LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. – “Grenaded” engines, melted fuel lines, corroded gas tanks – for boat service centers around the Lake of the Ozarks, these are becoming an all-too-common sight. Boat specialists agree about the culprit: ethanol-blended fuels. And the Environmental Protection Agency’s continued promotion of the controversial, corn-based fuel has many in the boat and auto industries up in arms.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, use of E10 – the fuel blend commonly found at gas stations, which contains 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol – was spurred in the U.S. by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies E10 as “substantially similar” to gasoline. But many boat service technicians and others in the marine industry disagree, blaming the fuel blend for myriad issues surfacing in boats across the nation, some of which have been truly devastating.
However, on January 21, 2011, the EPA took a step beyond E10, approving the higher-ethanol-concentration E15 for the market. Gas stations offering E15 would also have to have at least one dedicated hose and nozzle for dispensing fuels containing 10 percent ethanol or less. The stations would also be required to affix a label to all E15 pumps which reads, “Passenger Vehicles Only. Use in Other Vehicles, Engines and Equipment May Violate Federal Law.”
The EPA’s definition of “passenger vehicles” does not include boats. It would seem the agency also recognizes the dangers to marine engines posed by ethanol.
The American Petroleum Institute has fought back against the EPA’s approval of E15, citing studies and tests that blame ethanol for damage to engine components. In February, the API appealed the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, after a D.C. Circuit Court rejected a coalition of industries’ challenge to the EPA’s decision. And the National Marine Manufacturers Association may not be far behind. Cindy Squires, of NMMA, has suggested the association will likely make a similar request to the high court.
Far outside the Washington beltway, however, boaters and marinas at the Lake of the Ozarks see the effects of ethanol blends on a regular basis.
Chuck Dipasquale, Service Manager at Formula Boats of Missouri, explained that ethanol, being high-octane, is blended with low-octane gasoline to produce the E10 that is currently sold at gas stations across the nation. The blend technically matches the octane rating listed on fuel pumps, but Dipasquale said the problem comes with phase separation. When the fuel sits in a vehicle’s gas tank for days, the ethanol and the gasoline begin to separate. The presence of water speeds the process. The result is two layers of fuel in the tank: one containing low-octane gasoline, and one containing high-octane ethanol. The engine is forced to work harder to burn the low-octane gasoline drawn in by the fuel lines. And that’s when things can turn bad.
“A boat came in here and the engine had ‘grenaded,’” Dipasquale said. “[The low-octane fuel] ended up melting the engine.”
But the pain of E10 seems to be spread somewhat unequally. Dave Bigge, of MarineMax at the Lake of the Ozarks, reported his marina has not seen much ethanol damage, saying the issue is largely affecting outboard motors.
One individual who has made a career, in part, out of inspecting ethanol damage to boats is Mike Hunter, an independent marine surveyor. Hunter said the problem is worsened because some fueling stations are inadvertently dispensing fuel labeled as E10 which in reality contains much more than 10 percent ethanol. This is the result of phase separation, particularly at stations not depleting their gas inventory very quickly. Hunter’s son conducted a science project for school in which he tested the ethanol content of fuels being dispensed at gas stations in his hometown. The results: some stations were pumping the equivalent of E30 (30 percent ethanol), labeled as E10.
This is why Hunter, Dipasquale, and many boat technicians discourage boaters from buying fuel for their watercraft at land-based fueling stations. Marinas are typically more diligent to sell fuels safe for marine use. Even some high-octane, premium fuels sold at land-based stations may contain ethanol, Hunter added, though he said he would tend to believe any business that actually advertises ethanol-free fuel.
As the EPA continues to push E15 into the market, the increase in fuel’s ethanol concentration will simply exacerbate the current issues boaters are experiencing, Hunter predicts. “We already have problems with E10,” he said. “It’s a concentration issue: because we have more alcohol, it’s going to separate faster.”
Hunter regularly inspects boats before they are sold, on behalf of the potential buyer. But he says there are several things a buyer can do to minimize the risk of ending up with a boat that has been damaged by ethanol.
Hunter gave three tips for increasing the chance of buying an ethanol-free boat:
- Be especially cautious with trailerable boats – particularly ones that have been regularly trailered. There is a higher likelihood that a trailered boat has been fueled at a land-based gas station, and therefore was probably tainted with ethanol.
- Run a compression test on the engine, and never neglect to give the vessel a sea trial. Take it out on the water and make it run.
- Test the fuel currently in the tank. Hunter describes this fairly simple process: First, measure some of the fuel into a beaker. Next, add an equal amount of water into the beaker (so the mixture should be 50/50 fuel and water). The water will speed the process of phase separation. Stir, and wait. Within a few minutes, the phase separation will be visible in the beaker. If three layers are visible, then the fuel was definitely an ethanol blend. To determine what percentage of the fuel consisted of ethanol, account for the water that was added and measure the three visible layers in the beaker: water, ethanol, and fuel. Water will be present in the largest amount, then likely gasoline, followed by ethanol.
Hunter warned that while some insurance policies will cover damage done by ethanol in the tank, others will not. And though the EPA requires labeling of ethanol blends at gas stations, Dipasquale says the solution for the boating world is education.
“People need to learn what ethanol really is,” he said. “If they don’t understand what ethanol is, they won’t understand a sign warning them the gas contains ethanol. We have to educate the people first.”
