We now carry 93 octane “no ethanol” marine gas at the card lock service facility

No Ethanol Fuel for BoatsAbout Marine Gas – At Eli Roberts and Sons we are thankful to offer conventional (87 Oct) unleaded gasoline, commonly referred to as marine gas. This gasoline is not available at regular gas stations (this is traditional NO ETHANOL FUEL) which now carry E-10 gasohol which is a 90% gasoline, 10% ethanol mixture hence its name. Since its introduction E-10 has gained a bad reputation due to its lack of efficiency compared to gasoline and especially in relation to it’s compatibility with water and its preference to “Phase Separate.” Phase separation occurs when water enters via condensation or contamination and the water pulls the ethanol out of the gas. Ethanol is used as an octane booster in gasohol, so if the ethanol “drops“ out so does the octane. For example, if a gasohol with a minimum octane rating of 87 (regular) was to experience phase separation, the result would be a gasohol with a octane rating of about 84 octane. This results in detonation “pinging“ which is very harmful to an engine. This is not the extent of damage. If the engine is two stroke, the contaminated ethanol and water will fight the oil used to lubricate the moving parts and this can lead to water being where oil should be and friction where lubrication should be – the result is engine failure. Is that worth the risk? With Eli Roberts and Sons on your side that can never be a question.

Water as a separate phase, however, can have differing effects on gasoline engines, depending on whether the engine is two-stroke (generally, smaller engines) or four-stroke (generally automobile engines). In the case of conventional and MTBE blended gasolines, when a water phase forms, it will drop to the bottom of the fuel tank, and can therefore be drawn into the engine by the fuel pump. Therefore, large amounts of water will prevent the engine from running, but no engine damage will result. Phase separation in ethanol-blended gasoline, however, can be more damaging than in MTBE blends and straight gasoline. When phase separation occurs in an ethanol blended gasoline, the water will actually begin to remove the ethanol from the gasoline. Therefore, the second phase which can occur in ethanol blends contains both ethanol and water, as opposed to just water in MTBE blends and conventional gasoline. In the case of two-stroke engines, this water-ethanol phase will compete with the blended oil for bonding to the metal engine parts. Therefore, the engine will not have enough lubrication, and engine damage may result. In the case of four-stroke engines, the water-ethanol phase may combust in the engine. This combustion can be damaging to the engine because the water ethanol phase creates a leaner combustion mixture (i.e. air to fuel ratio is higher than ideal). Leaner mixtures tend to combust at higher temperatures, and can damage engines, particularly those without sensors to calibrate air to fuel ratios.