Buring E85
Dont do it
It will seperate when it sits for a long time
Fuel with any form of alcahol has less power potential
Tends to accelerate corrosion in the carbs
no good reason to use unless you think you are saving the planet , but then you wouldn't be into recreational boating , would you
Want something to add to your gas ?
try SeaFoam
get it at any auto parts store
:agree:, he hit the nail right on the head. I have been researching this since it was first brought up a few months ago. I will NOT ever put E85 in my Rotax if I can at all help it!
The theory behind this kinda turned out to be a no brainer. Ethanol was first used adding to beverages. It's made from grain in it's true form but has recently been made by synthetics.
The old saying, "alcohol and oil does not mix" should apply here. From what I've been reading, outside the moisture content in it, it also corrodes the magnesium, aluminum and rubber parts in your carbs. The auto industry is making what they call FFV's (flexible fuel vehicles). These vehicles have fuel systems that have all the above materials removed.
Depending on composition and source, E85 has an octane rating of 100-105 compared to a regular gasoline's rating of 85-93. So you can see right here that this fuel is not meant for the Rotax which states in the shop manuals to use 87 octane, 91 in the 4-TEC's. The higher octane rating will allow it to be used in higher compression engines which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. Since the reciprocating mass of the engine increases in proportion to the displacement of the engine, E85 has a higher potential efficiency for an engine of equal power. What this means is any of the Rotax's that are modded out with extreme racing cranks etc....can use the E85 more efficiently than our stock motors. You can see this in drag racing. These drag boats use methanol, alcohol or some other type of alcohol blend.
One complication is that use of gasoline in an engine with a high enough compression ratio to use the E85 efficiently would likely result in catastrophic failure due to engine detonation, as octane rating of gasoline is not high enough to withstand the greater compression ratios in use with an engine specifically designed to run on E85. So this too is proof that our engines are not equipped to run the higher combustion it takes to completly burn the fuel.
It is a proven fact already that E85 has a lower mile per gallon rating than gasoline.
One of the biggest reasons for us to switch to a biofuel was the environment, outside the fact that we need to start finding alternative fuel sources. Scientists first thought that biofuels were good for the environment because it had a smaller carbon footprint, which might be true. But, the production of grain alcohol itself is not environmentally sound. Burning it is but making it isn't.......
All my research comes from websites off the internet. The material above was summarized therefore, not cited. I am still gathering information that I will eventually use in "Snipes Korner" but for the moment, it seemed a good idea to throw a little into this thread.
Bottom line,.......I don't care if I have to drive an extra 25 miles for pure gas, I will. The only way I'll burn E85 in my vehicles, lawnmowers, or Seadoo's is if the government leaves me no choice..........:cheers:
atriot:
