E10 fuel & winter storage?

[workerbee606]

I am looking for advice on what to do about the 28 gallons of E10 sitting in the tank of my boat. I have a 2012 Yamaha f115 on my pontoon boat that is sitting in under its cover in my side yard for the winter. I have added starton fuel trearment and ring free with each tank, and have close to 20 hours on the motor now and plan on taking the boat in to the dealer in early spring or late winter for the 20 hour service. My question is this, should I drain the tank or keep it full of the E10 gas all winter? I have put the flush kit on it the last three months while on the trailer and ran the motor for five minute or so , a friend who has been into boats with outboards told me to do that but I wonder if that will do any good. I

I will be having the motor and lower unit oil changed as well as the fuel water seperator at the 20 hour service but am worried about water building up in the tank due to the ethanol. My concern is the health of the motor, and if I could get real gas I would, but its not to be found in my area, looked online for real gas and the anly station that was lsted was 40 miles away, in the wrong direction !

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

Don't know about the other stabilizers but the Yamaha brand puts a layer on top of the fuel that keeps air from touching it. That keeps the E10 fuel from absorbing moisture from the air. But nothing will prevent the fuel from breaking down over time.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

Winter is relatively short in LA, and you've done enough on a new motor to get you to Spring.

I too have a new Yamaha, and just completed my 20 hr. service @ 18 hrs. All that's really required is to change the motor oil and lower unit grease. You don't even change the oil filter until the next oil change.

Spending $28 for oil, lower unit grease and an oil filter sure beat paying a dealer $300 for "winterization." It's just a 1/2 hour job. Dealer winterization packages are often just a license to steal on a new or late model engine, as maintenance is minimal.

The fuel-water separator filter is a pretty expensive part at a dealership, and you don't need to consider changing the filter with just 20 hours. It's just a spin off/spin on fuel filter.

If you look around, you can easily find 100% gasoline--especially in 93 octane. Using the 93 octane is cheaper than hauling your boat 40 miles to another 100% gas pump. But if you have 90/10 in it, you'll be okay.

90/10 gas is just fine if you don't let your boat sit around 1/2 the year without running. It actually has some benefits. Many people overestimate their time on the water, and don't run their boats often. 90/10 does separate more in hot weather than cold weather, however. It's just death on rubber when it breaks down, but your motor has been engineered to run 90/10.

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

The 20 hour check isn't just a service. Its for the dealer to catch any problems that may be occuring in the first few hours and there needs to be a record of that being performed. After that you may do what you want but if something serious happens the first thing Yamaha is going to want to see is the service records. They are getting tougher and tougher on approving warranties the last couple of years. Also if you need a dealer to go to bat for you on something that may not be warranty or just out of warranty, you don't want him thinking you have been shorting him out of servicing the unit.

Actually there is a maintenace check at 10 hours or 1 month, 50 hours or 3 months, 100 hours or 6 months, then 200 hours or 1 year.

 

[workerbee606]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

The 20 hour check isn't just a service. Its for the dealer to catch any problems that may be occuring in the first few hours and there needs to be a record of that being performed. After that you may do what you want but if something serious happens the first thing Yamaha is going to want to see is the service records. They are getting tougher and tougher on approving warranties the last couple of years. Also if you need a dealer to go to bat for you on something that may not be warranty or just out of warranty, you don't want him thinking you have been shorting him out of servicing the unit.

Actually there is a maintenace check at 10 hours or 1 month, 50 hours or 3 months, 100 hours or 6 months, then 200 hours or 1 year.

Thanks for the reply Capt. Ken and Bamaman. The dealer said just that about the first 20hr service, he even said its overpriced for sure but that it was a must for the Yamaha warranty, I even purchased an extended warranty.
I think I might just take the boat out this winter and run it once a month on the river and top of the tank each time with fresh fuel and stabilizer. I might have to invest in five 5 gallon cans and make gas trips in the pick up so I can buy non ethanol gas starting next summer !

 

[99yam40]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

Maybe just run it low on fuel at the end of the season or drain the tank and fill it with the non ethanol gas that is treated for the winter storage or when not going to run it for awhile

 

[Pas Bon]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

Maybe just run it low on fuel at the end of the season or drain the tank and fill it with the non ethanol gas that is treated for the winter storage or when not going to run it for awhile

I have 2002 F115 with about 200 hours on it, as reflected by this you can assume correctly that it sits for extended periods of time. I have been pretty consistent about using either stabil, startron or seafoam throughout the years and (knock on wood) have yet to have any problems, fuel related or otherwise.

A few years back it had sat for about 9 months and I got nervous and siphoned all the gas out. It was fine and had no water in it. I poured it in my truck and ran it with no problems. I installed a spin on type fuel water separator a few years ago but the small filter/separator on the engine was good enough for about 7-8 years. I have never seen the little red thing in the filter housing float in any water.

I just dumped out the canister filter last night and there was no water in it only a small amount of debris. I plan to fill the canister with fresh gas and kinda wash it out and put it back on. I did just order (for the first time) the small engine filter, it should be in the mail in a day or two.


Run it occasionally and keep gas treatment in it and you should be fine. I have always heard that keeping them FULL was the best to prevent condensation but with gas prices the way they are I usually put off filling mine up to right before my next trip.

Got a big fishing trip planned for two weeks so I am doing a little going through the boat stuff now. It has been sitting since the last tubing/skiing trip with the kids back in August but I did run it on the trailer and have changed the oil as well.

 

[JoLin]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

90/10 gas is just fine if you don't let your boat sit around 1/2 the year without running.

5 years boating in an area where boats are laid up for a minimum of 6 months every year. I've used the same method for 3 boats- I put Marine Sta-Bil into whatever level of gas is still the tank at layup, run the engine long enough to flow treated fuel all the way through ... and forget it. They always fire right up in the Spring.

My .02

 

[Silvertip]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

Boaters should be treating their fuel whether it is E-10 or not. Water is not just an E-10 issue.

 

[frfly172]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

I have been winterizing with startron and stabill for the winter with no problem ,when spring comes I put fresh fuel in the fuel filter and boat starts every time,have tried leaving boat full,half tanks and almost empty with the same results.[/FONT]

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: E10 fuel & winter storage?

I too am running Startron and Ring Free+ in my 2000 150HP OX66. This year, in addition to doubling the Starton amount, fogging the engine, and filling the tank, I added a new Starbrite product, EzStore/EzStart. I've included a link for you.

Star brite - Catalog - Product Detail