jamebo Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hey guys, I was reading an artical in the newspaper the other day about how some local boat owners were having problems getting the regular gasoline they needed at the pumps. It said that most area stores only carried gas now with ethanol added, and that alot of boat motors and aircraft engines didn't run well with that kind of gas. Also that it caused premature wear on the internal parts. I just went to the store by my house to get some gas for the Shee and noticed signs on all the pumps saying "10% or less ethanol added". Does anyone know if this will have any bad effects on a 2-stroke Banshee engine? I hadn't heard anything about this till the other day so I haven't noticed how long the signs have been up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sangheraent Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 im not a mechanic but my guy told me not to put ethanol gas in my yamaha 250f i have to go to chevron for my gas or shell. Its not good for the piston or something hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamebo Posted June 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 im not a mechanic but my guy told me not to put ethanol gas in my yamaha 250f i have to go to chevron for my gas or shell. Its not good for the piston or something hope that helps. Thanks for the reply, I guess I need to look around and see what stations have the regular. I just spent almost fourteen dollars on 3.2 gallons of premium but I'd rather put it in the lawnmower or something to avoid risking any kind of damage to the Shee. I think I'm going to run into the same problem as the guys I was reading about because they are having problems finding anywhere around here that sells it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magz Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks for the reply, I guess I need to look around and see what stations have the regular. I just spent almost fourteen dollars on 3.2 gallons of premium but I'd rather put it in the lawnmower or something to avoid risking any kind of damage to the Shee. I think I'm going to run into the same problem as the guys I was reading about because they are having problems finding anywhere around here that sells it. ethanol in banshee isnt going to hurt it one bit. generally ethanol has a higher octane rating all though is dumbed down when mixed with regular gas. ethanol in boats is a little diffrent not because of motor but because of the high high moisture content in close prox. to the boat motors the ethanol mixes with moisture and can turn into some sort of jell...while its not a thick sticky jell its just not good. but i ran ethanol gas in my boat for the last 2 years without any problems so again im not worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowit Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks for the reply, I guess I need to look around and see what stations have the regular. I just spent almost fourteen dollars on 3.2 gallons of premium but I'd rather put it in the lawnmower or something to avoid risking any kind of damage to the Shee. I think I'm going to run into the same problem as the guys I was reading about because they are having problems finding anywhere around here that sells it. You will NOT experience engine damage/failure or any thing close by using alcohol products in gasoline. The government mandated it so you will see it at nearly all pumps by now. 10% Ethanol will do nothing but good things for the engine BUT may require slightly richer jetting. Alcohols will make an engine run cooler but there is less energy lb for lb when compared to gasoline. That does NOT mean slower, than means you will use MORE fuel. The reasons Ethanol can cause problems is due to it being exposed to plastic and rubber parts in the fuel system. It may or may not cause problems depending on your system. We have yet to have one person have issues. We are even running on E85 which approx 85% Ethanol without fuel system problems. Also, due to the fact of being a two stroke, the oil in the fuel helps to protect rubberized parts in the fuel system and engine. I would NOT be concerned about the alky BUT it is ALWAYS advisable to test your premix oil in the fuel in a test jar and make sure it blends well and does not separate. Many oils do not want to blend well with straight alky but do just fine with E10 gasolines. Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamebo Posted June 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Thanks alot for the information, guys. I did a little research on it and was surprised to learn that Portland, Oregon was the first city in the United States to require all gas sold in the city limits to contain at least 10% ethanol mixture. I was wondering what everyone else was running because I know there's alot of Banshees there! I hunted around and found my owners manual to both the Banshee and the Raptor and they both said that ethanol based gas (it called it gasohol) was suitable in them as long as the content did not exceed 10%. However, it said not to run methanol gas. I just got back on here and saw the replys and I really appreciate the info, I didn't know those other things about it. That's a load off my mind, I feel safe about it now. thanks again, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooker82 Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 I have been running ethanol in my vehicles for a long time. It has been around here in the midwest for years. Indy switched from methanol to ethanol alachol. They thought it would be a good promotion to run a fuel that was grown here in the USA. They havent had any problems with the switch. josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b00sted Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) I hunted around and found my owners manual to both the Banshee and the Raptor and they both said that ethanol based gas (it called it gasohol) was suitable in them as long as the content did not exceed 10%. However, it said not to run methanol gas. They've been mixing in Ethanol to our gas around here for years now. It's no issue. Ethanol is basically the same alcohol you consume. Methanol, on the other hand, is highly corrosive and may cause issues. People confuse the two all the time. E85(85% ethanol, 15% gasoline and other misc things) is the shit. 105 octane rating, high alcohol content(cools the combustion chanber) meaning you can run slightly more compression and timing, etc. Price wise, you save a few bucks a gallon over 104-105 octane race gas even after factoring in the 30% loss in fuel economy. Edited June 24, 2008 by b00sted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHead Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hey guys, I was reading an artical in the newspaper the other day about how some local boat owners were having problems getting the regular gasoline they needed at the pumps. It said that most area stores only carried gas now with ethanol added, and that alot of boat motors and aircraft engines didn't run well with that kind of gas. Also that it caused premature wear on the internal parts. I just went to the store by my house to get some gas for the Shee and noticed signs on all the pumps saying "10% or less ethanol added". Does anyone know if this will have any bad effects on a 2-stroke Banshee engine? I hadn't heard anything about this till the other day so I haven't noticed how long the signs have been up. I wouldn't worry about it at all. It's not going to hurt anything. Without reading the article, I suspect the boat owners are probably worked up over misinformation as well. The premature wear and poor running condition is bogus. :geek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okbeast Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 What is the real octane rating on E85, do they have a RON and MON? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowit Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) What is the real octane rating on E85, do they have a RON and MON? E85 octane will vary depending on blend ratios. Because alky is not a cold weather performer, E85 is generally tuned back by manufacturers to around 70% C2H5OH and 30% 86 octane gasoline so the fuel will light better in cold weather. At the 85/15 ratio, octane is around 105 but will reduce to around 100 in the colder months. Brandon Edited June 24, 2008 by blowit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okbeast Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 So can it be treated like a 100 octane fuel for bikes? I remember the discussion awhile back about mixing higher octane w/ lower octane, and the lower octane kind of "taking over" the detonation properties of the higher one. I don't remember if this is exactly true though...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b00sted Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 So can it be treated like a 100 octane fuel for bikes? I remember the discussion awhile back about mixing higher octane w/ lower octane, and the lower octane kind of "taking over" the detonation properties of the higher one. I don't remember if this is exactly true though...? It can be treated like 104-105. With a slightly higher detonation threshold due to the high alcohol content. The mixture of ethanol to gasoline varies too. The mixing is usually done at the gas station itself. A few local guys have been testing all the different stations here that carry e85, and the percentage of alcohol varies from 80-90%. e85performance.net has some good info regarding all of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowit Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I only wish I would have paid more attention in Chem engineering classes but here is our research and understanding on the subject. By combining two or more fuels together, you are in effect "diluting" the lower octane fuel. You are not molecularly modifying the fuel. This simply means you will suppress auto-ignition tendencies but it will still occur regardless. This means a potential for erratic burn rates and higher combustion temps than with a single higher grade fuel. This does not mean it does not work, just means that these tendencies must be taken into account. By mixing gasoline and alky, They do not blend in nature so a "surfactant" must be added to allow blending of the two fuels. It is my understanding that the surfactant will NOT change the properties of either fuel but will give each a molecule it can bond ( hand holding) to to create a homogeneous solution. In actual raw fuel creation, fuel is "cracked" with a specialized process to break the carbon chains into the proper order to create gasoline. Unless this process is carried out in a fuel, the fuel molecules are only holding hands with one basic simply bond that is easily broken. In short, a blended 100 octane fuel may be able to suppress auto-ignition at the same levels as an engineered 100 octane fuel, but may not make as much power and run hotter due to the "blend" of fuels burning at different rates with different properties. Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronco91shee Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'LL AGREE WITH WHAT BRANDON SAID. I LEARNED ALOT OF THIS STUFF IN MY ALT FUELS CLASS FOR CARS. WE HAD TO LEARN ALL KINDS OF WEIRD FUELS IN THAT CLASS. BUT WE JUST GOT A FEW DAYS ONE EACH ONE, SO I DONT KNOW EVERYTHING. BUT WHAT BRANDON IS SAYING IS THE SAME ROAD I WAS TAUGHT... AS WELL AS THE OTHER INFORMATION THAT WAS TOLD HERE. E10 HAS BEEN RUN FOR YEARS WIHT NO PROBLEMS. AND E85 IS A GREAT THING. I KNOW PPL COMPLAIN BOUT IT IN THEIR EVERYDAY CARS, BUT THATS ONLY B/C TEH CAR IS DESINGED TO RUN BI-FUEL. NO ENGINE CAN BE DESIGNED TO RUN AT PEAK ON SEPERATE FUELS AT ONCE. IF WE DID BUILD A CAR TO RUN ON STRAIGHT ETHANOL, WE COUDL REALLY UP COMREPSSION AS STATED...WHICH MEANS, SMALLER ENGINES WITH THE SAME POWER, B/C THEY ARE MORE EFFICIENT AS WELL AS WE COULD UP COMRESSION. MABYE SOME DAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE 100% ETHANOL, BUT DOUBTFUL B/C OF ITS POOR STARTING IN THE WINTER. JUST DONT BELEIVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR ON THE NEWS, CUZ IT SEEMS ALL I HEAR ABOUT IS HOW E85 IS SO BAD, ADN NOT TO WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT....BUT IMO ITS GREAT STUFF.....WISH I HAD A FLEX FUEL VEHICLE I KNOW FORD TELLS US THAT WE CAN RUN UP TO 10% ETHANOL IN GAS CARS AND UP TO 10% BIO IN DIESEL WITHOUT VOIDING WARRENTY...ALIL FYI FOR YALL IN CASE YA DINT KNOW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.