NO.... fuel tanks on boats are vented overboard by law. With temperature and humidity variations, the alcohol in the gas absorbs water from the atmosphere. ... Regular use of the boat and keeping a full tank helps. As you mentioned, "consistently in my jeep" is fine. Boats rarely get used consistently.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I know this is a somewhat contentious issue.
Ok, so the exposure to humidity is definitely higher, but vehicle fuel tanks are also vented... so while I sort of see this I can also see a counter argument. Here in Florida humidity is high pretty much everywhere, almost year round. Definitely a factor though.
As for the used regularly I definitely see your point there, although if I know I'm going to burn through a tank of gas in a weekend, then it doesn't seem like a problem. I guess it's really about personal risk tolerance, and ensuring you don't allow your gas to get stale. What does that mean exactly, i'm not sure. 1 week, 1 month, 3 months?
As for the deposits in the carb is definitely new info for me. I haven't ever noticed this personally. Most of the carbs I've had to rebuild were from letting them sit til the gas dried up and left a gummy residue, certainly not any fun to resolve. I'm not sure what to make of this, but it seems like it should affect all vehicles not just boats in particular. It certainly needs more research on my part.
For me I am leaning towards the idea that if gas with ethanol works in a land vehicle that is used regularly, then the same should be true for a boat. While I don't deny that ethanol free is better gas, It holds that if E10 is an engine destroyer I shouldn't use it in my other vehicles either. I have been using E10 in all of my land vehicles, because that's whats available most of the time and It hasn't done any harm to my jeep, or any of the other newer cars, lawn mowers, weed eaters etc. Granted I don't run the boat every day, but I do run it every weekend.
So given all of that I'm trying to determine if there is some factor that makes E10 usage in a boat unique from using it in a land vehicle. So far all I have is increased humidity exposure, and Stale gas which allows the octane to change, and allows for the separation of water. Of course I can't account for increased humidity, but I can control the stale gas condition.
I don't have a fiberglass fuel tank so that isn't an issue, and I have a newer mercruiser motor which indicates from the manufacturer that it can be used with E10 and 87 octane.
Are there any other factors I'm missing? Thanks again for engaging in the conversation.