E10 fuel in Mercury 2 stroke outboard

 Panick stations lads and I desperately need some clarification. I have just put in 50 litres of E10 fuel into my 100litre fibre tank which had about 20 litres of unleaded in it already. 

Will this cause damage being that its only a one of mistake?

Cheers for any help....


Jason P's picture

Posts: 521

Date Joined: 16/02/13

 E10 fuel isn't great as the

Thu, 2014-04-24 18:55

 E10 fuel isn't great as the ethanol is hygroscopic which means it absorbs water into the fuel. Would probably try to use it all up within a month as also after a while it can have a sludge that separates that may cause problems. In the US there was a class action against it as it is also believed to damage some rubber hoses over time with residue going through the motor.

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 DM306

Posts: 5981

Date Joined: 17/06/10

I wouldn't use it

Thu, 2014-04-24 19:42

In my opinion it's a big load of crap in so much as outboards are concerned

Posts: 3

Date Joined: 24/04/14

 Would I be better of

Thu, 2014-04-24 20:03

 Would I be better of sifening out of the tank or would it be ok to use it and then just re-fill it with unleaded?

cheers

Posts: 16

Date Joined: 01/01/12

E 10 Fuel

Thu, 2014-04-24 20:50

Mate id start siphoning now

sarcasm0's picture

Posts: 1396

Date Joined: 25/06/09

Possibly

Thu, 2014-04-24 20:26

 E10 issues relate often to older motors/tanks/lines/fittings not being able to cope with E10 addition.  It has a habit of eating tanks/fittings/hoses/gaskets etc which then end up in the fuel system as well...

read here for a pretty reasonable summation: http://www.fishingmonthly.com.au/Articles/Display/11089-E10-The-Facts-and-More

The very worst are fibreglass tanks. If they were not built to E10 standard, any ethanol will immediately start to dissolve the tank. That means a weakened tank that has the potential to fail and leak. But before then, the dissolved fibreglass chemicals, like styrene, will pass through the best of filters and coat the inside of sensitive engine components. This has led to engines being damaged beyond repair.

 

Posts: 3

Date Joined: 24/04/14

Thanks for the info lads.

Thu, 2014-04-24 21:48

Thanks for the info lads. After reading countless amounts of info I think I'm more confused than ever as some say its ok and others say quite the opposite.

Would it cause any damage by being in the tank for 24 hours and about 20 litres going through the tank with the rest being siffened out?

cheers,

Posts: 198

Date Joined: 08/09/11

fiberglass tank?

Fri, 2014-04-25 07:32

If it is an older fiberglass tank, and older fuel lines,get it out as soon as possible . other than that , use it as fast as possible, I ruined a 270 litre tank in my shark cat, the sides dissolved, and the residue coated the carbys. Took acetone and a ultrasonic cleaner to fix the carbys. And the old Durban now runs on tote tanks as the E10 did for the under floor tank. modern tanks should be alcahol tolerent and modern motors should have manufacturs advise as to alcohol tolerance in the operators manual. Another small but important point, when using higher octane fuel, the timing needs to be advanced , or the motor might run slightly warmer, and develop slightly less power. Motors with knock sensors automaticly advance the timing.However, running 95 octane shouldn't be a big issue.
I doubt you have damaged anything , but good luck.
Marrisy.

joe amato's picture

Posts: 731

Date Joined: 21/12/08

e10 is not recomended for marine motors

Fri, 2014-04-25 07:51

 e10 is not recomended for marine motors only car motors,i read a magazine over a year ago saying it is very harmful to marine motors and is only to be used in e10 vehicle motors,i would drain plus clean out fuel lines etc,for the sake of saving a few cents to the litre uts not worth it