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I noticed lately that ethanol (10%) has crept into our gas here in Central and SW Florida. I thought we were safe. I don`t want to use this gas in my boats, especially antique motors. I only have plastic and aluminum gas tanks, no fiberglas. What do others do?

Rich:(

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Rich the plastic is a bit worry some but, the fiberglass would be my major concern. The Aluminum should last the longest out of them all. We have had 10 - 15% ethanol in Michigan fuels for a lot of years now (at least 10) and the only tanks I have seen with issues are the fiberglass tanks. Of course all of Pate's fiberglass tanks are now ethanol rated but, the previous ones are not.

I would be concerned with your fuel lines as much as the tanks. You will see an marked increase of deterioration with the ethanol in the fuels.

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One problem with Alcohol is that it's "Hydro-scopic" It likes to mix with water (Scotch & Water), on a more serious note, I have noticed much less fuel related problems even on older engines if a "Carbon Guard" is used, seem's to keep the fuel fresher for longer, don't let fuel sit for any length of time or "Condensation" becomes an issue in the fuel tank with the new fuel, as mentioned fuel lines can suffer as well if they are not rated for "Ethanol".
mw

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I spend a lot of time at an outboard repair shop and marina where one of my boats is docked. But I am not a mechanic. Just a BW boater and fisherman. So anything that I say is pretty much just my take on how I run my boats. There are tons of articles about the adverse affects of ethanol in gas used in outboards and how to prevent any ill affects. What I have seen is that due to the hydroscopic nature of ethanol and more water in the gas 2 strokes are burning more pistons. Rings are scoring cylinder walls. This can be somewhat prevented by using an inline water separator. Specifically, the one with the clear bottom, so one can see the water and drain it out of the fuel system. Secondly, with 2 strokes use a name brand of oil. You really want to coat your cylinder walls with the gas/oil mix and you want the least amount of carbon ash left in your combustion chamber. Another item that I found works well for me is the addition of Star Tron. It removes water from the gas and stops cabon build up. On the subject of outboard hoses it is my understanding that hose produced after 1984 is pretty much ethanol safe. One last note we had a 2004 high end boat 28+ ft fitted with twin 4 strokes that was manufactured with fiberglass gas tanks. Guess the boat manufacturer go a good deal on some of these old tanks. The outboards were running really bad due to the delamination of the fiberglass fuel tanks, caused by the ethanol/gas clogging the fuel filters.

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Binkie
I, being a "Cheap Bastard", used Walmart gas for the first two years I lived in SW Florida. Walmart(Murphy's) clearly states that they use 10% ethenol. I found that I had all sorts of problems from this fuel. Poor idle, hard starts when hot, etc. I had water in the separator every time I checked. I'm now using Chevron gas and all the problems have gone away. The Chevron gas is up to ten cents higher per gallon. Thats not too much to pay for better preformance.
Mike

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I will related what I have learned from ethanol gas..... Keep an eye on your fuel lines... if they are older replace them. Install a high quality fuel filter. The ethanol will clean your tank and that dirt will ultimately end up in your carb if you dont have proper filtration. I learned both these lessons from experience.

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Maybe now Pate tanks will be able to get some testing in the real world. I was all set to purchase a Pate until 2 Saturday ago. I stopped by my local Whaler dealer to purchase a few parts I needed and spoke to their Manager about buying one. He begged me not to, I asked him why? He said follow me as he lead me back to were they work on the boats. On the ground sat (2) one was a 2005 and one was an 06 Pate tank. They were doing a rebuild on both of the engines. The tanks DID NOT hold up to the 10%. Needless to say both owners were very angry. This BW dealership no longer sells Pate fiberglass fuel tanks