Gasoline - How long can you keep it in the boat?

[Offset]

I purchased my 1994 Donzi Classic 22 in October of 2010. It has a 454 magnum 365 horsepower (carb) engine. For a few reasons I was not able to get the boat in the water this year. When I bought the boat we took it for a run and with the boat still running we put Storage Seal through the system (ran 20 minutes or so on the return trip to the dock). We filled the tank afterwards with Shell 94, it took about 30 gallons to fill the tank so there was some gas in it already.

My question is can I keep the tank full and expect the boat to run in the spring of 2012? I am not sure how I would empty the tank or into what but I am looking for suggestions/advice on what to do with it.

As always any help would be appreciated.

[RockyS18]

The boat should run, but it won't run too well. The longer gasoline sits, the lower the octane rating gets since that stuff just dissolves over time. You could get the gas out by using a siphon and epmtying it out into a little gas tank. (I do that for cars, so I'm not sure if there's a difference on a boat)

[mattyboy]

It's better to add the additives then the gas then run the boat to make sure the they get through the entire system.. add a fuel stabilizer like stabil (red stuff) or the like and also add an ethanol treatment( or just use stabil blue stuff) to make sure the ethanol doesn't phase seperate. The discussion on fuel winterization has two basic schools of thought one fill and top off with treatments or run the system high and dry.

with a NON ethanol fuel i would agree top off and treat. with an ethanol fuel I would run high and dry. Phase seperation is far worse than the miniscule amount of water that might accumulate due to condesation.

I would just add some more fuel treatment to the 34 added gallons and run the boat. If it is laid up already I would take it for a spin on the trailer to atleast mix up the gas and treatments. syphoning can be a bit tricky with screens and anti syphon valves.put on new filters and seperator and you should be ok in the spring.

Think it was mrfix who has his electric fuel pump rigged to empty his tank. BE CAREFUL if you use any type of pump to try and pump it out the pump must be rated for flamable liquids.


hope that helps

[gcarter]

Matty makes good sense.
Chachy recently told me some 110 Octane racing fuel has some stabilizers in it that normal gasoline doesn't have. That would make sense if the fuel is stored in drums for longer periods of time.
Actually, he said adding some to the 2 stroke gas he has for his gardening tools will keep it from turning into gel. Maybe it would work for your boat.

[zelatore]

Phase separation. Man I hate when that happens. I've seen plenty of motors brought down by that, including my own Carver last year when I didn't put sta-bil in the fuel. My own mistake.

Volvo actually issued a statement a couple years ago saying they would quit paying warranty on fuel pumps killed by bad ethanol gas. The high pressure pumps on the injected motors were dying left, right, and center when laid up for the winter without stabilizer in the fuel.

I agree though, I think you'll be OK if you treat the fuel. It won't run the best on that old gas, but it should be OK. Wost case, you might evaporate the fuel out of the carb and have to break it down for cleaning next year, but I say the odds are better than even you'll be fine.

I do tend to agree that pumping the fuel out is the best option, but it's a PITA. I've done with a cheap parts store 12v 'ticker' pump and some hose. Pop off the inspection plate in the floor, hook up to the pick-up with a short piece of hose, then run a longer piece over the side to a jerry can. If the fuel is already old/suspect, I usually try to distribute/dilute it among all my cars/trucks/mower/log spliter/etc...anything that has at least a half tank of good gas and will get used semi-regularly.

[Ghost]

This seems like a good place/time to ask a few related questions. I have a big tank of gas available, 2 years old, with ethanol. It got plenty of both Startron (the blue stuff) and Sta-bil. Maybe 1.5 times the recipe per gallon, and was well mixed. I am pondering whether it would be possible to siphon(or pump) it out and use it.

If I did, I could run it through the remote Raycor fuel filter as I pumped it out. And I could ensure that filter had the ultra-fine, 2-micron cartridge when I did.

Once out, I'd be running the gas in a boat with old, carbureted motors.

Questions as follows:

1. Is it just a bad idea altogether? (Skip 2 and 4)
2. If not, should I be blending it with new gas rather than burning it straight up?
3. If blending it is the right answer, any notion of what ratio might make the most sense?
4. If I do it and if it harms something, is it basically limited to fuel pumps and carbs, or is there anything else to worry about?
5. Would a 10 micron filter be any worse for this experiment than a 2 micron filter, when I pump it out?
6. Any other thoughts or advice?

Thanks,

Mike

[mattyboy]

Ghost,
what does available mean? someone giving it to you? or is it a tank you have to deal with?
if it is free I would pass on it. If it is something you have to deal with or empty I would pump out small amounts and visually inspect it. you're looking for orange juice,water, and junk. use an inline filter on the pump or syphon hose and also double or triple up the screens in the portable gas can you dump the gas into . If it looks ok I would mix/blend at a 1 to 4 ratio . if I was filling up the car 25 gallons I would dump 5 old to 20 gallons new . As Zel said I would also mix it in with stuff like lawn mowers and leaf blowers as long as it will go in the tank and be burnt at once not lay around. I would not put old gas in a boat tank. the ethanol also breaks up junk in the tank and it loves old rubber.So I would make sure the fuel system is up to date especially the lines ,seals and hoses.