Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

trog100

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
751
Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Any C Mac.. i am the only guy in my marina that worries about his engine freezing no one else does.. <br /><br />i am also probably the only guy in my marina that reads this place.. he he..<br /><br />tell u one thing for what its worth.. i bought my boat quite cheaply last year.. i bought it before i became a regular reader of this place.. in essence i bought it in total ignorance of all the nasty (expensive) boaty things tha could be wrong with it.. knowing what i now know would i have bought the boat..<br /><br />probably not.. sometimes ignorance really can work in your favour cos its a nice boat and is now worth about three times what i paid for it..<br /><br />and sometimes the more u know the more complicated life gets.. he he.. my marina is full of happy but mostly ignorant boaters.. go figure..<br /><br />trog<br /><br />ps.. and there definitely aint a one of them that has to worry about wether or not its best to empty his gas tank or leave it half empty - full or whatever.. gas going bad.. never heard of that.. and gas costing what it does in this country there aint a one of em that would dream of filling his gas tank just to stop possible condensation.. as for throwing the stuff away.. jeesh.. he he he<br /><br />when u pay as much for gas as we do.. the cost of a new engine pales into insignificance compared to the cost of the gas that passes thru it.. it costs me about a pound a mile (1.8 dollars) to run my little 20 foot boat.. do a 100,000 mile comparison to the life of a car engine.. 100.000 pound or 180.000 dollars for gas per engine..<br /><br />kinda makes u think or it does me anyways.. he he
 

Richard Petersen

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
Messages
778
Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

I am with Trogg. I boat in the ST. Lawrence River. Keep the tank full all winter in freezing winters with thaws. OB and I/O. Never used anything but pump gas. All always start and run perfect. FEAR,FEAR! Gotta have the latest gimmick. Get over that hype. Your car never needs crap, in the winter. Running or stored. What is so different between a 5.0 L chevy in a boat or in a car????? Get real. Even before cars had pressure gas caps.
 

Pony

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jun 27, 2004
Messages
4,355
Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

you guys have obviously never run an outboard on truly bad gas, or had a really varnished carb. I'm sorry but pump gas alone over the coarse of a winter will go bad. I usually dont top off, but thats only because all the gas around me is reformulated and I cant use it in my outboard ( i dont want to at least), but i will always add stabil. If you think that its going to start just as easily or run as well without adding stabil, you are badly ,mistaken.
 

Richard Petersen

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
Messages
778
Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Poney might be right IF the place he gets gas from has bad tanks or buys the stones at the bottom of the storage tanks.
 

Scaaty

Vice Admiral
Joined
May 31, 2004
Messages
5,180
Re: Should I empty the gas tank for winter?

Originally posted by Mark42:<br /> At any rate, I'll siphon the tank, and let you know what I find in the spring.
It would not hurt to use some Marvel Mystery Oil in the appropriate amount for what gas you will put in come spring (4 oz to 10 gallons). Mix it with a gallon of fresh stabiled gas, toss it in and slosh it around. I always run MMO mix in my 90 gallon tank to prevent rusting/corrosion. And just put a piece of $.35 roll of electrical tape over the vent.
 
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