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An Inconvenient Truth: Green Motors Are Anything But Smooth Sailing
By Mr Ethanol | November 19, 2007
Washington Post:
After a lifetime of fussing around with balky outboard motors, I’m not going to panic at every little setback. Outboards are cranky by nature; they live and work in a hostile marine environment. If you’re not prepared for a few unpleasant surprises, you’d better take up rowing or paddling.
But it’s getting ridiculous. “A friend of mine who works on small motors has 25 or so just like yours lined up in his shop,” said veteran outboard mechanic Scott Noyes, service manager at Shamrock Marine Service in Pasadena. “They’re all doing the same thing.”
The symptoms should be familiar to anyone experienced with outboards — hard to start, then popping, sputtering, stalling and breaking down at speed. It could be electrical, as connections and relays get funky over time. But usually when outboards start acting up, it’s fuel related.
And never has fuel been a bigger problem. The villain is E10, the ethanol-gasoline mix that is now standard issue at most fuel pumps as the government seeks to decrease air pollution and reduce America’s reliance on imported petroleum.
E10 means 10% ethanol, which is basically corn alcohol. The ubiquitous mix seems to work fine in cars, which burn through a tank in a hurry. But it poses problems in boats, which sit a lot.
Photo by: Angus Phillips.
Topics: Biofuel, Cars, Industry, Negatives |
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