When it comes to protecting the planet from pollution, boaters don't have to be all at sea. As oil companies stop mixing fuels with MTBE and start mixing them with ethanol instead, many boat owners are coming up with creative ways to deal with the problem.
MTBE is better at "oxygenating" fuel, which lowers emissions. Unfortunately, the chemical has been linked to pollution of ground water and is becoming a bigger liability problem for oil refiners. Ethanol solves the problem with ground water because it doesn't last long in the environment before being chemically broken down by nature. Because of this, most oil refineries are switching to fuels that contain ethanol. But these fuels make it hard for boaters to do their jobs.
Some outboard motors can run on fuel mixes with as much as 10% ethanol, but boaters should know three things:
- Ethanol is a solvent, which means it can break down varnish and other things in fuel systems. In some cases, it can break down parts of the fuel system, like fibreglass fuel tanks.
- Ethanol attracts moisture from the air and takes it in. This means that boaters are likely to have more problems with water getting into their fuel tanks through the vents.
- Boat owners and builders can now:
Use parts of the fuel system that work with ethanol blends or replace the parts that don't work with ethanol blends.
Install a Ten Micron Filter or a Yamaha mini-10 filter. The Ten Micron filter is made for boats with outboard motors that are more powerful than 115 hp. The new mini-10 is smaller and designed to fit on smaller boats. It was made to filter out impurities and keep water from getting into the fuel. The head of the mini-10 is made of aluminium, and the body is coated steel on the inside and painted steel on the outside to stop corrosion. It also meets all of the safety requirements for fuel systems set by the U.S. Coast Guard and ABYC.
