In an article posted on this site today about Ethanol Myths there is the following statement.
“…to keep any gasoline, including E10, as fresh as possible; they said it’s good practice to always add fuel stabilizer an antioxidant whenever the boat will be idle for long periods.”
What would be considered a “long period” for a boat to be idle? Obviously up north boats are put up for several months. But, here in SC a boat might only be idle a few weeks at a time. How long would y’all let your boat sit w/out adding a stabilizer?
I always add stabilizer. E10 can de-stabilize at any time based on the amount of moisture that it has absorbed either in your tank or in the gas supply chain. Its not that the gas goes stale like with pure gasoline, but when the ethanol and water combination separates from the gas you are left with two things your engine won’t like - ethanol and lower octane gas. Its a cheap insurance policy. I’ve had issues with gas that is only a couple of weeks old. Here is something I found on the internet - "The fact remains that ethanol is hydrophilic, meaning it tends to draw moisture out of the air, so theoretically gasohol should become contaminated more easily than pure gasoline.
The shelf life of gasohol is difficult to determine proponents claim it’s similar to that of pure gasoline but present no hard data. Anecdotally speaking, boat owners and survivalists people who often deal with stored gasoline report a much shorter shelf life for gasoline-ethanol blends and advise against storing them long-term."
the motor manufactures state that gas can go bad in as little as 30 days,even less if you are mixing two stroke oil to it(Stihl chainsaws did an in depth study on it a while back)its best to keep the tank low, and top off with fresh right before you go boating, adding stabilizer/treatment definitely helps and is recommended. You never know when you boating trip is cut short and you end up with a lot of gas in the tank when you get back.It could be a while before the next chance you get to take the boat out
I always use an additive because I don’t use my boat regular enough to keep the gas fresh in the tank. I also almost never leave the ramp without a full tank. Even if I’m just going for a few hours something could go wrong or plans change. I don’t want to run out of gas. I also have an extra fuel filter between the motor and the gas tank to remove any moisture, or any impurity for that matter, in the gas. Just my .02.
Mr Hardware
Can you just add the fuel additive while the boat sits still on the trailer or would it be best to pull the boat around the block a few times to mix it up.
I run stabilizer in mine all the time. Changed my 10 micron fuel filter yesterday and she was FULL of water. Add it and change your filters often.
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Can you just add the fuel additive while the boat sits still on the trailer or would it be best to pull the boat around the block a few times to mix it up.
Wondered same thing. Mine sits from Labor day till early spring and I use startron along w ethanol free gas just to make sure
you need to mix it thoroughly, and run the engine to make sure the treated fuel actually gets to the engine. I always try to add the treatment when I add fuel, if you not adding any fuel, mix up 1 gal with enough treatment to take care of the fuel on board, then pour the treated gallon in the fill. If you just pour the treatment in the fill, sometimes it never reaches the tank, it just lays in the fuel fill hose(some boats its a long run from the fill to the tank)
you need to mix it thoroughly, and run the engine to make sure the treated fuel actually gets to the engine. I always try to add the treatment when I add fuel, if you not adding any fuel, mix up 1 gal with enough treatment to take care of the fuel on board, then pour the treated gallon in the fill. If you just pour the treatment in the fill, sometimes it never reaches the tank, it just lays in the fuel fill hose(some boats its a long run from the fill to the tank)
Thanks. Never thought of that. I do add it from time just to make sure and even though I I use ethanol free gas I still use startron any time I add gas
If the boat will sit for a while, fill the tank (reduces internal condensation) and use ethanol free fuel. Auto gas stays pretty fresh for several months as long as you can keep water out. A nice new boat with a good and FULL fuel tank will keep fuel fresh for 3 months or more. Hopefully you don’t stay out of the water that long! If you do, then you can use a stabilizer. But as long as you have a good tank, full, you have several months with no worries. This assumes WINTER storage. When it’s hot, fuel doesn’t last as long.*
I disagree and have proven it time after time, keeping the tank full will not do anything to prevent water absorption and phase separation, marine tanks are vented from the outside and will still absorb moisture thru the vent. Both the links provided recommend keeping you storage tanks sealed, marine fuel tanks are not sealed, nor should you try to seal large storage tank not designed for sealed storage. The amount of condensation from a low level tank is minimal, and it will only condensate if you have an aluminum or stainless tank. I’ve set up old fuel tanks and monitored the amount of moisture in them and have only found minimal amounts of condensation in the tanks. The majority of fuel tanks in boats nowadays are made of plastics or polymers, they do not have any issues with condensation at all. It may have been true with extremely large tanks, but every time I checked someones tank for water when they thought it was condensation, I always found water was getting in from somewhere else. Chalk this one up as an old sailors tale. Remember bulk fuel storage tanks are usually metal tanks as well. You are much better diluting the stored gas with fresh gas right before you use your boat than relying on older treated gas. I pump a lot of gas out of customers boats each year, treated or not. The high performance boaters will pump their tanks out and fill with fresh gas if its more than a couple of weeks old, this is especially true in the summer months when the additive they put in gas evaporate from the fuel vent. Most of the additives evaporate around 90 degrees. Keep your tank low when in storage, treat the fuel and mix it up, add fresh fuel when your going to use the boat, during the slow season, treat each tank of fuel before hand, that way you have treated fuel reaching the engine rather than just in the tank. BTW, I’ve had good results from using Amsoil Quick Start as a treatment, its the only one I’ve found that claims to help fuel that didn’t get treated before hand.
I disagree and have proven it time after time, keeping the tank full will not do anything to prevent water absorption and phase separation, marine tanks are vented from the outside and will still absorb moisture thru the vent. Both the links provided recommend keeping you storage tanks sealed, marine fuel tanks are not sealed, nor should you try to seal large storage tank not designed for sealed storage.
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The recommendation specified best results with sealed tanks, but specifically said that modern vented fuel tanks were good for storage. We always had either metal tanks, or tanks in exceptional condition. Never had a problem. But I can see how many boats would leak water into their tanks. So the answer really depends on your boat. If your tank is in good condition, you may (like us) have no problem storing gas for a couple months in cool weather. If not, good luck!
i cant agree more with spareparts
however, when you have issues from running with old fuel, we do regular fuel system cleanings, as well as engine rebuilds
I have a 2001 Yamaha F115 4 stroke. It has the Raycon in-line water seperator and the fuel filter on the back of the engine under the cowling. Is there a 3rd fuel filter ?
Thanks