old gas-will it still be good?

boatman37

boatman37

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2015
4,255
pittsburgh
Boat Info
2006 Crownline 250CR. 5.7 Merc BIII
Previous: 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. 260 Merc Alpha 1 Gen 1
Engines
5.7 Merc BIII
Survey and sea trial scheduled for Wednesday. The boat has been sitting (winterized) for a few years. As far as I know it was last used the end of 2015 but the current owner thinks it was 2016. We were docked near them in 2015 and the marina closed and as far as I know they never put it back in. Anyway, the current owner thinks there is about 3/4 a tank of fuel. It was winterized by a local shop so I'm pretty sure it was fogged and stabilizer put in the fuel. Just wondering if there will be any issues with this fuel? Hoping it is a lot lower than 3/4 tank. Pretty sure the current owner filled it at the marina and it has the valvetech added.

Just hoping to not have problems on the sea trial. And the boat sat outside since it was pulled and is near Pittsburgh so cold weather if that matters.
 
+1 advice from sea buzz.

If you decide to “chance it,” do not do so without dumping sufficient amounts of Pri-G (or, Pri-D if diesel) in the tank.

Independent tests have verified that stuff starting military equipment after gas sat in the tanks for y-e-a-r-s.

The stuff is truly incredible...

 
Don’t try it in my opinion just replace it.
 
Don't even risk it! Change the fuel and all the filters.

Good luck and let us know how things go for you.
 
Your local marina or boat shop should be able to recommend a fuel polishing service who will pump out, polish and pump back the fuel.
 
boatman37 said:
Survey and sea trial scheduled for Wednesday. The boat has been sitting (winterized) for a few years. As far as I know it was last used the end of 2015 but the current owner thinks it was 2016. We were docked near them in 2015 and the marina closed and as far as I know they never put it back in. Anyway, the current owner thinks there is about 3/4 a tank of fuel. It was winterized by a local shop so I'm pretty sure it was fogged and stabilizer put in the fuel. Just wondering if there will be any issues with this fuel? Hoping it is a lot lower than 3/4 tank. Pretty sure the current owner filled it at the marina and it has the valvetech added.

Just hoping to not have problems on the sea trial. And the boat sat outside since it was pulled and is near Pittsburgh so cold weather if that matters.
Click to expand...
I had the same issue 3/4 tank of gas , boat sat for two years in my yard with stabilizer in. I chanced it and it started right up and it has been out running with no issues .
 
Thanks guys. Going to talk to the shop today. They said the boat will be ready for sea trial by the end of the day and they will have already had it running on muffs. Hopefully the seller is wrong and there isn't that much in there.
 
dont panic about the fuel and give it a try . i bet there will be no issues with the fuel .

what crownline are you looking at ?
 
If the tank is near full you'll have a better chance of no problems. With less than 3/4 tank condensation may become an issue. Good luck.
 
Our first boat sat for a year plus before we used it after purchase. We got 5 miles out and both gas engines stopped. Coast Guard towed us back. Marina mechanic changed out gas filters and sucked out water in tank. He also gave me some more filter and told me to change them after a few hours of running. Our jet boat sat for a few years without starting engine. It ran but; barley. I sucked out the gas and replaced it. The removed gas I used as fire starter in our fire pit. The gas burnt like oil. It had no volatility. We leave our cruiser full in the fall 300 gallons of gas and in the spring it is fine.
If you used the gas in the boat for sea test the performance may not be what you expect. Thus you can get it for less.
 
Well hopefully all goes well either way. It is a 2006 Crownline 250CR. It has a 75 gallon tank so if the seller is right there is probably 55 or so gallons in there.
 
I bet half the boats in my marina have fuel that old or older. I'm not saying not to be concerned about the age of fuel, but if gas was guaranteed to go bad in 3 years, SeaTow would need to quadruple the size of their fleet!
 
lol. i talked to the shop that winterized it and is storing it. they are the ones getting it ready. he said it had stabilizer added when it was winterized and was fogged. he isn't sure of the fuel though. he said they like to leave the tanks at about 1/4 then fill them up in the spring but the seller thinks there is about 3/4 tank in it. he said they would be adding more stabilizer before firing it up today. he sounded like they were prepared to pump it out if the needed to.
 
I am in the fuel business. If the fuel has NO water in it then it will be fine. If there was any way water got in there then replace it. Clean fuel does not just go bad.
 
shop called and said the boat started and sounded fine so we might be in luck. they did say it needed an impeller before we run it so they are doing that first thing in the morning.
 
I’d keep a couple of filters on hand just to be safe.
 
JVM225 said:
I’d keep a couple of filters on hand just to be safe.
Click to expand...
good idea. i think i have one from the last boat that i kept as a spare but i may have given it away when i sold it. have to look.
 
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