What type of gas you running?

[fatboyroy]

If you're using just one bottle in your boat with a tank fill, you're wasting your money as the ratio will be too low to do anything. I believe it's one bottle per 15 gallons?

I don't consume all 40 gallon, most of the time 10 to 15 gallon fill up.

 

[RobbieO]

If you're using just one bottle in your boat with a tank fill, you're wasting your money as the ratio will be too low to do anything. I believe it's one bottle per 15 gallons?

Actually it’s 3 oz per 15 gallons, so I use a 10 oz bottle every fillup. For winter storage its 3 10 oz bottles for a full tank (50 gallons) I will add ring free every couple of fillups.

 

[212s]

Actually it’s 3 oz per 15 gallons, so I use a 10 oz bottle every fillup. For winter storage its 3 10 oz bottles for a full tank (50 gallons) I will add ring free every couple of fillups.

Actually for regular use and winter storage it's 1 oz per gallon, so your dilution is so weak you might as well not put any in the tank:

How to use Sea Foam in fuel

No Description.

seafoamworks.com

Unless sizes changed, they make 16oz bottles, so three bottles for a 48 gallon tank.

Note that I don't believe this stuff does anything for regular use. Gasoline engines are pretty simple....all you're doing is padding the wallets of these "additive" companies. Except where recommended by the manufacturer for use, I avoid these scams...so Ring Free every few tanks, and stabilizer for storage. And I have my doubts Ring Free does anything in fresh water environments. Just my opinion.

 

[Robconn]

Is the gas at marinas always non ethanol? I’ve never filled my boat at the lake.

To my recollection, The two marinas I choose get gas at on my local lake only offer non ethanol. Not sure about the other 5 or so. And yes, you do pay a premium. I believe it’s also contains additives comparable to stabil. There is a sign on the fuel pump that the fuel meets some marine standard. I still add stabil at the end of the season. There are two things I hope will help sell my boat for a better price. always in fresh water and always used non ethanol. It is tempting when a 30 gallon tank (AR192) is 100+ dollars to fill. I am fortunate to be able to afford a slip. It is my biggest boating expense. So I rarely use the trailer and are not allowed to top off the tank at the marina slip I rent. It is also good to know ethanol could be used without any immediate harm to the fuel system or its components.

 

[amccoy]

What about range? Does higher octane equal better MPG? Might be worth it on a Bimini run.

 

[Bluewater272]

87 E10, mix in stabil for the winter. No reason to use a higher grade of fuel unless you have SVHO motors.

 

[AmesJainchill]

As I keep my boat on the trailer basically right at the lake, I typically run valvtect E0 90 octane at various locations on the water as it's convenient for me, and I can get a pump-out/flush as needed (no bottles of additive except what the dealer puts in at winterization). I can back track from the marina once in a while and get E0 rec gas on land, but the price has been near the same as on the water (4.11 just the other day at the roadside station).

Of course if I knew I was going to blow through an entire tank in one day, my E0-OCD would be comfortable running 87 E10 top tier. ? TBH, I will try the 87 E10 one of these days just to see if I can squeak a couple mph more out of the boat and what gph I would be running at cruise (on 90, I get ~11.5 gph @ 31mph cruise and 48-50 mph wot). I would expect since the motors are designed to run 87, mileage/gph and speed would both be at least slightly improved on that level of octane.

 

[RobbieO]

If you're using just one bottle in your boat with a tank fill, you're wasting your money as the ratio will be too low to do anything. I believe it's one bottle per 15 gallons?

I stand corrected. it's three 16 oz bottles, which is what I have, not 10 oz

 

[RobbieO]

Actually for regular use and winter storage it's 1 oz per gallon, so your dilution is so weak you might as well not put any in the tank:

How to use Sea Foam in fuel

No Description.

seafoamworks.com

Unless sizes changed, they make 16oz bottles, so three bottles for a 48 gallon tank.

Note that I don't believe this stuff does anything for regular use. Gasoline engines are pretty simple....all you're doing is padding the wallets of these "additive" companies. Except where recommended by the manufacturer for use, I avoid these scams...so Ring Free every few tanks, and stabilizer for storage. And I have my doubts Ring Free does anything in fresh water environments. Just my opinion.

Yes, I misspoke. I have 16 oz bottles, and would dump 3 into the tank for storage. I use 10 oz bottles of Med Red for fillup only.

 

[biffdotorg]

What about range? Does higher octane equal better MPG? Might be worth it on a Bimini run.

No, if your boat is tuned for 87, putting in 91 will do absolutely nothing for performance or efficiency. If you have a supercharged Yamaha tuned for 91, then that is a different story. How 91 burns differently than 87 is why. It has nothing to do with quality of fuel. The term "premium" for so many years has brainwashed folks into thinking "better" This is not the case when only referring to octane.

The conversations around ethanol are a different story and already covered in other comments above. But for efficiency, that will best be attained by running the fuel the engine was tuned for.

 

[212s]

What about range? Does higher octane equal better MPG?

No octane does not equate to mileage, lower or no ethanol helps a bit with mileage as ethanol has less energy than gasoline so pure gasoline is better, but more costly. The cost difference does not come close to the added mileage gain though, so you're wasting money using higher octane fuel than needed as the net gain is a negative value. Same goes for vehicles...you will get better mileage from zero ethanol fuel, but the cost is not worth it as you can get the same distance for much less with E10 fuel.

Might be worth it on a Bimini run.

Why would it be worth it? Bimini is only 50+ miles away from Miami...most boats can run 100 miles or more on a tank of fuel (mine should do 135 miles with a 10% reserve). I understand Bimini fuel is pricey, but if you're doing a Bimini run who cares about the price, fill up and you're good for the return.

 

[212s]

Yes, I misspoke. I have 16 oz bottles, and would dump 3 into the tank for storage. I use 10 oz bottles of Med Red for fillup only.

No worries, just a numbers issue there - been there done that. Just wanted to make sure you weren't dumping in low levels of additives for zero gain.

I have to ask though, why are you putting in Med Rx with every fill up? If you use your boat regularly, like every few weeks or more, Med Rx does nothing as fuel is stable for weeks without it?

 

[212s]

The term "premium" for so many years has brainwashed folks into thinking "better"

Bingo!

Up here we have terms like bronze/silver/gold or low/mid/high grade for fuel which is deceiving as it has nothing to do with the quality of fuel or how it works in your engine. I know many people who believe the terms and will only buy silver or gold because they THINK it's better...which is true, it's better for the wallets of the fuel companies.

 

[mrcleanr6]

I have to admit i am a little envious of you guys that get non ethanol. You wont find ethanol free here in nj since its illegal to be sold at any pump in the state.

as for my boat i have an svho so i run 93. The required 91 octane would be fine but that is a rare bird here also. You almost never see that on land or water. 87, 89, 93 are our choices.

 

[212s]

on 90, I get ~11.5 gph @ 31mph cruise and 48-50 mph wot

You should be able to do a bit better I think if you moderate your speed. I can get 9.0gph at 27mph and 3.0gph at 5100rpm on 87 octane E10 fuel, although my boat is a bit shorter and lighter but you should be able to get close. If I'm cruising for range, I keep it around 5100-5200rpm to get those numbers and I'm good for range. But since boats are fun, I rarely keep it there.

I would expect since the motors are designed to run 87, mileage/gph and speed would both be at least slightly improved on that level of octane.

Yes with zero octane fuel, you will get better mileage and maybe another mph out of it...but the cost outweighs the benefits. For every tank of E0 fuel, you will pay more than it would cost to fill up with E10 fuel to cover the same mileage.

 

[212s]

I have to admit i am a little envious of you guys that get non ethanol. You wont find ethanol free here in nj since its illegal to be sold at any pump in the state.

I wouldn't sweat it. My boat is rated for 86 E10 fuel...so I run the closest I have available, which is 87. I'm not at all envious of rec or racing fuels as my boat is made to run with this fuel and it runs great.

as for my boat i have an svho so i run 93. The required 91 octane would be fine but that is a rare bird here also. You almost never see that on land or water. 87, 89, 93 are our choices.

You could always mix the octanes to get the 91 rating if saving a few bucks is your goal?

 

[mrcleanr6]

Yes my marina has 93 only. Once i get to about 1/2 tank then if im out that leaves me open to top off at one of the other marinas with 89.

 

[scbruet]

wow, this is my first boat and I always thought I had to use non-ethanol for marine engines. If 87 is fine I'm switching to that.

 

[biffdotorg]

wow, this is my first boat and I always thought I had to use non-ethanol for marine engines. If 87 is fine I'm switching to that.

I'm totally not beating on you with this comment. So please take no offense to it. As I will play with a new toy for quite some time before reading the manual.

But do folks just not trust/read the manual anymore? Yamaha is an engine builder first and a boat builder second. From all of the Yamaha's I have owned from Sleds, ATV, motorcycles, waverunners and boats, the manual and better yet Service Manual are the bible. Anyone else opinion is just that, an opinion. And some are very good. Start with the manual, and then open your mind to a well backed up opinion from someone with experience. You will not go wrong listening to the MFG's directions.

 

[RobbieO]

I'm totally not beating on you with this comment. So please take no offense to it. As I will play with a new toy for quite some time before reading the manual.

But do folks just not trust/read the manual anymore? Yamaha is an engine builder first and a boat builder second. From all of the Yamaha's I have owned from Sleds, ATV, motorcycles, waverunners and boats, the manual and better yet Service Manual are the bible. Anyone else opinion is just that, an opinion. And some are very good. Start with the manual, and then open your mind to a well backed up opinion from someone with experience. You will not go wrong listening to the MFG's directions.

Now others on this forum know why I am wasting my $$$ on additives. It's the bible.