Winterization - Fuel question

burtonrider11

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
178
My apologies if this has been covered before however, I would like to determine what to do with my half tank of gas I have left. Here's the background. Bought the boat in June with quarter tank of gas. Topped it off when I got it home, added Startron then and every time I put fuel in. Changed fuel filter in July, didn't see much water in filter when removed. I have used 87 octane 10% ethanol gas with every fill up. The boat will be stored indoors, non climate controlled environment in West Michigan, it will definitely be up and down with temps from now until March/April. Fuel tank is 50+ gallons, have 1/2-2/3 of a tank left. Startron bottle treats 48 gallons. My biggest concern is phase seperation....

Here are my scenarios:

- Add one last bottle of Startron and call it good.

- Get tank drained (hate to waste the gas, maybe I can put it in my truck?)

- Fill up with 87 octane, add star tron

- Fill up with Rec 90, add startron.

Any input would be especially appreciated, I am probably over thinking this, but I'd be super upset if I blew up our motor next spring because I didn't take the right steps!
 

JoLin

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
Yeah, it's been covered only about a gazillion times :)

You'll never get a consensus, either. All of your scenarios are fine, all will work fine, and yes, if you decide to drain the tank you can use the gas in your truck.

I personally would follow your first, though if you've been using the Startron religiously, I see no need to add one last bottle. I use Sta-bil myself, and I only add it to my last tankful of the season. I lay the boat up with whatever's in the tank. Sometimes it's full (this year), sometimes it's nearly empty, most times it's somewhere in between.

I've followed that procedure with a 21' with Johnson outboard, a 24' Chris Craft with Volvo I/O, a 27' Four Winns with TWO Volvo I/O's and the current boat with twin Mercs. It sits for at least 6 months in my driveway on Long Island and fires right up in the Spring.

Now you can sit back and wait for all the differing opinions and methods of layup, all of which seem to work just fine.

My .02
 
Last edited:

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
I won't offer an opinion on what to do for fuel treatment because mine doesn't count. LOL

Changed fuel filter in July, didn't see much water in filter when removed

I would find out why you had ANY water in the fuel.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,296
^+1. there should not be any water in the fuel. if so, I would be draining and looking for a point of ingress.
 

burtonrider11

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
178
Thanks guys, I should say that to clarify, I didn't see any water in the fuel filter. Reason being is that due to very limited access, I tried using Bondo's method of slipping a bag underneath to catch everything.....It kind of worked, but due to my fumbling hands, the filter dropped into the bag and the contents splashed everywhere making it impossible to really see what was in there....

The fuel filter was replaced in mid-July after a few trips with the boat. Performance was fine both before and after filter change. No issues starting, idling, accelerating etc....
 

burtonrider11

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
178
Yeah, it's been covered only about a gazillion times :)

You'll never get a consensus, either. All of your scenarios are fine, all will work fine, and yes, if you decide to drain the tank you can use the gas in your truck.

I personally would follow your first, though if you've been using the Startron religiously, I see no need to add one last bottle. I use Sta-bil myself, and I only add it to my last tankful of the season. I lay the boat up with whatever's in the tank. Sometimes it's full (this year), sometimes it's nearly empty, most times it's somewhere in between.

I've followed that procedure with a 21' with Johnson outboard, a 24' Chris Craft with Volvo I/O, a 27' Four Winns with TWO Volvo I/O's and the current boat with twin Mercs. It sits for at least 6 months in my driveway on Long Island and fires right up in the Spring.

Now you can sit back and wait for all the differing opinions and methods of layup, all of which seem to work just fine.

My .02


Thanks JoLin, I know there are several schools of thought and I am certainly no chemist. Really just looking for affirmation that what I am doing is sufficient to minimize the chance for phase seperation....I appreciate the input!
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,620
My logic is . . . 50 gallons of gas sitting for 6 months or so. Can anything good happen to it?

I pumped out 37 gallons that were remaining in my boat's fuel tank and feed it to my 2 SUV's So, if you have a way of safely pumping out the fuel, you might want to do that.
 

Peter Eikenberry

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
408
My Boat has a 26 gallon tank. At the end of the season I just wait until my Trailblazer is low on gas and pump what is left in the boat into the Trailblazer's tank. Simple and no concerns about condensation or phase separation. What little is left in the tank (maybe a quart) is not going to cause any problems.

The recommend methods are fill the tank and add stabilizer. or, empty the tank. Both work fine.

By the way if you drain the tank either have a professional do it, or get a hand pump to use. DO NOT use an electric pump. You may suddenly find yourself in the next county.
 

thumpar

Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6,138
As far as fuel goes I have done it every way imaginable. The boats have always come to life in the spring. My last boat didn't even have a fuel/water separator. The last few years I stopped filling up the tank (40 gallon) before the last couple trips and have put in a bit of green stable. I just leave it like that over winter and fill up before the first trip.
 

burtonrider11

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
178
Thanks all! I think I have come up with a good solution. I will be winterizing this weekend (tearfully, I might add) and since I will be storing it at our house, I think I am going to invest in a good siphon ($30 on Amazon) and fill up the tanks of my tractor, my SUV and my wife's car. Anything left over will act as a filling station for my tractor over the winter. By Spring, any fuel that may have been left over should now be long gone.....

When Spring gets here (hopefully late March/early April) I am going to fill up with Rec 90 then go back to regular 87 for the rest of the season.

Thanks for indulging my concerns, I am probably more anal than I need to be with our boat, however I live by the motto: Take care of your boat and she'll take care of you!
 

philipp10

Seaman
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
61
I'll give you my 2 cents. I think you are way over thinking this. I don't so ANYTHING. Not even stabil. I live up north in Minnesota. It's my opinion that storing gas over the winter is not near as bad as over the summer. I say that because cold air holds very little moisture. I have never used stabil or any other treatment (and I use 10% ethanol) with no issues over the last 35 years. As a side note, I bought an old Skidoo last fall to rebuild it. The previous owner said it had sat outside for 5 years with gas in it. Siphoned it out, looked perfect, burned it in my car. No issues whatsoever.
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
I put my lawnmower in the back of the shed in the fall, pull out the snowblower that I parked in the spring, both run at the start of each season. No treatments needed, with Ethel. The Boats get parked in the fall, full, or with whatever was left from the last outing, blocks drained and covers outside. In spring, check the oil, splash and go.
 

airdvr1227

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
1,666
I'll chime in with a word of wisdom I got from an executive at the local Marathon refinery. Since Marathon has no idea when the fuel they produce will actually be used they put a stabilizer in it before it leaves the plant. YMMV.
 
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