Ethanol-Free Marine Fuel
REC-90 Fuel Delivery in Southwest Michigan
The 90-octane ethanol-free marine gasoline your outboard, sterndrive, PWC, or generator was designed to run on — delivered directly to your dock or driveway.
Call or Text (877) 257-FUELWhat REC-90 actually is
REC-90 is 90-octane unleaded gasoline with no ethanol — pure hydrocarbon fuel. The "REC" stands for "recreational" because the EPA carved out an ethanol-free fuel grade specifically for marine engines, small engines, and seasonal equipment that ethanol-blended pump gas (E10, E15) damages over time.
At the molecular level, ethanol is a hygroscopic alcohol — it attracts moisture from the air. In a fuel tank that sits for two weeks between weekend uses, ethanol pulls water out of the air, and that water sinks to the bottom of the tank where your fuel pickup sits. This is called "phase separation." When you start the engine, the fuel pump draws the water first, the carburetor or fuel injector sees water instead of fuel, the engine stalls — or worse, the ethanol-water mix corrodes the fuel system internally over multiple cycles.
REC-90 eliminates the ethanol, eliminates the phase-separation risk, and runs clean through engines that were designed decades before E10 became the standard.
Why marine engines specifically
Marine engine manufacturers — Mercury, Yamaha, Evinrude, Honda — explicitly recommend REC-90 or equivalent ethanol-free fuel for outboards, sterndrives, and PWCs. The reasons are specific to how boats are used:
- Idle time matters. A car gets driven daily. A boat gets started Friday night, run Saturday and Sunday, and parks until next Friday — or worse, the whole month of August. That sit-time is when phase separation happens.
- Vented tanks. Marine fuel systems are vented to atmosphere by design (no pressurized fuel system like in a modern car). Vented tanks breathe moist air in and out as temperature changes, which accelerates ethanol's moisture absorption.
- Repair cost asymmetry. A car's fuel injector or carburetor is $200-500 to replace. A modern outboard's high-pressure fuel pump and ECU-managed injector set runs $1,500-4,000. You pay for fuel-system damage 5-10x more on a boat than a car.
- Warranty. Most marine engine warranties explicitly require ethanol-free or low-ethanol fuel. Filling with E10 voids them.
The same logic applies to side-by-sides, ATVs, generators, pressure washers, and any small engine that sits unused for stretches — REC-90 is the right fuel for everything at a lakefront property except the daily-driven car.
Where to find REC-90 in Michigan
The Pure Gas registry (pure-gas.org) maintains a list of Michigan gas stations that sell ethanol-free fuel. Pure Gas is the canonical resource if you want to drive to a pump. You'll find them mostly at small independent stations and a few major-chain locations — typically a separate pump labeled "REC-90" or "Ethanol-Free."
For lakefront property owners across Southwest Michigan, the alternative is dock delivery. Dockside Fuel Services brings REC-90 by the route — weekly during boating season, by request the rest of the year. $30 per dockside trip, $15 per curbside trip. No subscription, no membership.
We operate across 10 lakes in Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties. If your dock is on one of them, we can be at your slip within a week.
Skip the gas station this season
Text JOIN to (877) 257-FUEL, pick your lake, and we'll add you to the weekly route. No credit card to join.
Call or Text (877) 257-FUEL