Hi Scrubby, do you need to have the dinghy registered for that size motor?

I've got a very old one and it has been fantastic. First hard pull after 2 easy pulls and it purrs away.
Fuel consumption will be up there compared to 4st and noisier as well.
But reliable and simple has been great for us.

w8ingforwind said..
We had 2x 15hp merc on the work boats I use to drive vary reliable and we worked them vary hard for about a year 5 or so hours every day the only problem we had with them was when the boss put e10 fuel in them

FWIW they are the same engine just the piston is different.

Also I don't think E10 would help any outboard. From what I've read it's the worst thing you could do. Apparently the ethanol absorbs water. Obviously lots of problems with that.

There is always moisture in fuel system, small engines still using carbies, and any moisture is trouble .
The only way to get rid off moisture is add ethanol.
In Aus. we have E10, we lucky , sometimes use e10 is a must.
Sure, if you never use e10 and than all moisture is mixed and goes through system , perhaps trouble. It is not e10 problem but accumulated moisture .
Carburators cars, old days in Northern EU, add ethanol before winter is compulsory , otherwise when temperature drops
bellow -20 overnight , all moisture freezes and you wait till spring start your car again.

Its the same as a Tohatsu 9.8, the small Mercury's are made by Tohatsu, see which ones cheaper before pulling the trigger

w8ingforwind said..
The problem is not the moisture but the way the e10 melts the rubber in the fuel system and turns to yellow muck in the carburettor bowl.

All fuel lines sold these days suit E85 so they will handle E10 easily. I would try to avoid E10 in outboards because of the moisture absorption aspect, especially when fuel is left in tanks for awhile. The problem is when buying 91 fuel you do not know the exact amount of ethanol involved. Fuel companies only have to declare the fuel as E10 when the ethanol level reaches 10%. All that stuff sold as 91 could have 9% ethanol. Even diesel can have some ethanol in it. One of the local garages here sells diesel that smells really sweet!

Just read through this thread, and there seems to be two points of view:

A: ethanol in E10 solves moisture problems
B: ethanol in E10 creates moisture problems

Maybe it's different problems - can anyone summarise?

Karsten said..
Just read through this thread, and there seems to be two points of view:

A: ethanol in E10 solves moisture problems
B: ethanol in E10 creates moisture problems

Maybe it's different problems - can anyone summarise?

E10 holds water it does not separate as well.

Karsten said..

twodogs1969 said..

Karsten said..
Just read through this thread, and there seems to be two points of view:

A: ethanol in E10 solves moisture problems
B: ethanol in E10 creates moisture problems

Maybe it's different problems - can anyone summarise?

E10 holds water it does not separate as well.

Thanks Twodogs, I understand you're saying the Ethanol will dissolve water.

But I'm still struggling to understand the consequences of that.

With sailboat diesel, it's generally bad to have separated water (condensation or other) in the tank, because it encourages bio-organisms to grow. So, you could say that if there's something in the diesel that will dissolve that water, it could be a good thing, since it prevents the growth.

Now, with petrol, it may just be the opposite - better to have the water separated than dissolved. But if that is so, why is it?

Not an engineer but the problem from my understanding is it won't burn or compress.

Tks all. Bought the 9.9 at $1600 which is good value. Rated for E10 but I don't use it for this motor.
Scrubby

Scrubby said..
Tks all. Bought the 9.9 at $1600 which is good value. Rated for E10 but I don't use it for this motor.
Scrubby

Smart move. Now that it has been announced that two stroke carby engined outboards will cease being sold in Australia shortly we will end up like Britain with everybody chasing up secondhand outboards.
I bought a secondhand Evenrude 15 a few months back for my next tender.