Winterization ??? Full tank vs empty
 

In a conversation with my old man I mentioned that I was going to fill the tank before putting the boat away . He commented that it wasnt a good idea due to the ethonal content in the fuel .

My question is what the recommended procedure for winter storage as far as fuel goes ??? Full VS Empty or Additive VS No Additive or something else:confused:

I go low w/ stabilizer. No probs knock on wood.

Run her on down to E

I alwaysk keep my gas tank half full. It works every time.

Chris

Storage
 

I run mine to empty, dont want to run 120 gallons of 4-5 month old weasel fuel through motor in spring, put in fresh gas /some dry gas run 1st tank out in spring then change water seperater havent had a problem with my blower motor yet.

with the ethanol in the gasoline now it is causing problems I,m told.It was rcommended to me to have the tank low and add your stabalizer for the winter.Then in the spring your adding fresh fuel and not burning stale fuel that has been sitting around for the winter.I think there are many opinions but this is what I am doing.

Been using stabilizer & a full tank for over 22 years & never had a problem, even with the ethenol gas used here in MA.

Add stabilizer on an Empty Tank.

Ethanol is Hydroscopic, but I sincerely think that isn't a real problem.

Low-Empty w/ Stabilizer. Fresh fuel in the spring.

I run it low and treat whats left, never any issues.. I have had a couple of friends that filled it up and the gas went bad and they had to pump it all out..

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

full tank = less room for air space which means less room for condensation mercurys fuel stabilizer will help with phase separation steve snider got it part right but he failed to mention that during phase separation you end up with three layers in your tank....fuel on top pure alcohol in the middle and water on the bottom.

I always run in to empty, and then use both stabil, and the ethanol treatment. haven't had a problem yet, knock on wood

It seems like it depends on what style of boater you ask, Most of the high performance boaters seem to run it low with treatment, Here are two other poll's for this same question from preformance boaters to look at.
http://www.performanceboats.com/html...ad.php?t=49941

http://www.speedwake.com/upload/show...threadid=62666

Then if you ask the none performance boaters, Most of them keep them full with stabilizer, See this poll also.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=358698

Also Bob Teague wrote this in power boat magazine
February 2009 Teague on Tech.

SETTLING THE DEBATE

Question: Thanks for all the great advice. I utilized your insight on a past issue for fogging fuel-injected engines. I fogged my MerCruiser 502 Magnum engine with Marvel Mystery Oil dispensed from a garden sprayer.

My friends and I, all owners of performance boats, debate regularly on whether to leave the fuel tanks low when winterizing or fill them up to minimize condensation. We all agree to put stabilizer in. I subscribe to the theory that there is nothing better than fresh gas when starting up in the spring. I usually dwindle the tank down to less than a quarter tank. My friends don’t necessarily agree with me. Can you settle our debate?

Kris Lukowitz
Sayreville, N.J.

Answer: The concept of filling the tanks to minimize condensation during storage was the standard procedure in years past. It is still common practice on airplanes. The problem is that most automotive gasolines purchased at the pump today are not the same quality as they were when it was common practice to fill the tanks prior to storage.

It is likely that your fuel also contains oxygenating components such as ethanol, isopropanol and ether that are currently used to replace MTBE. These additives are injected into the fuel during the reformulation process. Ethanol, isopropanol and ether are polar solvents, which means they are water-soluble. When they are present, condensation can be absorbed into the fuel resulting in further deterioration. The components added during the reformulation process also have the tendency to evaporate more rapidly than the base gasoline, which has the same effect as lowering the octane rating.

Aviation fuels are required to be higher quality and do not deteriorate rapidly, so it makes sense that filling the tanks on airplanes is usually the practice.

I used to believe that leaving the tanks full of fuel was the best practice. About five years ago, I switched to leaving them as low as possible as a result of tests that we performed on fuel to see how it held up during long storage periods. The bottom line is that modern pump gasoline tends to get stale faster than we imagined.

When you bring the boat out of storage, I recommend filling the tanks with premium gasoline. Using the higher-octane gasoline will improve the overall quality of fuel when mixed with the existing fuel in the boat’s tank(s). In addition, using a quality fuel stabilizer can’t hurt. In short, you win the debate.

– Bob Teague is Powerboat’s lead test driver and a columnist for nearly 40 years.
http://www.powerboatmag.com/february-2009.html

http://www.teaguecustommarine.com/

ON E with a full bottle of Marine Stabil.

I have not looked into the contents of Stabil so it may be great. With that said, make sure you use a NON-alcohol stabilizer. It should say alcohol free on the label somewhere...

I use AMS Oil Fuel Stabilizer but I do know the Merc stuff is NON-alcohol as well. Don't forget about all your other toys that have engines.

I don't winterize the boat but I do use it in generator and compressor. Works well. A year is about max comfort level for me. Never leave anything full long term with Ethanol. Today's pump gas sux.