Store it as empty as possible. Thanks to our new crappy fuel we are given.

With E10 fuel, run it low and add stabil.

My take on it is a bit different, I truly don't think in the time you are storing your boat for just the winter season, the "shelf" life will be effected enough to make any difference, now if you were storing it a year or to that would be a different story.

Here is my opinion as to why NOT to fill the boat: At the end of the 2008 season, due to the high gas prices during the year, and the substantial drop in cost, I topped the tank off as MUCH as I could. (mine holds 300 gallons).

It was obviously cool in the fall, we store our boat in a temperature controlled building (it is heated to approx 55 degrees, so when it is cold, were nice and warm), winter came and we had a couple of nice weekends where the temp came up to around the mid 60's. then early spring and it started climing into the 70's, then back at night's to the cool temps... What happened was, when it heated up during the day, the heat created an "expansion" situation in the fuel, thus over running the side of the boat through the overflow.

This wouldn't be a big deal really, you just clean it off and move on, problem is, out of sight, out of mind. (I never even considered the problem in the first place) That being said, once we went out to check on the boat, we discovered a BIG mess... It took me hours to clean, wet sand, polish and replace a couple of the decals I had on the boat due to the fuel over run...

Bottom line, DO NOT FILL THE BOAT TO FULL!

Here is the 2 most important reasons why to leave as empty as possible.

1. Ethanol fuel will separate out after only a month or so, and now you have a mixture that attracts water and that leads to scale in the tank which will clog filters, pumps and injectors/ jets.

2. The other thing that happens is when the fuel separates, the octane drops about 10-15 points. If you have stock motors, not such a big deal. But if you have high compression or blower motors, you will eat pistons minutes after you use the boat the first time.

Thanks...Low fuel with stablizer seems to be the way to go.

Next question ???? which stabilizer are you guys using ?

Stabil???

THX

Winterization: Gas tank full or empty
 

Ethanol-laden gasoline (E10) has a problem on layed up boats over a long winter storage period. The problem is phase separation which is two separate solutions in the gas tank....water and gasoline. The water has corrosive properties that can cause damage to the aluminum fuel tank since the water will lay in the bottom of the fuel tank. Topping off the fuel tank in the spring will not eliminate the phase separation (water) in the bottom of the fuel tank. Stabilizer additives do not prevent phase separation. The best solution is to completely drain your fuel tank (s). This is not widely suggested due to the fact that it is not practical and can be potentially dangerous. A fuel tank that is 1/4 to 1/2 full is the worst scenario for phase separation. Topping off the fuel tank will limit flow of air in and out of the vent and will result in less phase separation. Do not attempt to block off the fuel vent. This could cause damage to the fuel system.

:throw:Now I'm really confused:confused:

No matter what level stabil when you store and sea foam in the spring