Adding E10 For The First Time

[Fishboy OV8]

Any and all advice would be great........ 2yr old boat, good clean tank as far as I know, running Suzuki 4stroke...............I have a 102gal tank w/ 33gals left in it.......... I've heard some say to drain all the gas I've been using before adding E10 and stabilizer and some say I can mix what is left...... does anyone know EXACTLY what to do ????

[Small Boat Junkie]

I have put over 500 hrs on twin 150 four strokes and have not had a single problem. Just change all filters yearly. I did go to the 10 micron filter as well as tthe others.

[john latham]

Since you have a newer boat and a clean tank you shouldn't have that many problems.
Definetly use a 10 micron filter and I had luck with Startron to stabilize the fuel.

Try not to buy any more non-ethanol fuel from here on out.

[Fishboy OV8]

can I mix the 30 gals left in the tank or should I drain it ?

[joenboo]

Yes

[Fishboy OV8]

thanks Joe....... assuming you said yes to mixing

[twobyfour]

I'm in the construction business and I'll share some of my observations with you. I have some small equipment such as air compressors, plate packers, generators, augers chain saws, and so forth. About a year or year and half ago, we started having problems with them. They seemed to be getting water in the gas or the gas seemed to smell really funny. We would have to pull the carbs off, clean the bowls, drain the fuel and so on. This would happen on the ones that did not get used on a regular basis. But it was not happening to all of them that did not get used on a regular basis. We then set out to try and figure out why the gas was rotting in some but not others. The conclusion we have come up with is the ones with plastic polyethelene tanks are causing most of the problems and the ones with metal tanks seem to be better. My belief is that the ethanol and the poly don't mix well at all, as a matter of fact if you leave it in a plastic tank for a month or longer without moving it, then smell it, it smells like friggin corn. That gas just plain sucks. Its not the answer for our future, its not nearly as effecient as plain gas, and its cost me alot of money in repairs. So my advice for anyone using this crap, and I think most of us have to now, don't let it sit around in a plastic tank very long or any tank for that matter for any amount of time,I guarantee you will have problems. As a side note, I had a 27' Grady I sold a month ago with metal tanks and never had any problems with the E10 gas, but I used my boat at least twice a week most of the time.

[Mike Avery]

I don't think it's necessary to go through the pain of draining the tank. Just run it down as far as you can (w/o risking running out). You can always carry a 5 - 10 gallons of E10 in a portable tank if you are not sure where empty is as many guages are not very accurate. Then slap on your new 10 micron filters and fill er up with E10. Most didn't have a problem, including me, when we switched over and expect you won't either.

[Skipjack/VA]

Fill it up and add a bottle of Startron. I dont like Stabil, the Starton has good reviews for E 10. Go with 10 micron filter as well.

[john latham]

I'll second the poly tank theory.

Some folks that were seeing water in the filters started adding gas dry to their fuel thinking it would help. Since gas dry is alcohol based they only added to their problem, sometimes causing deteriorated fuel lines and gaskets.

Briggs and Stratton makes a little tube that shows phase seperation and amount of water in the fuel. It's a simple test to perform and the tube can be reused. My mechanic found it on B&S website for pretty cheap. It's a nice little diagnostic tool.