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Im going to type this out word for word as in the Magazine... Its on pg 46 and 47 respectively Not sure what the month is my address sticker covers up the date, but there is a Grey and orange Nytro on the cover.
*The following information comes from Yamaha Motor Corporation and gives some pretty good information about ethanol and its effects on snowmobiles.
E10 fuel is a mixture of 90 percent Gasoline and 10 percent Ethanol that has been introduced into various regions of the US and in many other locations. E10 is currently the only type Available. The EPA has implemented Ground level ozone air quality standards. Part of the EPA's strategy to meet these standards requires the addition of fuel oxygenates to gasoline to improve the internal combustion process. Ethanol or MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) are approved fuel oxygenates. Ethanol has a very high octane rating and when mixed with low octane unleaded gasoline it increases the octane level of the gasoline.
Ethanol also has some less than desireable properties and negative environmental issues that are explained below.
MTBE does not biodegrade easily and is a suspected carcinogen. MTBE contamination from leaking underground fuel storage tanks has been detected in ground water supplies. Many states are now prohibiting the used of MTBE all together.
The following questions and answers will provide important information regarding the use of fuel containing ethanol.
Q. Are Yamaha engine's compatible with E10 Fuel?
A. Yes, all current models as well as most engines built since the late 80's have been designed with fuel system components that are tolerant to fresh fuel containing up to 10 percent (E10).
Q. Can I use fuel with a higher percentage of ethanol such as E15 or E85?
A. NO, All of the negative issues discussed below will be increased and may cause major damage to the engine.
Q. What are the properties of ethanol in E10 that make it less compatible with fuel systems than strait gasoline?
A. Ethanol has several properties that contribute to fuel system issues.
- Ethanol is hygroscopic- meaning it has a strong attraction to moisture.
- ethanol is a strong cleaner... solvent.
- Ethanol produces less energy (BTU's) than an equivalent unit of gasoline.
Q. What issues are caused by ethanol's attraction to water?
A. Ethanol molecules have a stronger bond to water molecules. In absence of water ethanol and gasoline molecules will bond. When water is added to E10 fuel the bond between the ethanol and gas will weaken. When the percentage of water in E10 fuel reaches .5 percent the bond between ethanol and gas molecules will break and the ethanol molecules will attach to the water molecules. This is called PHASE SEPARATION. The ethanol and water molecules settle to the bottom of the fuel tank forming a distinct layer of water and ethanol on the bottom and gasoline without ethanol on the top. Asa little as 1.6 oz of water can promote phase separation in 2.5 gallons of E10. The result would be 33.6 oz. of unusable ethanol and water mixture on the bottom of the tank.
Q. What happens if phase separation occurs?
A. Several things can happen:
Fuel for the engine is drawn from the bottom of the tank. An engine will not run properly , if at all on Ethanol and water.
- The ethanol and water mixture is VERY corrosive to some metals and can cause corrosion or rust in the fuel tank and damage internal engine components.
- The remaining gasoline without ethanol will have an octane level below the normal E10's level approximately 2-3 points lower. This new octane level may be below that of the engine's requirements.
Q. Can phase separation be reversed?
A. NO, The remaining gasoline without ethanol will have a low octane rating below that of the original Gas E10 mixture. This octane level will more than likly be below that of manufacturer recommendations.
Q. What issues are cause by ethanol strong cleaning or solvent properties?
A. It is normal for gas to leave varnish deposits and for surface corrosion to occur inside the tanks and pipes used for fuel transportation and storage: Rust on steel and oxides on aluminum. Ethanol will clean any varnish as well as rust and oxides from any surface that it comes into contact with. Gas without ethanol does not clean the varnish, rusts, or oxides. Since ethanol is added at the distributor facilities, it will clean any storage pipes and tanks, truck tanks, gas station storage tanks and your engines fuel systems. The amount of material cleaned from all of these systems can quickly exceed the filtration capacity of filters located in the fuel systems resulting in restricted fuel flow. If these filters are not replaced the engines performance is reduced and potentially engine damage will result.
Q. What issues are caused by ethanol's lower energy content (BTU's) than a equal unit of gas?
A. E10 fuel will produce approximately 3 percent less power than gasoline. In most applications this is not enough to be noticed.
Q. How long can E10 fuel be stored?
A. There are many different opinions concerning how long it is ok to store E10 fuel or gasoline. Two weeks? 90 Days??? before losing the properties that are required for proper and safe operation of your engine. There are too many variables such as age of the fuel when purchased, temperature, humidity, use of stabilizers and the type of storage containers used to give a 100 percent clear cut prediction of how long the fuel will last.
Q. What can I do to reduce or prevent issues with E10?
A. Total prevention of issues may not be possible but there are steps that you can take to minimize the occurrence and severity of E10's negative effects.
- Remove and accumulated water from your fuel tank periodically.
- Avoid mixing E10 and MTBE gas blends. Mixing causes precipitates to forum which can clog filters.
-Do not drain a used filter and reinstall.
-Buy fuel from the same source if possible.
-Buy fuel from stations that have newer cleaner storage tanks.
-Use fuel stabilizers.
Note: Stabilizers do not help fuel which is already aged. Stabilizers are the most effective when immediately added to fresh fuel fro the gas station.
- Ensure stabilized fuel has circulated through all of the engines fuel system components prior to storage.
- Drain fuel from tanks approximately 7/8 full, minimizing the amount of air space above the fuel inside of the tank.
Note* Storing completely full fuel may allow some fuel spillages as the fuel expands during hot weather. Do not attempt to seal a vented system. The inability to vent could cause damage to the fuel tank and other system components.
-Minimize the time that fuel is allowed to age in your fuel tank or other storage containers.
-DO NOT attempt to use fuel with higher than 10 percent concentration of Ethanol. If in doubt of the ethanol content of the fuel. Either test the fuel to verify content of ethanol. There are many sources that provide inexpensive test kits for this application. Simply search E10 fuel test kits.
For what its worth....
*The following information comes from Yamaha Motor Corporation and gives some pretty good information about ethanol and its effects on snowmobiles.
E10 fuel is a mixture of 90 percent Gasoline and 10 percent Ethanol that has been introduced into various regions of the US and in many other locations. E10 is currently the only type Available. The EPA has implemented Ground level ozone air quality standards. Part of the EPA's strategy to meet these standards requires the addition of fuel oxygenates to gasoline to improve the internal combustion process. Ethanol or MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) are approved fuel oxygenates. Ethanol has a very high octane rating and when mixed with low octane unleaded gasoline it increases the octane level of the gasoline.
Ethanol also has some less than desireable properties and negative environmental issues that are explained below.
MTBE does not biodegrade easily and is a suspected carcinogen. MTBE contamination from leaking underground fuel storage tanks has been detected in ground water supplies. Many states are now prohibiting the used of MTBE all together.
The following questions and answers will provide important information regarding the use of fuel containing ethanol.
Q. Are Yamaha engine's compatible with E10 Fuel?
A. Yes, all current models as well as most engines built since the late 80's have been designed with fuel system components that are tolerant to fresh fuel containing up to 10 percent (E10).
Q. Can I use fuel with a higher percentage of ethanol such as E15 or E85?
A. NO, All of the negative issues discussed below will be increased and may cause major damage to the engine.
Q. What are the properties of ethanol in E10 that make it less compatible with fuel systems than strait gasoline?
A. Ethanol has several properties that contribute to fuel system issues.
- Ethanol is hygroscopic- meaning it has a strong attraction to moisture.
- ethanol is a strong cleaner... solvent.
- Ethanol produces less energy (BTU's) than an equivalent unit of gasoline.
Q. What issues are caused by ethanol's attraction to water?
A. Ethanol molecules have a stronger bond to water molecules. In absence of water ethanol and gasoline molecules will bond. When water is added to E10 fuel the bond between the ethanol and gas will weaken. When the percentage of water in E10 fuel reaches .5 percent the bond between ethanol and gas molecules will break and the ethanol molecules will attach to the water molecules. This is called PHASE SEPARATION. The ethanol and water molecules settle to the bottom of the fuel tank forming a distinct layer of water and ethanol on the bottom and gasoline without ethanol on the top. Asa little as 1.6 oz of water can promote phase separation in 2.5 gallons of E10. The result would be 33.6 oz. of unusable ethanol and water mixture on the bottom of the tank.
Q. What happens if phase separation occurs?
A. Several things can happen:
Fuel for the engine is drawn from the bottom of the tank. An engine will not run properly , if at all on Ethanol and water.
- The ethanol and water mixture is VERY corrosive to some metals and can cause corrosion or rust in the fuel tank and damage internal engine components.
- The remaining gasoline without ethanol will have an octane level below the normal E10's level approximately 2-3 points lower. This new octane level may be below that of the engine's requirements.
Q. Can phase separation be reversed?
A. NO, The remaining gasoline without ethanol will have a low octane rating below that of the original Gas E10 mixture. This octane level will more than likly be below that of manufacturer recommendations.
Q. What issues are cause by ethanol strong cleaning or solvent properties?
A. It is normal for gas to leave varnish deposits and for surface corrosion to occur inside the tanks and pipes used for fuel transportation and storage: Rust on steel and oxides on aluminum. Ethanol will clean any varnish as well as rust and oxides from any surface that it comes into contact with. Gas without ethanol does not clean the varnish, rusts, or oxides. Since ethanol is added at the distributor facilities, it will clean any storage pipes and tanks, truck tanks, gas station storage tanks and your engines fuel systems. The amount of material cleaned from all of these systems can quickly exceed the filtration capacity of filters located in the fuel systems resulting in restricted fuel flow. If these filters are not replaced the engines performance is reduced and potentially engine damage will result.
Q. What issues are caused by ethanol's lower energy content (BTU's) than a equal unit of gas?
A. E10 fuel will produce approximately 3 percent less power than gasoline. In most applications this is not enough to be noticed.
Q. How long can E10 fuel be stored?
A. There are many different opinions concerning how long it is ok to store E10 fuel or gasoline. Two weeks? 90 Days??? before losing the properties that are required for proper and safe operation of your engine. There are too many variables such as age of the fuel when purchased, temperature, humidity, use of stabilizers and the type of storage containers used to give a 100 percent clear cut prediction of how long the fuel will last.
Q. What can I do to reduce or prevent issues with E10?
A. Total prevention of issues may not be possible but there are steps that you can take to minimize the occurrence and severity of E10's negative effects.
- Remove and accumulated water from your fuel tank periodically.
- Avoid mixing E10 and MTBE gas blends. Mixing causes precipitates to forum which can clog filters.
-Do not drain a used filter and reinstall.
-Buy fuel from the same source if possible.
-Buy fuel from stations that have newer cleaner storage tanks.
-Use fuel stabilizers.
Note: Stabilizers do not help fuel which is already aged. Stabilizers are the most effective when immediately added to fresh fuel fro the gas station.
- Ensure stabilized fuel has circulated through all of the engines fuel system components prior to storage.
- Drain fuel from tanks approximately 7/8 full, minimizing the amount of air space above the fuel inside of the tank.
Note* Storing completely full fuel may allow some fuel spillages as the fuel expands during hot weather. Do not attempt to seal a vented system. The inability to vent could cause damage to the fuel tank and other system components.
-Minimize the time that fuel is allowed to age in your fuel tank or other storage containers.
-DO NOT attempt to use fuel with higher than 10 percent concentration of Ethanol. If in doubt of the ethanol content of the fuel. Either test the fuel to verify content of ethanol. There are many sources that provide inexpensive test kits for this application. Simply search E10 fuel test kits.
For what its worth....
