E10 can cause some problems, especiallyin older engines, it’s <strong>of</strong>ten used as an excusewhen the real problem can’t easily be found. Tiredcarburetors, faulty ignition systems, and worn enginescan mimic the symptoms <strong>of</strong> E10 problems.
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