ethanol......is it bad?

[sapper740]

Originally Posted by elvis3006

is it safe to run ethanol based fuels in our MV's? i have a 43 GPW and a 44 WC51. thanks

A good friend of mine who owns and operates a Mohawk gas station in B.C. had to retro-fit large filters to all his pumps years ago when Mohawk started blending ethanol with their gasoline. The reason as explained to me was that the Ethanol will remove any scale from the underground storage tanks and lines. Of course, it was critically important to filter the fuel before selling it. It's important to ensure that your vehicles have good fuel filters to prevent any scale in your fuel system being loosened by the ethanol from clogging the jets in your carbs. Another alternative is to run 100LL (Avgas) which not only doesn't attack rubber seals and fuel lines, but helps prevent vapour lock much better than Autogas. Further, your valves will love you for it. It can be purchased at any General Aviation airport, just tell the seller that it's for your boat. We used to buy it all the time for the high compression Rats in our Flat-bottoms and Pickle-forks. You can be fined here in the U.S. for running it in your daily commuter, but you are allowed to use it in "Specialty Vehicles" such as race cars etc. I'm not sure about the laws elsewhere. If your conscience will let you burn gas that doesn't have Road Taxes included in the price, go for it.

Regards, Derek.