Fuel Stabilizer

[3 Card]

Well just spend a week banging my head against the boat due to lean condition under load (95 Wellcraft Excel w/ 4.3L Mercruiser)...Turned out to be water in the fuel tank over the winter...I followed all the appropriate winterization steps ...full fuel tank...treated the fuel with stabilizer etc....Ended up putting a water absorber in the fuel tank and swapping out the fuel/water seperator. Just wondering how to tell if a fuel stabilizer product will absorb water? The few I have looked at did not specifically call that out. Should I just plan on fuel stabilizer plus a water absorber next year?

 

[trog100]

Re: Fuel Stabilizer

all your precautions didnt seem to do much good did they.. ??<br /><br />i only have a tale of what u shouldnt do..<br /><br />i bought a boat last summer that had sat for three years in the water unused.. i live in the UK and english winters aint that cold but they are very damp..<br /><br />the boat had about half a tank of gas when i got it.. the owner had started the engine once in a while and had opened the drain cocks on the engine but thats all... the gas was the same as what had been put in three years earlier 98 octane "ron" leaded according to the owner..<br /><br />the merc 5 hp kicker had sat on the back during all this time.. its portable tank is about half full..<br /><br />the 3.0 merc engine has no fuel filter seperator thingy fitted to it..<br /><br />with a freshly charged battery the one one it was a bit low.. i did buy a new battery just in case but have never needed to fit it.. the engine fired up as it should.. all the gas ran thru with no problems.. the kicker fires up with the old gas no problems..<br /><br />i just get a little puzzled when i read all the tales of woe on here after storage periods of as little as three months..<br /><br />yours being one such tale..<br /><br />trog100<br /><br />ps.. just to add.. my boat was moored in freshwater all this time.. thow it had previously before its long rest period been a coastal boat.. and UK gas might be different.. nobody over here has even heard of "fuel stabilyzer" let alone use the stuff.. dunno.. ??

 

[3 Card]

Re: Fuel Stabilizer

Trogg, Yeah this one caught me by surprise...Thanks to everyone who helped out on Mahoney's issue a few weeks back. That string got me going in the right direction. I think the lesson learned is spend the $8.00 for a new fuel/water separator every year and put in the water absorber...One problem down...Many more yet to be learned about...

 

[cuzner]

Re: Fuel Stabilizer

Hey 3 card, fuel stabil is not made to stop condensation (water in tank) only to prevent fuel from turning sour. best way to prevent water is to fill your tank before storage.A water seperater is a good idea, but still won;t stop water from collecting in tank from condensation. gas line antifreeze will absorb some water, but I don't know if its ok to use in marine engines.I,ve benn boating for 20 years, and one of the few problems I haven't ran into is water in fuel, but I always keep my tank full and change water seperator after first run in the spring.<br /><br /><br /> Jim

 

[3 Card]

Re: Fuel Stabilizer

Cuzner, Roger that...I filled the tank up last October...Probably means it was the fuel/water separator...Sounds like you run the boat first and then change the separator, correct? Thanks,<br /><br />3 Card

 

[cuzner]

Re: Fuel Stabilizer

Ya thats what I do....I figure there may be some in the tank after the winter, so I take the boat out to make sure everything is working right, then change the seperator, along with the spark plugs, I fog out the engine in the fall.<br /><br /> Jim