Gasoline shelf life

[Olderndirt2]

I recognize there are many variables!

Our patio boat has been in storage for 18 to 24 months and has probably 10 gal. in the 14 gal. tank. Temps ranged from 32-110. Gotta be a lot of condensation, for sure.

Logically, I tell myself to dump it. Any way to salvage this mess?

Only reason I'm asking this is because I don't want use the redneck credit card system to siphon the gas out.(I know I've got gas, but I don't want any with a gasoline taste.) I've tried West Marine and local boat shops in hopes of buying a non-electrical  type of siphon pump, with no luck.

[donsrods]

I work in the Service Dept of a Marina, and fuel has become our number one problem. Half of our business comes from some sort of fuel contamination issue. Gasoline today is not what it was 5 years ago, and not only turns to varnish quickly, but it loses octane points faster, too.

Don't even think about it, dump the fuel. You risk plugging up your carbs and netting yourself a hefty repair bill to have them rebuilt. You can also lean out cylinders and fry pistons.

We get customers all the time who lay up their boat for 3 to 6 months, and when they try to use them they will idle, but won't take gas under load. Classic symptom of jets that are varnished up. Fuel additives don't touch the stoppage, either. You have to disassemble them and soak them, then rebuild each one.

Some of our customers are so hard headed that we go through all of that and they pay us from $ 300 to $ 600, then they hook up the same old fuel tank to the engine and plug it up again. So the next week they are back for another high bill.

Use your primer bulb to start the fuel flowing, (I assume you have an outboard?) and suck all of it out of the tank. Then refill with clean gas and try it. Depending on how you stored the boat, you may already be screwed. Then it is time to rebuild the carbs.

If you don't have a problem, put some good additive like Yamaha Ring Free in the tank and through usage it will actually improve the way it runs.


Good luck.


Don

[Sean]

I just got my F100 running again after setting for a little over a year. It had 1/4 tank of gas in it and it ran fine when I took it out on the road. I drove it about ten miles, if there was any water in it, it must not have been enough to hurt anything.

18 to 24 months is probably a different story though. They sell a siphon hose for aquariums that has a squeeze-bulb on it kind of like a blood pressure tester. I don't think they're very expensive, surely one would last long enough on gasoline to get one tank emptied.

[34ford]

I've tried West Marine and local boat shops in hopes of buying a non-electrical  type of siphon pump, with no luck.

Go to a hardware store and get one of the pumps that they use to fuel kerosene heaters with. Usually they stick into a 5 gallon can and have a hand pump or siphon bulb on then to pump the kerosene out of the can into the heater.  

bob

[Olderndirt2]

Many thanks to all, very helpful.

[Olderndirt2]

I work in the Service Dept of a Marina, and fuel has become our number one problem. Half of our business comes from some sort of fuel contamination issue. Gasoline today is not what it was 5 years ago, and not only turns to varnish quickly, but it loses octane points faster, too.

Don't even think about it, dump the fuel. You risk plugging up your carbs and netting yourself a hefty repair bill to have them rebuilt. You can also lean out cylinders and fry pistons.

We get customers all the time who lay up their boat for 3 to 6 months, and when they try to use them they will idle, but won't take gas under load. Classic symptom of jets that are varnished up. Fuel additives don't touch the stoppage, either. You have to disassemble them and soak them, then rebuild each one.

Some of our customers are so hard headed that we go through all of that and they pay us from $ 300 to $ 600, then they hook up the same old fuel tank to the engine and plug it up again. So the next week they are back for another high bill.

Use your primer bulb to start the fuel flowing, (I assume you have an outboard?) and suck all of it out of the tank. Then refill with clean gas and try it. Depending on how you stored the boat, you may already be screwed. Then it is time to rebuild the carbs.

If you don't have a problem, put some good additive like Yamaha Ring Free in the tank and through usage it will actually improve the way it runs.


Good luck.


Don

Hey, Don!

Is it possible or probable that my tank will be fatally contaminated and should not be used?

[donsrods]

Probably not. There may be some varnish in there, but once you pump the tank out and put fresh in it, you should be fine.  Just as a little insurance, you may want to add one of the "water  seperating fuel filters" that have a filter that spins on like an oil filter. Actually, every boat should have one anyway, as the ones that the motor manufacturers put on are pretty lame.

All you need to do is select a nice mounting spot back on the transom, and bolt or screw the base on. Then cut your existing fuel hose (doesn't matter if the primer bulb is before or after the filter) and insert the filter into the middle of the cut out sections.

If you experience any bogging after you get the boat running, it is probably varnish in the carb(s), and if you are handy, they can sometimes be cleaned by taking apart and spraying gumout carb cleaner, or similar, into the inside, and then blowing out the jets with compressed air.

You may just luck out with a fuel change, though. It happens sometimes.

Hope it does in your case.


Don

[Olderndirt2]

Probably not. There may be some varnish in there, but once you pump the tank out and put fresh in it, you should be fine.  Just as a little insurance, you may want to add one of the "water  seperating fuel filters" that have a filter that spins on like an oil filter. Actually, every boat should have one anyway, as the ones that the motor manufacturers put on are pretty lame.

All you need to do is select a nice mounting spot back on the transom, and bolt or screw the base on. Then cut your existing fuel hose (doesn't matter if the primer bulb is before or after the filter) and insert the filter into the middle of the cut out sections.

If you experience any bogging after you get the boat running, it is probably varnish in the carb(s), and if you are handy, they can sometimes be cleaned by taking apart and spraying gumout carb cleaner, or similar, into the inside, and then blowing out the jets with compressed air.

You may just luck out with a fuel change, though. It happens sometimes.

Hope it does in your case.


Don

Thank you, SIR!

[donsrods]

You are welcome. Good luck.


Don

[abonecoupe31]

I've got a cherry 1953 Military Dodge M 37 weapons carrier...the GI version of the Dodge Power Wagon, straight six flathead, and very low gears.  It sat for 8 years with gas in the tank, about 8 gallons.   Back in '03, when I was going to get it fired up and running again, I started to drain the tank.  Uncle Sam provided a nice drain system at the bottom of the tank, just crack it open with a wrench.

When I started to drain the tank, my buddy Doug, Gearhead Extraordinaire, told me to shut it off.  This is up on Beaver Isalnd, MI, where gas is a buck a gallon more than any other place in the world.  He said that it didn't smell any different than what they were selling downtown.  There was no water in the tank, probably because I'd kept dry gas in it.

We pulled it around the yard with the Ferguson tractor a half a dozen times, the amp meter showed that it was charging the two batteries, and after popping the clutch, it fired right up.  It still needed some choke, because the low speed jets were varnished up a bit.  After a bit of running, it cleared out enough to run with the choke off.

I know that I was lucky in this case.  I had planned on having to put fresh gas in the tank.  I've never used Stabil, some of my friends swear by that.   I've always added alcohol to the tanks of my vehicles that were in extended storage.

[38HAULR]

Looks like you guys,have the same probs we have in Australia.The petrol[gasolene] does not have the 'shelf life" it used to have,also the octanes seem to be all over the place,pinging on warm days if you happen to buy from the "wrong' outlet.,.I have a 66 Mustang  289 powered that came from the States Jan 04. This used to ping badly when nailed,interesting when I looked at the dizzy fitted with a "Pertronix ignitor," points substitute system.I was getting over total advance on the mechanical system alone,the dizzy had one heavy spring that had plenty of free play in it,s connection.,so essentially to me was doing nothing.I replaced this with a lighter spring that was taking up tension,and set the mechanical advance to specs ,then adjusted the vac advance to specs,so total advance came within spec. So I do not know what fuel this was set to run on in the States.The current solution to fuel probs to me is to go solely on LPG[liquid petroleum gas] I think you guys call it propane. This stuff is cheap and plentiful here and is around 110 Octane. I am currently building a 38 Chev PU. 350/350 to run solely on LPG to get out of the now expensive crappy fuel rut. Our gasoline is hitting $1.40 AUD a litre,the LPG is bouncing between 45c to 59c a litre.........Frank.