sad day season over

pulled the boat yesterday, docks and hoist today. will bring home for two weeks to clean and then off to storage.:(

question. the boat is on E , do i fill it full of gas or leave it empty for the season. Don't ethe hedge of the price of gas this year vs next.

fill it full and use stabil.
with the ethanol blend, you will get some condensation in the tank with any gas left. by filling it full, doesn't give anywhere for condensation to form.
done this the last 2 years and starts right up.

I'm holding out for one last 80deg day, but don't think it's going to happen. winterization scheduled for the 21st of october :(

for me it's a race to see whether my foot will heal in time for one final run (see wakeboard section "pulled out of my bindings" for pic of this fall); right now air temp 50-60 and water temp 65. On some level though it seems unnatural to install a wood burning stove and then go skiing in the same week :rolleyes:

I empty the tank, dump a gallon of stabil gas in, run it through the engine. In the spring, I empty the tank and start with fresh gas. In the spring, you'll see people moaning and groaning when they try using the old gas. I've been doing this for 18 years and no problem. When I look at the gas coming out in the spring the gas is a dark red versus an orange color and if there is water in the gas which I have never found then that comes out also. Either method, I would recommend pumping the gas out in the spring. People on other sites say some of the same things but they put the gas in another vehicle which won't make the issue any different for that vehicle unless they dilute it with good gas.

I was thinking since my tank is at like 1/4 now i would add stabilize and then in the spring add Supreme gas?

I hate to fill it and let it sit all off season and risk a tank of crappy gas.

never had an issue with bad gas in either 2 years of the boat, or 4 years of my street car that didn't get driven from november to march.
stabil helps the gas that's in the tank currently. you really need to fill it up to prevent condensation from forming. if you leave the tank empty, it will form. the reason air compressors have drains on them as well. go out and run a shop heater in a cold garage and look at the windows in a couple of hours.

save the cash on supreme as well. plenty of threads on only using 89 as the manual recommends. premium is a waste in any vehicle not force fed or high compression..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zabooda

I empty the tank, dump a gallon of stabil gas in, run it through the engine. In the spring, I empty the tank and start with fresh gas. In the spring, you'll see people moaning and groaning when they try using the old gas. I've been doing this for 18 years and no problem. When I look at the gas coming out in the spring the gas is a dark red versus an orange color and if there is water in the gas which I have never found then that comes out also. Either method, I would recommend pumping the gas out in the spring. People on other sites say some of the same things but they put the gas in another vehicle which won't make the issue any different for that vehicle unless they dilute it with good gas.

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I guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I've been putting my boat away for the winter with the tank full and Stabil added and I've never had issues come spring. Did this with my first boat (had it for 15 years) and on my current Moomba. So sounds like either way will work as long as you take the proper precautions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mmandley

I was thinking since my tank is at like 1/4 now i would add stabilize and then in the spring add Supreme gas?

I hate to fill it and let it sit all off season and risk a tank of crappy gas.

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Mike,

We have 10 to 15% eth in our gas. You want to fill it so the eth will not collect water into the tank. By having a full tank it will not allow as much water into the system.

Cab I think we are in the same boat (no pun intended). Any moisture that condenses in the tank is pumped out in the spring with the old gas with my method. I also replace the fuel filter each spring so the tank is dry and a new filter. Each spring when I pump out the gas, I look for debris in the gas from the filter and I look for water and I see none. You fill up the tank and add stabil which will reduce the amount of water in the tank but I don't trust the old gas chemically so having to burn it in a duluted concentration in my vehicles would take a while. I see more issues each spring with the gas and I think the gas manufactorers are changing the mix all the time and causing problems with long term storage.

OK cool, when i take it to get winterized later this month ill fill it up on the way home and drop in some Stabil and pack her away for the winter.

I'm going to get some of those buckets of moisture absorb and put those in the boat, remove all the seats and gear, remove the batteries, put the cover on and saran wrap the edges of the cover and the tower feet so saw dust and other dirt doesn't get inside from working in the garage.

I expect to unpack the boat in Feb and start my winter projects and summerize again in April.