Gasoline is without a doubt the biggest problem we see with marine engines and it is usually the hardest for our customers to understand. They usually say “It works well in my car”. The difference is, normally a car is driven daily and your boat may not run for weeks or months at a time. During that time gas sits in your tank and deteriorates. Reports claim that today’s oxygenated gasoline starts to loose octane in as little as two weeks. With today’s high-tech motors trying to squeeze the most out of each gallon of gasoline, good quality fuel is a must! When the gas is not as fresh as required, it can cause the motor to run lean, which creates potentially damaging heat. This is usually disastrous for the engines and not a warrantable situation. These failures are not a defect from the manufacturer but a combination of several things:

1. Today’s fuel has harmful additives to burn cleaner and for 2 cycle engines they leave harmful deposits.
2. Fuel goes stale in a shorter period of time.
3. Some boaters are unaware of these facts and assume that what used to work still does.

Our best suggestions are:

1. Always use fuel conditioner and Ring Free or Carbon Guard. We recommend Bombardier’s 2 + 4 Fuel conditioner.
2. Fill your tank just before you are ready to use your boat.
3. Fill up at a quality station that you trust.
4. Use 89 octane for 2 cycle engines and 92 for 4 cycle engines if possible. Many times premium fuels have additives that are harmful to your 2 cycle engine and 87 octane may not be good enough, especially as it ages and leaves deposits on your engine.
5. Make sure the motor is propped to upper part of operating range. Do not overload boat. You may need to keep a load prop for these situations.
6. Use a water/separating fuel filter and check frequently.