bad news on ethanol!!!

[sandm]

not sure if you all saw the bad news that the obama crew has allowed the epa to bump ethanol percentages up to 15%, however only recommended for vehicles 2007 and newer.

stations are now going to have to figure out how to segregate 10% ethanol blends and 15% blends so that those with older cars can buy the old blend.

it has not been approved or tested in heavy trucks, motorcycles, small engines, boats and any vehicles older than 2001.

only one word.. SUCKS...

this is just the first step toward making it all 15%..

the story:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-13/epa-allows-15-ethanol-in-gasoline-for-newer-cars.html

[viking]

More "I don't know what the F*%$ I'm doing" policy from those back in Washington, DC. :(

[jmvotto]

More "I don't know what the F*%$ I'm doing" policy from those back in Washington, DC. :(

You got that right:shock:

[kaneboats]

Looks like MC, Malibu, Supra, Moomba, Tige, Nautique, etc. owners are all going to be in the same boat.

[kaneboats]

This was in the story. But it really doesn't make a difference. This is the camel's nose yet again.
. . .
Boat Engines Excluded

The decision excludes non-road engines such as boats and snowmobiles. The National Marine Manufacturers Association, a Chicago-based trade group for the recreational boating industry, said it’s worried that consumers may become confused and put the wrong fuel in boats.

“We are astonished that EPA has decided to move forward with a fuel that will increase air pollution and damage hundreds of millions of existing products,” President Thom Dammrich said in a statement today. The U.S.’s 66 million boaters will be left “holding the bag for performance issues and expensive repairs,” he said.
. . .

[deerfield]

On the subject of bad news, the depleted Federal Highway Trust Fund is causing some stir among policy makers who are talking about raising the current federal gas tax of $0.19 per gallon to possibly as high as $0.39. I just hope there is a carve out for boats since they have nothing to do with cost of maintaing roads, bridges, or airport runways. My guess is that a carve out won't happen and everyone pulling up to a pump to buy gas for a boat, lawn mower, or snow blower will be kicking in to the Fund.

[sandm]

kane, read that in there as well, but where you gonna buy gas that has less ethanol in it? stations are going to cater to the masses and sell whatever the refinery offers. we have 2 stations here locally that sell non-ethanol gas, but it's .30/gal higher than anywhere else in the valley. they can exclude whomever they want, but you still gotta find somewhere to buy it :(

[pogofx]

one of us should develop something to negate the impacts of the ethanol on our inboards and get rich in the process...

Well, there's already Marine Formula Sta-bil. I recently started using it after learning of the harmful affects of ethanol. Wish I'd known sooner. I think a lot of people on this forum use it and it generally gets good reviews.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=93513&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=10106&subdeptNum=10434&classNum=10437

[sandm]

marine formula stabil is nice, but gets expensive.

not sure what kind of ride you have flat.. e-85 does drop your mileage around 15-20%, however the boost in octane and power that comes with it can be nice depending on the ride..

[brain_rinse]

E85 is a wash in my Tahoe... lower mileage but lower cost so same $/miles. I never put ethanol blended fuel in my boat though. It's getting harder to find when you live in the corn belt, but premium still is ethanol free at several stations.

[moombadaze]

wonder what kind of a surf wave a sailboat makes :rolleyes:

wonder how high a percentage of this crap the boat's and related parts can handle :mad:

[sandm]

you should notice an increase in the pep if you use true e-85. it's like 107octane vs. 85-89 depending on what you run. lots of the import guys are switching to run e-85 as it's like racegas at the pump. it does cut mileage a ton. you won't see any difference in regular 10% ethanol blended regular gas in your rig in power..

[you da man]

On the subject of bad news, the depleted Federal Highway Trust Fund is causing some stir among policy makers who are talking about raising the current federal gas tax of $0.19 per gallon to possibly as high as $0.39. I just hope there is a carve out for boats since they have nothing to do with cost of maintaing roads, bridges, or airport runways. My guess is that a carve out won't happen and everyone pulling up to a pump to buy gas for a boat, lawn mower, or snow blower will be kicking in to the Fund.

If you lived in Texas there is a form to fillout and you send it to the Texas Comptrollers Office and you get back all the road tax in each gallon of gas you use in your boat. You file this form once per year (any 12 month period, it's not specific, it just has to be a 12 month period) and it's not related to federal income tax and Texas does not have a state income tax.

[sailing217]

Sandman is right that car tuners are modding cars to get the performance out of true E-85 which is just like race gas. We are waiting for a close gas station to do the wife's Evo X.

I have a 5.7l mercruiser engine in my boat. I felt some knock over the summer running 87 octane (blended in the summer around here) so I switched to 93 octane which is supposed to be E free. been running great. Just found the great affects of Sea Foam gas additive and love the stuff every few tanks in the cars and now boat.

Not a biggie, I used to have an Austin Healey that wanted lead gas. Just buy the additives in cases. Probably have to do with stabil or sea foam in the future. still a thumbs down.

[sandm]

sailing, all I have to say is u suck :)

I really miss my evo9. had an 8 and the 9 was a huge upgrade. can only imagine what the 10 is like..
sold it for the boat and am happy, but something about a turbo pushing you back into the seat at 3500rpm's is very satisfying...

[DOCDRS]

Interesting facts here on additives.......looking at stabil marine....is it overpriced blue coloured marine stabil?
http://www.fuel-testers.com/is_gas_additive_safe_with_e10_list.html

[brain_rinse]

Last time I bought marine stabil it was 2x the price of the regular but treated 2x as much per ounce.

[DOCDRS]

true, the little container does tx 300 litres and it gives you a piece of mind

[polar21]

We are experiencing ethanol problems in our fishing boat with a Yamaha four stroke outboard. If you leave ethanol gas in your boat for a couple of months, expect some fuel injector clogging and a host of other crap. If you have looked at the business end of a fuel injector, the spray nozzles are tiny and doesnt take much to block them up. Freaking ethanol.....

[pogofx]

If you lived in Texas there is a form to fillout and you send it to the Texas Comptrollers Office and you get back all the road tax in each gallon of gas you use in your boat. You file this form once per year (any 12 month period, it's not specific, it just has to be a 12 month period) and it's not related to federal income tax and Texas does not have a state income tax.

That's cool! I never heard of that - thanks! I searched the Texas Comptrollers website and found the form. Here's the link for you Texans:

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/06-106.pdf

Do you know how much you get back per gallon? I wonder which other states have this type of refund?