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Condensate vs Bad Gasoline

chuckhanson

chuckhanson

Regular Contributor
"Having just recovered this su

"Having just recovered this summer from a few thousand dollars of maintenance caused by two years of neglect I am sensitive about letting it happen again. Since winter is setting in and the boat is less likely to be run as much as in fairer weather, the following question arises. “Should I fill my tanks with gasoline to avoid condensation collection over the winter and have 240 gallons of bad fuel to contend with in the spring or should I keep the fuel inventory low and depend on my water separator to do its job during the period of low use?” Does stabilizer really prevent the problem of gasoline degradation? If so, are there any recommendations?

Chuck"
 
"[b]"Does stabilizer reall

""Does stabilizer really prevent the problem of gasoline degradation?"

Ayuh,.......

Prevent it,.... No.....
But,....
It Does extend it into Many Months, rather than Many Weeks.......

My tanks are considerably smaller than your's,+ I just leave them Stabilized with whatever was in them when I pulled the boat.....
And,.......
Keeping up with the Filters is just the normal course of Maintanance anyways......"
 
"Hello,
I personally believ

"Hello,
I personally believe that topping the tanks off, putting in stabalizer and E-zorb for the ethanol,and running about 10 minutes to mix it up before pulling is the way to go.Your mouth would drop if you saw how much condensation is made over the winter lay-up.Also I stay in the water till mid-nov. and back in mid april to get the engines and everything for that matter spinning again.Less time out is for the better.Another thing I do is drain the water seperators when winterizing,then running the engines in the spring for about an hour,then putting on new ones.This way you do not fill up new ones right away as many do thinking they are good for the summer.As Bondo said..."Keep up with filters"...."
 
"Last Season 2006....I left ou

"Last Season 2006....I left our 270 gallon tanks as empty as possible, they probably had 30-40 gallons at most when we hauled out in late November in New Jersey. Spring commissioning (2007)found us with perfect running engines (regarding fuel) all summer and we only changed the Racors...on launch"
 
"Captain Chuck:

Your questi

"Captain Chuck:

Your question has been batted about throughout the marine industry for years now--especially since that ethanol crap arrived--and there is no good answer. Last year I ran the tanks low, added plenty of Star-Tron, and kept my fingers crossed. No problems. This winter I filled 'em up and did the same. We'll see...

The main reason I filled up was that gas sold for $3.30 something at a local marina. It may be $5 next summer, so... Something else to consider.

Jeff"
 
"Thanks Jeff. You have insert

"Thanks Jeff. You have inserted a new factor in the equation. I hadn't thought of the increase in price. I guess I am still numb from th $3.75 per gallon we are paying at Pickwick lake. Now I have more to consider.

My boat stays in the water all year. I will run it about 1 - 2 hours (cruising speed) every two weeks. This means I will only consume 20 - 40 gallons each month. My decision is to keep the inventory low, add some additive and hope for the best. I also hope the gasoline at the marina does not turn sour over the winter.

Thanks for the suggestion on Startron. I have requested from the manufacturer the location of a dealer near Memphis.

Chuck"
 
Got my Star-Tron from West Mar

Got my Star-Tron from West Marine. You can get it from them on-line.

Jeff
 
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