Two year old fuel?

Hello,

I recently purchased a used boat that has been sitting for a couple of years. We took it out for a test ride and it ran fine. My question is that it has 3/4 of a tank in it and would it be ok to continue to run that fuel or should it be pumped out and replaced?

Thanks

Re: Two year old fuel?

Vandamryn said:

Hello,

I recently purchased a used boat that has been sitting for a couple of years. We took it out for a test ride and it ran fine. My question is that it has 3/4 of a tank in it and would it be ok to continue to run that fuel or should it be pumped out and replaced?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Howdy,

Welcome aboard!

2 year old fuel will have lower vapor pressure (due to the higher end hydrocarbons evaporating out)

This can cause any engine to be hard starting because it doesn't vaporize well in the carburetor......Although It's not as much a problem in an EFI engine.

Also, the octane can be quite a bit lower which can result in detonation. A single detonation event will usually destroy spark plugs and can even burn a hole in a piston.

You can probably run the fuel, but I would dilute it at least 50:50 with fresh premium or mid grade gasoline. ( The difference in price between regular and premium is usually no more than about 10% higher than the regular.)

I would replace the dist cap, rotor, points/condenser(if installed) and spark plugs on "general principles"

Make sure you change the fuel filter/water separator. (if it doesn't have one, you should install one)



Regards,


Rick

Re: Two year old fuel?

Top it off with premium, non-ethanol if possible, and run it out. If you have occasion to let gas sit in the future, just make sure that the tank is full and that you use stabilizer.

Fortunately for me, we have non-ethanol gas available here in Vancouver, WA. I run all my yard implements on it and top my boat and Mustang off with it before winter storage.

Maybe you have non-ethanol available in your area as well. Check out this link:

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada