Motor Oil | Outboard Motor Oil - Part 47

E10 Gasoline Causes Problems for Outboard Motors

E10 Gasoline Causes Problems for Outboard Motors

E10, the ethanol and gasoline fuel that is now the standard at most fuel pumps, often works fine with automobiles but doesn’t translate as well to outboard motors. E10 contains 10% ethanol, and in order to reduce environmental pollution, the government has mandated that all gasoline fuel must contain at least 10% ethanol. But several boat owners have found that the fuel doesn’t work as well in their outboard motors. The reason is that ethanol separates from the gasoline and moves to the bottom of the fuel tank when the boat sits still for an extended period of time. While at the bottom of the tank, water vapor or condensation can build up inside the tank, and the ethanol absorbs it. When water becomes absorbed into ethanol, it becomes a mass of watery ethanol that sits at the bottom of the fuel tank, and then upon ignition, the watery mass is sucked into the carburetor and it sputters and plugs up.

Ethanol clogs are a common problem that outboard servicers are finding more often in outboard motors. The solution is to use the manufacturer recommended fuel stabilizer, and also to ensure the proper boat motor oil is being used. Boat motor oil is formulated with additives to reduce water condensation in the engine, and can assist in preventing break downs.

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The Truth about Synthetic Motor Oil

The Truth about Synthetic Motor Oil

With people all over the world turning towards synthetic and hybrid synthetic oils, it’s important to recognize the facts about synthetic oil and how it differs from mineral oil. There’s a lot of confusion about synthetic oil as most people are not well versed on its benefits and drawbacks. The first synthetic oils received a bad reputation for leaking because the engine seals shrank due to a different seal-swell rate. Motor oil would leak from the crankshaft and rocker cover seals. Then, when the owners would switch back to the mineral oil, the seals where compressed when swelled and the entire engine started to leak. This situation plagued pioneers of synthetic motor oil, but the situation has much improved since that time. However, it’s still a good idea to stick with either synthetic or conventional mineral oil and not switch back between the two.

There are numerous hybrid synthetic oils that contain conventional mineral oil, and these can serve as a happy medium between conventional and synthetic oil. With hybrid synthetic oils like Evinrude XD50 oil, it’s okay to put in a quart of conventional mineral oil with the hybrid synthetic when the supply starts to run low.

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Outboard Engines More Popular in Foreign Countries

fishing boat

While we often like to think of North America as the native market for outboard motors, in truth, outboards are much more popular in foreign countries. Sales of outboard motors in North America account for around 35% of the annual world outboard motor sales, or about 300,000 of the 850,000 units produced. The markets where outboard motors are the most popular include European nations where pleasure boating is a common pastime, and developing nations where outboard motors are used for work including fishing, transportation, and diving. In Europe, most of the outboards used for pleasure boating are attached to inflatable watercraft and have just a fraction of the horsepower of the average outboard sold in North America. In developing nations, it’s important for outboards to be reliable and low cost, which includes upkeep costs like fuel, marine engine oil, and occasional maintenance.

While there are a number of popular outboard motor brands, Yamaha, Mercury, and Evinrude tend to stand out with the highest numbers in customer satisfaction, sales, and units produced on an annual basis.

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Improving Outboard Fuel Economy

Improving Outboard Fuel Economy

It’s important to conserve fuel to save on cost and to help the environment, and no matter what the outboard model, there are a number of simple practices that can have a dramatic effect improving fuel economy. For example, using the propeller that best suits the boat and the owner’s style of boating will increase the overall performance of the outboard motor. Propeller size and pitch varies quite a lot; too little pitch can result in over revving and engine damage, while too much pitch can overload the motor. This is the reason there are different sizes of propellers available. It’s also a good idea to use the highest quality gasoline and outboard motor oil available. Low octane gasoline can hurt fuel economy; it just doesn’t burn as efficiently as high grade gasoline. The same is true with outboard motor oil; low quality oil can foul spark plugs and create deposits in the engine. Purchasing high quality bulk outboard motor oil can help to save a lot on cost and improve fuel economy.

These simple practices will do much to increase the performance of your boat and allow you to reap the benefits of owning a high performance watercraft.

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Two Stroke Engines Alive and Well

Two Stroke Engines Alive and Well

While two stroke engines have received a lot of criticism due to their excessive pollution, the two stroke engine is still alive and well and newer models designed to have lower emissions are in development. The two leading manufacturers of two stroke engines are Mercury and Yamaha. Mercury quit building traditional two stroke engines for a short period after 2005, but then brought back its models over time. Yamaha offers more than a dozen different two stroke engines that boast the latest in low emissions innovation.

While two stroke engines are still available at large, not all people swoon over the older engines. Two stroke engines burn about 30% more fuel than a low emissions four stroke engine, and can also be harder to start, won’t troll or idle at a smooth rate, and make more noise. Most two stroke engines also require pre-mixed fuel, and there’s always the chance of needing to replace a fouled spark plug. For two stroke owners, it’s a good idea to purchase bulk motor oil for these engines that can be guzzlers.

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Reasons for Fouled Spark Plugs

Reasons for Fouled Spark Plugs

One of the most common issues with two cycle outboard motors occurs when the spark plugs become saturated with gasoline, and foul out. When it seems like no amount of replacement plugs can fix the issue, it might be due to a number of factors. Most often fouled spark plugs are noticed when the engine starts fine, runs fine for a while, but then bogs down, starts to lose RPM, and dies. If this occurs a number of times after the spark plugs have been replaced, the engine is flooding with gasoline.

The most common cause of this issue can be attributed to incorrect spark plugs, so be sure to check that the right spark plugs are being used first. The other issue could be an incorrect gasoline/two cycle outboard oil mixture. More serious issues are also plausible, for example, the choke or cold start enrichment circuit could be failing to switch on and off. If the engine requires actual maintenance, it can become expensive fast. When purchasing a two cycle outboard engine, it’s important to check customer reviews and even consult other boaters first. Two cycle outboards from brands like Yamaha, Mercury, and Evinrude have proven track records of success, while other brands might not enjoy much in terms of industry respect.

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Dangers of Oil Pollution

Dangers of Oil Pollution

Whether it’s mineral based or synthetic, oil is used as a lubricant in almost all engines. But oil is capable of causing significant damage to the environment. In fact, even a few drops of oil can contaminate enough water to supply the average person for an entire year. It’s most important for boat owners to be extra careful with their outboard motors and marine engines. When even a little bit of oil escapes into the water, it becomes a danger for humans and the environment. Marine creatures are quite sensitive to oil, and should even a small amount of boat motor oil escape into the water, it can be fatal to various organisms that live near the surface.

Boat owners need to check their outboard motors or marine engines on a regular basis for leaks, and also ensure that the proper safety precautions are being observed. In addition to the impact on the environment, an oil leak can result in quite a hefty fine for the boat owner, even if the leak was unbeknownst. Ensuring boat motor oil is secure saves the environment and can save a lot of money.

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The Purpose of Marine Engine Oil

The Purpose of Marine Engine Oil

While most all boat owners recognize that oil serves some purpose and must be changed now and then or pre-mixed into the gasoline, some don’t know what oil does inside the actual marine engine. The oil’s job is to stop all the metal surfaces in the engine from grinding together and becoming damaged from friction. Most people recognize that oil serves as a lubricant, but oil also needs to hold in suspension the byproducts of combustion like silica and acid. Oil cleans the engine of these chemicals, because otherwise build-ups would occur and wear down the engine at a remarkable pace.

Oil needs to lubricate and clean the engine under tremendous conditions of heat and pressure. Several engine oils, like outboard motor oil, contain special additives that help the engine work better under specific conditions. For example, outboard motor oil contains an additive to reduce condensation in the engine. For this reason, it’s important to use premium outboard motor oil in outboard engines.

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Save Money and Increase Outboard Performance

Save Money and Increase Outboard Performance

While saving money and increasing the performance of your outboard motor might sound a little too good to be true, it’s possible with a few simple changes. In the long run, these changes will help your outboard motor last longer and also cut maintenance and fuel costs.

First, it’s important to use a propeller suited for your boat and style of boating. Propeller size and pitch affect fuel efficiency, and selecting the right propeller can help to save a lot of money. It’s also important to use high quality gasoline and oil. Running low octane gasoline hurts your fuel economy. For oil, it’s a good idea to purchase bulk outboard motor oil to save on cost, and ensure that it’s a high quality oil to avoid fouling spark plugs and other engine components. While it might seem insignificant on face, it’s also a good idea to keep the weight down on your boat. Having extra weight from all the extra stuff that tends to accumulate can cut into your fuel economy.

Taking these steps will help to save money and also ensure your boat lasts longer. Remember too, even if an investment costs a little extra at the moment, it will pay off in the future.

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Reducing Outboard Motor Emissions

Reducing Outboard Motor Emissions

It’s well known that the two cycle outboard motor, because of its design, produces more pollutants than the standard four cycle engine. In fact, a two cycle engine using conventional mineral oil can produce almost fifty times the CO2 as a four cycle engine. This is an alarming fact, but with new technology, these emissions can be cut by a significant amount. Synthetic two cycle outboard oil has been available for a while now, and in comparison to mineral oil, it is much less harmful. In addition, there are new two cycle engine oils that are derived from animal fats and other renewable resources that have the same effect on performance in outboard motors but cause much less exhaust.

In these times when the condition of the environment is of chief concern to millions of Americans and people around the world, it’s important to embrace new green technologies for the betterment of the environment as a whole.

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Marine Engine Overheating Facts

Marine Engine Overheating Facts

Overheating is a common problem amongst marine engines, and most overheating problems can be attributed to the water pump. There are three main problems which tend to be the reason the water pump isn’t functional, those being lack of raw water flow, lack of fresh water, and defective heat exchanger. You can check for a lack of raw water flow by noting the temperature of the outlet side of the raw water system; if the water is hot, in excess of 130 degrees, it could indicate a water flow problem. Lack of fresh water will manifest as an increase in temperature difference between in and outlet of the heat exchanger. Noticing a defective heat exchanger is a bit more difficult, in general the easiest way to identify this is by process of elimination from performing the above two checks.

It’s also a good idea to check on essential fluids like marine engine oil. If the oil hasn’t been changed in some time, it could be causing the engine to overheat because the pistons aren’t receiving adequate lubrication.

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Where to Purchase Oil for a Jetski

Where to Purchase Oil for a Jetski

There are a lot of places you can find the two stroke oil necessary for Jetskis and WaveRunners, but to purchase the best quality oil, you need to know where to buy. In general, department stores like Wal-Mart have a good selection of products, but don’t carry the specialized oil needed for optimal Jetski and WaveRunner performance. There are several brands to consider, but Mercury Quicksilver, Yamalube 2W, and Yamalube 2M oil are all safe bets. You want to ensure that your oil is TC-W3 certified, regardless of which brand you use. Most of the time however, if an oil is from a reputable manufacturer like Yamaha, Evinrude, or Mercury, you can rest assured it is TC-W3 certified even if it’s not listed on the bottle.

The best places to buy two stroke oil are small marinas or online. If you live near a marina, you can purchase there, but if you want to save yourself some time, purchasing online is a way to buy as well.

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