Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

[Mark42]

I'm thinking of siphoning the gas tank dry before putting the boat outside for the winter. Right now there are about 10 gallons of gas in the tank (not pre-mix) and I can use that for the snow thrower, generator, etc during winter. The tank is plastic and new this past spring. <br /><br />Is there any reason why the boat should not be stored with an empty tank?<br /><br />Mark

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

If you remove the fuel, you'll end up with full tank of humid fall air. This can possibly cause condensation when it gets colder as winter progresses and the inside of your tank starts to sweat like a glass of lemonade in the summer. This can lead to pools of water in your tank.<br /><br />Therefore, conventional wisdom says to top it off with stabilized fuel so there's no airspace, thus no way any moisture can build up with temp swings.

 

[willamettejeff]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I would just go ahead and empty the tank and use the gas now. At the beginning of next season you could siphon out any remaining gas and any condensation from the tank before refilling. Your filter/water separator will tank care of anything you miss. Did you get your motor back together yet?

 

[trog100]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

just for interest.. i live in the UK and we really might have different gas.. dunno.. we do call it by a different name.. he he.. and no one over here has heard of fuel stabilizer.. <br /><br />but when i bough my boat last year.. I/O.. it had sat in the water unused for three years with half a tank of gas.. the boat is an 1988 boat and has never been fitted with a fuel filter/water separator in its entire life..<br /><br />the plastic kicker motor tank also had gas in it dunno how old..<br /><br />it all got used without a problem.. either way i cant help thinking that fuel filter/water seperators cause more problems than they prevent and does gas really go bad after as little time as three months..?? mine dosnt seem to..<br /><br />also for interest i stripped my carb a couple of months back.. just cos i knew it was old.. in the bottom was a very thin layer of sediment.. the only filtering the seventeen year old carb has had is the fine gauze thng thats in the fuel line as it enters the fuel chamber..<br /><br />thinking about how many gallons of gas that must have gone thru that litle gauze filter during its life.. i cant help but feel that gas as we get it is very very clean stuff indeed..<br /><br />just my take on the subject.. he he..<br /><br />trog<br /><br />ps.. as for emptying your tank.. i dont think it matters either way..

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

your "petro" is probably different than our gas trog100. We have so many different mixing formulas, it's nucking futs.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Empty it and start out fresh next season.There will be nothing in the tank to make condensation.Charlie

 

[crab bait]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Originally posted by trog100:<br /> just for interest.. i live in the UK and we really might have different gas.. dunno.. we do call it by a different name.. he he.. and no one over here has heard of fuel stabilizer.. <br /><br />but when i bough my boat last year.. I/O.. it had sat in the water unused for three years with half a tank of gas.. the boat is an 1988 boat and has never been fitted with a fuel filter/water separator in its entire life..<br /><br />the plastic kicker motor tank also had gas in it dunno how old..<br /><br />it all got used without a problem.. either way i cant help thinking that fuel filter/water seperators cause more problems than they prevent and does gas really go bad after as little time as three months..?? mine dosnt seem to..<br /><br />also for interest i stripped my carb a couple of months back.. just cos i knew it was old.. in the bottom was a very thin layer of sediment.. the only filtering the seventeen year old carb has had is the fine gauze thng thats in the fuel line as it enters the fuel chamber..<br /><br />thinking about how many gallons of gas that must have gone thru that litle gauze filter during its life.. i cant help but feel that gas as we get it is very very clean stuff indeed..<br /><br />just my take on the subject.. he he..<br /><br />trog<br /><br />ps.. as for emptying your tank.. i dont think it matters either way..

well,, the cost of PETROL in the UK,, it should be better the the GAS in the US.. <br /><br />gas these days is pretty much junk an doesn't last long top-notch at all..<br /><br /> i really have no problems with an'oil filter type' filter/separater.. think they're GODsgift to OB's..imho.. <br /><br />there's a bad thing about 'empty'.. empty creates dirt an condensate.. <br /><br />i'd 'fill'er-up'.. an add stabil..<br /><br />good to go..

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Originally posted by crab bait:<br /> <br /><br />there's a bad thing about 'empty'.. empty creates dirt an condensate.. <br /><br /><br /> I have 2 things to say about your quote Crabbait,Wrong and Wrong !!

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Originally posted by crazy charlie:<br /> Empty it and start out fresh next season.There will be nothing in the tank to make condensation.Charlie

Nothing except for the humid air which might condense when the temp drops...<br /><br />Mark42, as you can see, this is kind of like asking an oil question. There's simply no answer. Everyone does it different, everyone is right, and everyone else is wrong. Good luck here...

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

You are also wrong C1C !! It is the liquid content that causes the condensation from the change in liquid to air temperature.Thats it !! An empty tank CANT get condensation,especially a plastic one.

 

[KilroyJC]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

<Off topic><br /><br />Mark42 - please contact me re: MFG hardtop contact number...

 

[Mark42]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I think I'll siphon it dry and see what shows up in the spring. Worst case is I have to siphon off some water. I just don't like the idea of gas sitting for 5 or 6 months, even with stabilizer. If some critter were to get in there and chew a hole in the tank, it would be a mess.<br />*****************************<br />KilroyJC,<br /><br />I got got your mail. Sent you a reply. Thanks so much.<br /><br />Mark.

 

[brownies]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I saw "not" pre mix and "kicker" in there somewhere....<br />Sounds like a fishing boat to me. <br />Don't empty it.<br />Just bundle up and grab a rod.

 

[brownies]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I saw "not" pre mix and "kicker" in there somewhere....<br />Sounds like a fishing boat to me. <br />Don't empty it.<br />Just bundle up and grab a rod.

 

[TerryH]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

From everything I have read and heard on the topic (which is a lot) I would top it off with fuel, Add a gas stabilizer, and run it for 15 minutes, then Fog the carburators till it stalls with an OMC rust preventative spray. Then remove the plugs and spray into each cyl. and rotate the engine a few revolutions. It's a good time to install new plugs, but if your old ones are still good, reinstall them. and your set.<br />Dont forget to change the oil in the lower unit!

 

[JRJ]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Just make sure water can't get in the tank over the winter

 

[imported_bjs]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

he dont have fuel stabilzer were he lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read read read

 

[Pony]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

racer what are you talking about....mark has it as he lives in the United States. I think you read the wrong part of the thread

 

[andymach23]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I was looking for a stabilizer in the UK. I googled and got this<br /><br /> http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8233 <br /><br />Its a stabilizer made by POR15 in the US. It looks very like stabil. Same colour and similar bottle. Haven't a clue what it's like.<br /><br />Briggs and Stratton do a stabilizer for lawn mowers. I picked some up locally.<br /><br />In the past I'ved used a Qucksilver stabilizer but I don't like it as bits collect in the bottom of the bottle as it sits.<br /><br />I asked about fuel stabilzer in my Yamaha dealer recently and got a blank look.<br /><br />I am the only guy in my marina who flushes my outboard. I'm definitely to only one looking to stabilize my fuel.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I remember reading an article from someone who tested the condensation supplying water in a gas tank. I was surprised to read that the test was unable to produce any substancial amount of water in a tank. If I remember right, the test showed that the amount of water that air can actually hold is small. Even a completely empty tank only produced a few drops of water under the most extreme conditions. Unlike the outdoors, where a cool surface has an unending amout of damp air passing over it depositing its moisture on the cool surface, the inside of a gas tank has a very limited amount of damp air available to it. Even with expansion and contraction of the air as temps fluctuate, only a small percentage of the air in the tank vents in and out. <br /><br />This is probably why my plastic fuel tanks in the garage and shed never have any water in them.<br /><br />At any rate, I'll siphon the tank, and let you know what I find in the spring.