Non ethanol gas for Mercury XS Pro

[Nimitz]

Question about non ethanol gas. I have a 2021 Z-18 with Mercury XS Pro 150. I've been putting non ethanol gas in it but its very expensive relative to just unleaded and there is only one place nearby that carries it. so, how important is it to use vs unleaded?

 

[olefisherman456]

if you are using your boat often and most of the year regular unleaded is probably ok. however i dont use mine all that often and it was disabled most of the summer [bad trim & tilt ] i use non alky gas with tank dead full and treated. only time i had problems was a time i didnt do that.

 

[Pat Dilling]

In California we don't get a choice. Unleaded with ethanol is all we have. After 1 year and 96 hours with our 200 Pro XS 4 stroke I have had no problems. I run 87 octane and add some Seafoam about once a month.

 

[lwoomer53]

I run mostly non-ethanol fuel in my 150 Pro XS Optimax 2 stroke since it's easily available at marinas on Bull Shoals Lake, but have run ethanol fuel in the past with no problems either way.

 

[OldDude]

We run non ethanol 91 octane in our 2008 Optimax 115. After rebuilding the fuel system right after we bought it I'm not taking any chances.

 

[Borkman]

If you have access to non-eth gas, use it. I've been running multiple boats for a 30-yr career as a fish biologist. The ONLY time we've ever had issues with any of our boats is when we used to use regular ethanol gas. Ethanol begins to break down in less than two weeks. The resulting water in the fuel isn't good. What's worse is the varnish that builds up on the injectors, and in old motors, the carb. If you can't burn thru all of the gas in less than two weeks (and adding more doesn't start the clock over), then you NEED to add fuel stabilizer. A buddy of mine who used to work in a boat/atv repair shop once told me that better than half his business stemmed around folks burning ethanol based gas in their small engines.

BTW, I use non-eth gas (non-oxy premium) in ALL of my small engines ( chain saw, weed whip, push mower, lawn tractor, atv) and in 30 years, I have NEVER had one single gasoline-based issue or repair. And spring start-ups are a dream compared to others.

The extra money for non-oxy gas is more than worth the lack of headaches!

 

[Kirby Wilson]

Run non-ethanol 91 only one available around this area for 20 years or better. The biggest problem before non-ethanol was the fuel lines deteriorating, even the ethanol rated fuel lines. Also, fuel tank see to gather water when it set for over a month.
I run ethanol free gas, because it is cheaper than a posable motor rebuild.
Here around Springfield and Branson Missouri 91 octane non-ethanol is readily available at a number of stations.

 

[Larry Williams]

Non-ethanol gas is hard to get in many areas. Here in South Louisana it is widely available. I've been in the boating game a very long time- best advice I can add here is to keep you fuel tank FULL. When you are returning home- stop somewhere and fill up. I've never used fuel additives or had a fuel problem and attribute that to keeping my tank FULL. I do run my engine 12 months a year and that is big help as well. With no air space in the tank most of the time,there is little opportunity to collect water in the tank.

 

[JohnB]

You’ll get people on both sides of the fence on this issue. My advice is do your own research. There are some great videos on YouTube that show the breakdown of ethanol fuel. However the amount of actual water is minuscule. You will only run into issues if you let the fuel sit for a looooong time. Since 2008, all tubing has been made to withstand the effects of ethanol fuel. And you won’t have to worry about varnish. That’s a thing of the past. Ethanol is great at breaking down the stuff. That’s where some people get into trouble while running older equipment on new fuel.

 

[Allen Dronsfield]

I'm in central Florida, and we do have all blends. I have run regular 87 octane for some 14 years, I do keep the tank full and use Mercury Quicksilver. Cross my fingers I have never have a mechanical issue thus far. My 2019 Z20 Pro has the 4.6 liter ProXS. I just had the 100 hour service and BPS told me that this engine is very strong, keep doing whatever it is I do in maintaining and caring for it.

 

[Don Smith]

I run NON ethanol in my 2015 150 four stroke and Knock on head, have not had any problems so far!!!! I have 3 places to get it on the way home. Fish at least once a week. Can't afford to fill up so my tank is around one half.

 

[Fishin1.0]

Non Ethanol is all I've ran for many years. I've had zero issues with carb or injector issues, along with fuel line or other issues related to E10 fuel usage. Right now here in Central Fla at the WAWA stations it is $3.90 a gallon as compared for $3.29 for E10. Once I fill up, I keep my boat topped off after each use, which comes to about 5 gallons. Non Ethanol is all I use in my small gas engines also.

 

[DONAOL]

I too have been using non-ethanol gas for over fifteen year and haven't had any issues. When on vacation I've had to use regular gas also. I do probably go a little over board with preventive measures. I always add least a once of Sta-Bil 360 Marine to my gas tank during fill ups. Also I try to never run my boat under a quarter of a tank. Non-ethanol gas is just about $4.00 a gallon here in the Syracuse, NY area. Marina's up here are now over $100 an hour to work on your boat and it would be rare to get the work done in less than a few days. Just had my boat winterized at Tracker Marine service center the bill, just over $400 with tax for a 2021 Mercury 150 HP Four Stroke. I did have a $50 discount coupon that dropped it to $350. I'd rather pay a little more up front, than a lot more later.

 

[Nimitz]

thx for all the responses. living in florida I don't winterize my boat since I fish all year round and always do yearly engine maintenance. I know Mercury says as long as the ethanol content is 10% or less its acceptable as well

 

[Nimitz]

does adding something like SeaFoam with every tank fill up make any difference if using ethanlo gas?

 

[KWW999]

Anyone know of good sources of non-ethanol gas in Texas? I’ve been looking and I’ve been unable to locate anywhere locally.

 

[mike daniels]

https://www.pure-gas.org/

 

[mike daniels]

There is a guy named Terryl Dyctal or something similar on youtube. He runs a small engine repair shop and was looking at the storage times of different fuels. The test he ran was from Jan 2020 until recently (September ish 2021) to see how long it would take for different fuels and fuel treatments to keep 10 brand new lawnmower engines running.

He ran 10% ethanol in 87 ansd 91 octane, non ethanol VP racing fuel, 10% ethanol 87 treated with heat, seafoam, stabil, ethanols shield, etc etc etc. to see which would continue to start the lawnmower the best when cranked once/month or so.

In the end the 87 with no additives outlasted several of the ones with additives. Seafoam and Stabil360 were some of the last ones. The best was the VP racing non-ethanol but at $10/gal...yeah right. BUT almost all of them went 1 year and still cranked the engine. Now after they failed, he dropped the carb bowl and saw jelly in carb so even through the fuel still burned, it was leaving deposits in the carb but I believe this test was excessive and the run times were short. Likely longer run times would have allowed the cleaning power of the ethanol to desolve and minimize the build up of the jelly.

Point is, if you can get non-ethanol that is preferred. if you cant, don't sweat it but do follow some rules for setting up.

If you are going to leave the boat setup for 6 months or more, I would pump out the tanks and run the engine dry before leaving it. Run that fuel in OPE to use it up or in your car while it still reasonable fresh. Less than 6 months no no use, no problem.

I do use Stabil 360 marine and regular 1oz/gal dose of seafoam just as a precaution but I've been running 10% ethanol gas from a high volume gas station for the last 12 years on my 2000 mercury carb 90 with no issues. never had the carbs cleaned and it idles and has a top speed the same as when I bought it.

of course I've just jinxed myself but saying I jinxed myself i hope to have unjinxed myself.