is there a cut-off date

[Bertramp]

For gas Bertrams... was there a cutoff date after which the fuel tank resin makes it safe to keep for gas applications ?
ie....is a 1986 safe ?
Thanks

[Bertramp]

I did a read back on some of the prior posts and it seems as sthough anything older than 2000 should plan on a new tank.
Thanks

[IRGuy]

While I haven't followed the ethanol/fiberglas gas tank issue as closely as a lot of B33 owners have, I believe the word on the B33 forum is that Bertram made some formulation changes in "the mid 1980's" that supposedly made their tanks more ethanol resistant. I don't believed Bertram has provided an exact date of this change. This may solve one of the ethanol problems, but others remain. The ethanol is supposed to be capable of dissolving goop that has been adhering to the sides of the tank from the pre-ethanol days, introducing in into the engine fuel systems, and the ethanol is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs water. After enough water is abosrbed it "phase seperates" ie.. falls out of the ethanol/water/fuel mix. The water then collects on the bottom of the tank, and can be drawn into the fuel tank dip leg, thereby finding it's way into the engine.

As far as I can see, the whole ethanol in fuel situation is a misguided action by several federal agencies to supposedly clean up the environment and reduce the US dependance on foreign oil, but it has become a boondoggle for some farmers and the ethanol producers, at the expense of a small fraction of the population namely gasoline powered boat owners, and owners of older gas powered machines, plus it reduces fuel economy while raising the cost of gasoline, human food and animal feed, and anything else that uses corn as a base raw material.

The US government is showing boatowners the fat middle finger that it seems to be using a lot lately.

[IRGuy]

To add to my post above, in the Dec issue of Southern Boating magazine (page 32) there is an article about ethanol.. mainly E15.. two things I had not realized before are that it "dilutes" the gasoline, making the fuel mixture more lean, which in turn makes the engine run hotter, and it is suspected it has some negative effect on the engine oil additives, reducing the oil's lubricity.

There is also some info about a 300 hour test Mercury Marine ran in 2011 on E15 laced fuel.. a 9.9 HP engine began to misfire late in the test, exhaust emissions increased, there were signs of running at higher temperatures, and there was damage to the fuel pump gasket. The 200 HP two stroke engine failed at 256 hours, when a rod bearing failed causing catastrophic failure of the engine.. so much damage occurred that they can not be sure of the exact failure mechanism. A 300 HP four stroke supercharged engine had a valve failure at 285 hours. One valve broke, and others showed cracks. Subsequent studies showed the failures and damage was caused by "deteriorated mechanical strength due to high metal temperatures".

Thank the EPA for ethanol laced fuel!