Maintenance Gasoline Containing Alcohol Many brands of gasoline being sold today contain al- cohol. Two commonly used alcohol additives are Eth- anol (ethyl alcohol) and Methanol ( CH 3 OH ), also called methyl alcohol. See your boat owner’s manual to see if the boat’s fuel system is compatible with alcohol blended fuels. If it is, your engine may be operated using gasoline blend- ed with no more than 10% Ethanol meeting the mini- mum octane specification. CAUTION! Do not use any gasoline that con- tains METHANOL. Serious damage will result from the continued use of fuel containing METHANOL. Any resulting engine damage will not be covered by the warranty.
If you use gasoline that contains ethanol, be aware of the following: 22824 The engine will operate leaner with ethanol blended fuel. This may cause engine problems such as vapor lock, low speed stall, or hard starting. 7743722 - Downloaded from www.volvopenta.com 13/05/2008 20:17:06 Ethanol blended fuels attract and hold moisture. Moisture inside fuel tanks can cause corrosion of the tank material. Inspect fuel tanks at least annually. Replace fuel tanks if inspection indi- cates leakage or corrosion. Detonation (Spark Knock) Carbureted models: Detonation, or spark knock, in a marine engine is not necessarily audible.
Overheating and continued running (“dieseling”) after ignition shut- off are indications of detonation in a marine engine. If you suspect detonation or spark knock, and the en- gine is tuned properly, change to a higher octane fuel. EFI models: Detonation, or spark knock, is continually monitored by the electronic fuel injection (EFI) sys- tem. The EFI’s computer (ECM) will automatically al- ter spark advance to help prevent engine damage if knock is detected, and there will be a slight loss of power.
Preventing Gum Formation and Corrosion To prevent gum formation and corrosion in the fuel system, use a fuel stabilizer in the gasoline if it will be in the tank for more than two weeks or if the boat is be- ing prepared for winter storage. After adding fuel sta- bilizer, the engine should be run for ten minutes to allow stabilized fuel to reach all points of the fuel sys- tem. Fuel stabilizer is available from your Volvo Penta dealer. 70 VPA 7743722 English 10-2004