Dreaded topic (winterization)

boatman37

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2015
4,211
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
So I will probably be pulling our boat in a week or two. A little early but son is getting married in October and we will be busy. So I currently have about 1/4 tank of Valvetech ethanol free fuel in it. I store it in an underground mine with alot of humidity and must have less than 1/4 tank of fuel. I have a plastic tank. So in the past I have used E10 fuel with Star Tron. Should I use Star Tron with the ethanol free? Or anything else? I will fog it when winterizing but as far as the fuel in the tank anything special?
 
Guessing it won't be put away for long.. 4-5 mos? I would just top it off with the same ethanol free and not worry about the fuel. The tank doesn't breath much when full and the fuel wont even think of going bad in that window.
 
Why 1/4 tank? We usually put ours away full. Keeps the condensation down.
 
A week or two; heck, run it dry. That or as Golfman said, fill that puppy up. One or the other. That's the way we store airplanes dependign on impending storage times.
 
Guessing it won't be put away for long.. 4-5 mos? I would just top it off with the same ethanol free and not worry about the fuel. The tank doesn't breath much when full and the fuel wont even think of going bad in that window.

I would bet at least 6 months, (oct,nov,dec,Jan,feb,march).

I start here in central illinois early April, but that's dicey with the weather

I would treat it with what's left in the tank, then fill with fresh fuel in the spring
 
I always top off. Keeps condensing at bay and i don't have to fight for pole position come spring time to fill up.
 
IMG_4230.JPG
We have always used Stabil and stored full with ethanol free fuel. Never a problem.
 
Not allowed to fill it up. Rules are 1/4 tank or less and no batteries. It's underground storage in an old mine. We have always kept our boats there but always used Star Tron and never had an issue. Just wasn't sure if I needed it with the ethanol free. Guess it wouldn't hurt to add some anyway?
 
Not allowed to fill it up. Rules are 1/4 tank or less and no batteries. It's underground storage in an old mine. We have always kept our boats there but always used Star Tron and never had an issue. Just wasn't sure if I needed it with the ethanol free. Guess it wouldn't hurt to add some anyway?

I would add stabil at least. I don't use Star Tron. Modern gasolines break down fairly quickly so its stabilizer that you want. If you are worried about moisture accumulating because of the 1/4 fill requirement, nothing you add in the fall will prevent that. So you are probably better off waiting till spring to add anything that removes water.
 
I fill mine with Non-Ethanol and 1oz per gallon of Sea Foam. Never had a problem and it gets well below zero for weeks and mine usually sits for 9 months. I imagine Startron and Stabil are just as good.

In the Spring you may want to add Heat or some other isopropyl product to disburse any moisture just in case of condensation and maybe after your first tank you run through, dump out your fuel filter.

Just winterized the Sara Belle Friday:(
 
IMG_4230.JPG
Not allowed to fill it up. Rules are 1/4 tank or less and no batteries. It's underground storage in an old mine. We have always kept our boats there but always used Star Tron and never had an issue. Just wasn't sure if I needed it with the ethanol free. Guess it wouldn't hurt to add some anyway?
If you've not had issues in the past, keep doing what you are doing. Ethanol free gasoline line easily lasts through the winter in a controlled environment. I suspect your storage temps are very stable which is good. Any fuel treatment from a quality manufacturer will be added insurance. I suggested Stabil because I've used it for decades with no fuel issues. The other thing that is important is to buy fuel from a good source (clean tanks) that sells high volumes of ethanol free gas so you are buying fresh product. Our marinas receive several shipments of fuel per month supplied by a tank farm that is less than a mile from their locations. We know the fuel is fresh.
 
We have an ethanol free pump at a local station so not sure how much it gets used but last time I got it at the fuel dock so probably pretty fresh.
I had not had issues until this boat but it sat outside for 3 years with about 20 gallons of old gas and no o-ring on the gas cap. I siphoned all the fuel and rebuilt the carb. Since then I have only put ethanol free in it because it was getting close to the end of season and I didn't wany ANY ethanol in it over the winter.

Went out today and only have a little over 1/4 tank in it now. Thinking of maybe just siphoning it all out after I winterize/fog it and just using that fuel in my truck then in the spring see if there is any moisture in it to siphon then start fresh? Overkill? Or just add stabilizer to the 1/4 tank and forget it?

The underground storage is a constant 55* but very humid. The have a climate controlled side that stays at 65* and low humidity. Been on the waiting list for that since before last winter. Might be able to get in there this winter but will be close. If not will get it next year for sure.

Pretty sure I'm being too paranoid here but after having to be towed in this year I don't want to take any chances...lol
 
I would just treat it, all that siphoning, you can't get it all, so you need to treat it regardless.
 
After water in the gas tank issues last year I pumped a sample of non oxy premium to set aside occasionally viewing it for changes. It’s a full year old and endured -30 f to + 99 f
Just sitting on the shelf. It sees sun and most weather too. It shows no phase separation or changes. All marinas here in Minn sell just this 91 octane non oxy premium. There is no ethanol gas unless you use in your trailer boat.

However it get really wet here on the waterfront. I live on my boat year around. By about 7:00pm now the condensation starts both outside the boat and inside. The canvas enclosed cockpit area is wet all night both sides untll several hours after sunup.

I run my AC on cool, heat or dehumidify 24/7. The cabin stays about 50-55 %rh. I can make it less but it actually feels cold as the skin moisture evaporates.

So moisture gets in the fuel tank whether you like it or not.
You can strip some moisture out of non oxy premium by carefully adding measured 98% alcohol. It’s just too much screwing around for me. I just pull up the aft berth mattress and remove the tank sending unit and pump out the bottom of the tank once a year.

I take extreme fire prevention by grounding everything and using vented caps overboard. Even the sending unit has a port now that I use. I’ve thought about a semi automatic system but thats another day. I have both dry chem and CO2 fire extinguishers very close by.

This year I’ve seen at least half a dozen big boats on the “rope” . One neighbor had both motors quit while docking in our narrow pier margin. It took three of us to pull him back in to the slip against the current.
 
Yeah I have a blank plug near the rear of my tank and the sending unit under the aft mattress. I used both to siphon fuel using my oil change extractor. Pretty easy. I had the tank completely empty except maybe a few tablespoons when I was having trouble. Right now I have about 1/4 tank of Valvetech ethanol free in it and will probably be pulling it out this weekend.

We stored our Sea Ray 3 seasons like this with regular pump fuel in it (E10) and a bottle of Star Tron and never had any issues. Just want to make sure we don't have anymore issues with this one next spring. Hope to make some longer trips on it next year but if we have trouble early on I'll have a hard time convincing my wife to do the longer trips
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,865
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top