Did I mix the fuel or not

[Moody Blue]

Back in the fall I took my two 5 gal partly full fuel tanks to the gas station to fill them up and add stabilizer for winter storage.

Thinking about it now, I can't remember IF I added oil to the tanks or not

Oh what to do now?

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Put the gas in your car/truck and start over next spring.

Mark

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Through some of the fuel on a piece of fiberglass. The fuel will evaporate leaving the oil residue....If it had oil in it.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Or you can just add oil again. The engine may smoke a tad more but it won't hurt it. Next time, add oil first, then head to the station.

 

[pecheux]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

This has happened to me many times ... (called aging ...lol) I dont take chances and now in the spring I automaticaly dump my gas tanks in the vehicules and fill with High test gas and start fresh with the OB's.

2 cyle oil kind of acts as valves lubrification in vehicules ... something like what is called Top-oil ... good for them accasionaly and in small quatities ... secret lies in filling the tank with fresh gas, and in that case my choice is high test.

Cheers

 

[JB]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Oiling a 2 stroke is sort of like drinking water on a hot day. There is no harm in taking twice as much as you really need.

50:1 outboards will run just fine on 25:1. They will just smoke and smell a bit more and maybe (long shot) increase the risk of fouling a plug or two.

Therefore: Assuming that the fuel has Stabil or similar stabilizer in it, just add oil for a 50:1 mix in the spring (as suggested by Silvertip) and you will be fine.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

As already said, put the oil in again and be certain or dump it in the vehicles and start over. Best way to be certain. Running with double oil will not hurt.
My 2 cents.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

I have 2 gas cans in the barn for the lawnmower and other garden tools. The weedwacker and chainsaws are 2 cycle and the rest 4 cycle. On occasion I have forgotten which can is which.

Gas around here is sort of a yellow color. After I mix the oil in at 50:1 its blue. If I just take the cap off and look in I can tell which one has oil in it.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Chaulk one up as yet another "VRO" failure.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Since I only have 2 cycle outboards, If a cap is on a gas tank, it has oil in it! Thus: only empty tanks do not have oil. I don't need to remember.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Thanks for all the replies. The partially filled tanks were already mixed, its just the top up that I can't be sure of.

Good to know that doubling up on the oil is OK, and to be sure as most suggested, I will add oil again before starting up in the spring.

Better safe and smokey than uncertain and seized

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Better safe and smokey than uncertain and seized

And the great smell of 2 stroke first thing in the morning !!!!
You just can't beat it.
If I ever end up with a 4 stroke I will have to get a "2 stroke fragrance" air freshener for the boat !!

 

[LongLine]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Look at the color. Pink means you added the red stabilizer. Blue/green means you either added the blue stabilizer or oil. (gas is generally a gold-yellow color)

My suggestion: add proper amount of oil in the spring & let it smoke a little.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

And the great smell of 2 stroke first thing in the morning !!!!
You just can't beat it.
If I ever end up with a 4 stroke I will have to get a "2 stroke fragrance" air freshener for the boat !!

I have a 4 stroke. I miss that smell. Where can I buy it?

 

[will941s]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Double the oil, double the fun. My two stroke gas tanks always went missing at the apartment complex, people short on money put the gas in their cars, then you have some kid in a Honda civic driving by with exhaust that smells like a outboard. By the way, I hate the smell of gas, but I love the smell of a 2-stroke. Put my boat in a garage now, the whole garage and everything in it smells like a 2-stroke. Wife complains that there just is'nt enough Fabreez in the world.

 

[Bill Kilgore]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Once I stop fishing and I am going to move locations using the outboard, the wind usually pushes the bow straight downwind. Crank up downwind from the OB and smell the wonder. Also good for clearing flying pests.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

I can not agree with doubling the oil. This will cause a lean condition.
If you take 1 gallon of fuel/oil mix and double the oil but still have one gallon, it now contains less gas and you are running the mix through the same size jets which are calibrated for a set amount of gas. But your mix contains LESS gas. Sure the extra oil will probably dissipate the heat but you still run the risk of burning the pistons and detonation. NEVER A GOOD IDEA.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

I can not agree with doubling the oil. This will cause a lean condition.
If you take 1 gallon of fuel/oil mix and double the oil but still have one gallon, it now contains less gas and you are running the mix through the same size jets which are calibrated for a set amount of gas. But your mix contains LESS gas. Sure the extra oil will probably dissipate the heat but you still run the risk of burning the pistons and detonation. NEVER A GOOD IDEA.

Hummm...Interesting concept. I have no personal knowledge in that regard, just an opinion. To the OP, I'd rather run extra oil in my boat that ANY oil in my car.

On a similar vein, Yamaha's 2-strokes are designed to run on 100:1. Yet, they recommend double oil for the first 10 hours for break-in. If you were going to "burn the pistons" wouldn't that be the worst possible time to do it?

Also, many of the gurus on the Yamaha forum actually recommend using double oil.

Comments?

 

[cr2k]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

Well I can see your point on the Yammie. But the % diff between 100:1 and 50:1 is much less than between 50:1 and 25:1.

Don't kow know what to say at this point. I was just repeating what I was told by a trained mechanic and it does make sense.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Did I mix the fuel or not

It will lean it out a little, but should not be problem in this application because he said there was already mixed fuel in the cans and that he just topped them off. This means he only needed to add enough oil to treat the amount he added, not the entire tank, so doubling the oil on 10% of the fuel in the tank will have little effect jetting.

For racing applications the jetting may change for the type and ratio of oil you use. Not all oils (non TCW III) are the same viscosity so jetting for 40:1 with one oil may be equivalent to 50:1 jetting with a different brand.

I believe one of the requirements for TCW III is all oils must be the same viscosity