Thought I'd share something I ran across recently. A customer brought in a Fountain with twin HP500's in August. One of the engines was blown, so we rebuilt it and just got it reinstalled. All is well. However we tried to start the engine that we didn't work on and it would not start. Long story short the fuel stting in the carb was bad(fresh in August). Drained the float bowls and seperator and refilled with fresh fuel. The fuel had turned yellowish but had no water in it. The fuel in the tank runs but I certainly expect it's lost a lot of octane. I've always heard that ethanol fuel has about a 6 week shelf life, but this is the first time I've seen it so drastically demonstrated.

Bob Lloyd
Full Throttle Marine

Hey Bob you put headers on my friend Barry's 353 Formula. I have kept E10 in my Fountain treated with full dose green Sta-Bil from Nov-April for 4 years with no problem in spring. I am going to try the empty tank method this winter.

I allways suck all the fuel out of the tank after I run a crap load of stabil through it the last time I run the boat. I allways like to have fresh fuel in the sping. I just hope that the stabil does its job in the carbs over the winter. Never have had a problem.

After I took out the tops of the rod berrings I am much more carfull with fuel. E10 is not a boaters friend....

We've seen several damaged engines this year that the only plausible explanation was bad fuel.


Bob Lloyd
Full Throttle Marine

Ya, thats what I have been telling everyone, keep it fresh not full. Just because you have a 200 gallon fuel tank does not mean you should keep it full. I have a 62 gallon tank and I normally run it half full, unless taking a big trip. Only pump what you will burn in a couple of weeks.

According to the fuel rep's 3 weeks is all you get now. After that point it begins to deteriorate. Such a bargain at only $5 a gallon up here..

That's awesome. I've long suspected that the only real reason for the Enthanol is for Big Oil to keep a stranglehold on the supply line, and prevent smaller operations from buying quantity and hedging, etc.

Corn ethanol is all about politicians, and the EPA. It makes no sence at all, it takes more energy to make and creates less energy (lower MPG). Vote for Ron Paul and get the crap over with.......

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