Using 2 1/2 Yr. Old Boat Gas?

[LuvBoating]

Have started our boat using the muff/hose a few times, including the last time, on Sept 2014. Have not had the boat on the water since Oct 2012. In Jan 2013, filled tank with 40 gallons of Regular gas, but still had around 1/4 of a tank of gas left. In Nov 2014, had the boat winterized and gas treatment added to gas.

Now, what we are wondering is.........how good is our gas still? The engine ran fine (muff/hose) on Sept 2014. We really don't have the finances to have our Marine Service drain the tank and then us refill it, so we thought about taking some out and putting into our '97 Dodge Ram pickup. Or, if we decided to use this boat this year, the gas would still be ok for that?

I talked to a friend, who has had been a boater since 1969 and he told me "see absolutely no problem using that gas in your truck or even leaving it in the boat. I had gas in a boat for 6 years and put some of it in my van, lawn mower and in my son's car and it was fine."

We just don't want any "older" gas to mess with the new block that we had put in in Aug 2012. Have had the boat on the water once since installing that new block. I've had health issues that prevented the boat from being taken since then and completely "broken in". I'm now getting over a rotator cuff surgery, so still don't when the boat will go out on the water yet. But, the gas in the tank is what we are wondering about.

Thanks for any info.

 

[alldodge]

One the gas cap a smell it, if it doesn't smell like gas don't use it. If it smells like gas pull the fuel filter, drain contents into something and see what it looks like, the filter may be empty. Is this a carb or fuel injected engine?

 

[H20Rat]

to go along with what dodge had, gas that has gone bad has a sweet/plastic/oily smell to it. It doesn't have the pungent alcohol/benzene type smell that good gas has. From my experience, there is no in-between. It is either good, or it isn't. Once the tank starts turning bad, it goes instantly.

 

[shrew]

Was there a stabilizer/fuel storage additive added to the gas prior to the long layup? I'd through some Startron or Seafoam in the there, get it mixed, then let it sit for a few days. 1/4 tank isn't horrible as long as 3/4 is good gas. As the gas ages it's octane level also drops and it start to get leaner and leaner. I've seen many boats who think they can simply diligently replace the fuel filter/water separator and get through the bad gas. I've seen guys pump it out and run it in their vehicles. The one I saw running it in his car completely clogged his catalytic converter. Those that tried to run it and change filters seem to coincidentally end up with blown motors.

Just something to think about.

 

[LuvBoating]

The boat is a 1992 celebrity 200 cuddy cabin with carburetors.
The gas unleaded with 10 percent ethanol. Same type of gas that we use in our 2005 Dodge Durango and are 1997 Dodge RAM.

The gas that was in our friends boat was in it for six years and the boat just setting for those six years and hadn't been run. He used part of that gas in his van, lawnmower and in his sons car. He said all three ran perfectly on that gas.

We just don't know what to do, but don't want to lose the money that we spent out on the gas.

One the gas cap a smell it, if it doesn't smell like gas don't use it. If it smells like gas pull the fuel filter, drain contents into something and see what it looks like, the filter may be empty. Is this a carb or fuel injected engine?

 

[cptrick3]

You were doing fine until you said it had 10% ethanol. Had it been boat gas (no ethanol) you would have had a chance.

 

[Gold Eagle Co]

As others have said, if it still smells like gas, it should run just fine. With that said 2 1/2 years is quite a while for gas to sit, especially ethanol blended. Ethanol blended gas can begin to lose volatility in as little as 30 days. To combat that, use a high quality fuel stabilizer anytime there is a chance the gas will sit longer than that. This will greatly extend the shelf life of that fuel. We would be happy to send out free samples of STA-BIL? 360? Marine to anyone who like like to give it a try. Simply PM us and we will respond with the necessary steps.

Please let us know if you have any further fuel related questions.

Have a great day!

 

[MTboatguy]

I would mix a few gallons of new gas beings it was treated and see what you got, I have let fuel sit for up to a year and still was able to use it as long as I mixed new fuel with it, if you are going to try to start it off what has been sitting for 2.5 years, I would not recommend it.

 

[smokeonthewater]

It's your call... Two things I can say with certainty.

#1 of all the people saying it should be fine, not a one of them will volunteer to pay for repairs should they be needed.

#2 I would pump it out and either dispose of it OR run it in something cheap enough that I'm willing to risk major damage to save a couple hundred dollars.

My 28'er hasn't seen the water for almost 2 years now and I WILL be taking the hit on the old gas... Gonna hurt but not near as much as stuck valve(s).

 

[MTboatguy]

It's your call... Two things I can say with certainty.

#1 of all the people saying it should be fine, not a one of them will volunteer to pay for repairs should they be needed.

I am retired, I would be more than happy to give him a hand if something went wrong, don't make such broad reaching statements when you don't know the facts, money does not bother me one iota if I give bad information, then I am more than willing to help out with the results.

:joyous:

 

[Frank Acampora]

Let's not get into a pissin contest. I am retired also but don't make a big thing of it. There are more opinions about old gas than there are elbows and a**holes on the forum. Everyone is entitled to their opinion--even if it is wrong!

 

[MTboatguy]

Let's not get into a pissin contest. I am retired also but don't make a big thing of it. There are more opinions about old gas than there are elbows and a**holes on the forum. Everyone is entitled to their opinion--even if it is wrong!

Who is pissin Frank? I was simply stating a fact, if I give bad information, I am more than happy to help correct the issue that happens from my bad information, that is all. As far as being retired, I was not making a big deal of that either, we all get to a point in life that we retire, I was lucky I was able to do it earlier than many and I am willing to help anyone that needs it.

The point is, when you are talking about maybe a 1/4 tank of fuel in a 40 gallon tank, that has been treated, then add more fuel and let it burn, it is not going to damage anything.

By the way, who gets to judge if an "opinion" is wrong?

 

[smokeonthewater]

I DID just that... I added 75 gallons of fresh to 25 gallons of old gas....
That move cost me an engine.... Stuck a valve and burned a piston....

My comment wasn't a personal insult.... You didn't give "bad" advice, you gave risky advice.

Surely you aren't saying if his mechanic gives him a bill for say $4k to replace an engine you would write him a check........

Btw Frank's comment about an opinion being wrong was obviously sarcastic.

 

[MTboatguy]

Smoke, yes, if it was because of information I gave, I would help the guy out, with either labor or money, I have no problem with that, I don't want anybody to have to pay the price for bad information I gave them, I have never wanted that, and I will never want that. I am a 100% honest guy that believes what he posts and there is no reason anybody should have to pay a price because of something I said.

I am absolutely amazed you stuck a valve, after some of the crap we put in our tanks in Iraq and Afghanistan!

 

[JimS123]

If the gas had been stabilized correctly you probably had a good chance. But you did it a year and a half after it had already gone bad.

I understand the desire to recoop the $ for the gas, but you probably will end up paying more if you try to use it.

Its a 23 year old boat and its not worth much. I would imagine your car is worth a lot more, and you probably need the car more than the boat. Personally, I wouldn't put crap in my car. The lawnmower?....maybe....but then again $300 for a new mower won't break me.

Sounds like you don't want to pay to do it right, and furthermore you're probably not going to use the boat anyway. Sell it, inform the buyer of the issue and take your losses.

 

[smokeonthewater]

In Iraq and Afghanistan I highly doubt you were running a boat.... USUALLY land vehicles don't see the same sustained cylinder pressures and heat that a boat does...

Now if you were running a gas engine at near full throttle and 4k rpm steady with no coasting or throttle modulation with a fairly high compression engine it might be similar which I imagine you might have done ..... Maybe?

 

[MTboatguy]

In Iraq and Afghanistan I highly doubt you were running a boat.... USUALLY land vehicles don't see the same sustained cylinder pressures and heat that a boat does...

Now if you were running a gas engine at near full throttle and 4k rpm steady with no coasting or throttle modulation with a fairly high compression engine it might be similar which I imagine you might have done ..... Maybe?

Okay,

What ever you say Smoke

:joyous:

 

[MTboatguy]

If the gas had been stabilized correctly you probably had a good chance. But you did it a year and a half after it had already gone bad.

Did I read something wrong, I was under the impression it was stabilized when it went into storage? If it set for a year and half before you put the stabilizer in it, then throw it away and start over, You can't stabilize gas once it has gone bad.

Being honest with the OP, I would just say, get rid of the gas you have in the tank and get new gas if you want to use your boat again, these 2-3 page threads over something that in the whole scope of things is miniscule are not worth it, drain and refill and have a good time on the water! Fuel is a whole lot cheaper now than it was a couple of years ago!

 

[rallyart]

I've used gas that old without any problem. If it looks and smells like gas you are probably just fine. If you feel like you need to filter it through an old phone book first it might be better starting that bonfire you always wanted.

 

[Frank Acampora]

5 or 6 posts explaining or defending your positions IS a pissin contest. And now you have sucked me into it too!

As for incorrect statements: This is an internet Forum. In the --oh, I don't know--5 or 6 years I have been on, I have seen the most ridiculous statements about all subjects. Yes, WRONG information. The original poster needs to use a jaundiced eye about what is written. So, let's not make this thread like ethanol in gas or which oil is better etc.

Personally, I have used very old gas in my Chrysler engines. BUT-- They are extremely tolerant. I could drink a bottle of bourbon and pee in the tank and they would still run on it. However, I would never use old gas in my tow vehicle. It MIGHT get the computer excited and with any repair cost sky high nowadays, I simply would not try to dump 30 bucks of fuel into a modern gas tank. Its a simple risk versus reward equation..Yeah, it might run well but then again it might not.