Engine backfiring through throttle body when trying to accelerate

[Lou C]

Yeah, I use 87 octane from the local station....not ethanol free.
I think that settles it, pump it off and discard it. I don't want to risk being left with low octane gas.

Agreed, I don't know if your engine has a knock sensor or not but even so sometimes you just gotta just bite the bullet and get it done. And even if it had a knock sensor, you'd have terrible performance due to the timing having to be so far retarded. We had a '98 Subaru Outback that had a knock sensor, when it failed, we got a check engine light but it would not get out of it's own way! Fixed that 2x over the years.
One year I actually figured out how much money all my self-performed repairs and maintenance has saved over 20+ seasons of boating. It was in excess of $25,000. So an occasional paying someone to do something for me, at my age especially just works for me.

 

[alldodge]

Folks talked about E10 so many times here, but in short, E10 will make it thru the winter. Don't keep the tank full unless your someone which runs several tanks thru the season, the amount of moisture taken in is not enough to worry about.

@tpenfield has run test thru the winter and came up with answers

 

[Lou C]

That's what I always thought, till one year when it didn't. Maybe a good idea is to take off the fuel filter in the spring and test for water in the fuel but with E10 you will not see it till it's phase separated. So using one of the available test kits might be a good idea.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Your fuel is a mix of 7 month old fuel and 12 month old fuel that has water in it

I would siphon all the fuel out, filter off the water, then run what's left in the lawnmower or have a bit of a bonfire

 

[badrano]

Folks talked about E10 so many times here, but in short, E10 will make it thru the winter. Don't keep the tank full unless your someone which runs several tanks thru the season, the amount of moisture taken in is not enough to worry about

So are you saying its ok to have a mostly empty tank going through the winter and that any condensation that may build up is negligible?

 

[badrano]

Couple of questions...
1. There is a cork like gasket between the tank top and fuel sender base plate. Can this be reused? If not, whats this gasket called so I can search to get a replacement?
2. Do I need to use any sealant on the screws to secure the fuel sender to the tank?
3. I've seen posts on here about folks putting in something like a racor separator in-line before the fuel module. Is this something worth considering?

 

[Lou C]

They can be reused if they're in good shape, you can use a fuel resistant sealer like Gasolia on it and the attaching bolts/screws. In the past in a pinch, I've used Permatex Aviation as well.
Not sure if I'd add an additional filter because it might add too much restriction.

 

[nola mike]

I'd get the water out first and then siphon out the other 60 gallons, and mix it back in using 5-10 gallons/tank (or throw it in your lawnmower). Probably safest bet to use 89 or 93, though I'm not that bright and wouldn't bother. You have a knock sensor on there, right? Even worst case your now e0 gas should still have an 85-86 octane

 

[alldodge]

So are you saying its ok to have a mostly empty tank going through the winter and that any condensation that may build up is negligible?

Yes