Fuel tanks - full or empty for the winter?

The first year of E-10 I went EMPTY. All was fine in the spring. Last fall I went FULL. Paid $3.03 in the fall of '07! So I agree with what Dominic said...

This spring, '08, the best investment in my entire portfolio was the fuel I put in my tanks the fall of '07.
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This fall I stored full again but made a trip out of it. Drove about 5 miles at cruise speed, waited for a stupid draw bridge, topped off (overflow and all) for $3.79 and took a leisurely final ride back to the marina at trawler-speed. That leg of the trip burned 5.1 gallons on the flowscans and will prevent the spillage from expansion.

I have been adding Startron at every fuel up since E-10 reared it's ugly head and have had no problems thus far, even with my old girl!
 
Great thread, hear is a twist. We store indoor heated ( Min. 50 degrees ) Dealer service center. We have always kept her 9/10's full with stabil fuel treatment. I respect your input, any pros or cons would be great.
 
If you boat is not subject to temperature & humidity swings, then condensation and water build up is a non-issue for you. You have the choice of topping off or storing low. Your decidion now becomes one driven by economics -do you hedge against higher prices in the spring by topping off now, or do you expect fuel prices to drop this winter leading you to store near MT????? Either way, put in your stabilizer of choice to minimize degradation of the stupid ethanol.
 
Yeah. . the last two winters I have gone both ways. First year, I topped up before hauling.

Last year, it was late November. It was pouring (cold) rain and all the local fuel docks were closed. The tanks were 1/3 full. No ill effects in the spring.

Oh. . and since my boat is stored at the house and launched via ramp -> I was able to fill up at a local gas station in the spring (which is not an option during the season).

This year. . .I suppose I am planning to NOT tank up prior to hauling. I think I will fill the tanks at a gas station on the way home. . . as a fuel hedge.
 
Well we are at 1/2 on both tanks today. The marina just dropped from 4.20 to 3.50 in one day and I have two weks left. Looks like I'll wait till the end ( Nov. 1st ) to fill her to 9/10 for storage. Just waiting for the temp to rise a bit more and I'll wash her up before we head out, Nice fall day here in Wisconsin. Thanks for your input.
Mike
 
I have always stored full and have used the red stabil. I has happy this spring to have 100 gallons of gas to start the season :)
I do not like the idea of condensation building on the walls of my gas tank all winter. I have done this w/3 boats over the last ten years and never had any problems with my first start up in the spring or the first tank of gas. My theory is - it works for me, why change it.
 
I store inside....This year i used up all my fuel so over the winter I can slowly siphon diesel out of others peoples boats and leave the bulding with two full taknks of fuel ($1,200.00 value)...kidding..I store 90% full......
 
General recommendation is to stabilize the gas and store the boat with the gas tanks at least 75% full, better full. But be aware ... if you top them off in the fall and on a cold day, run the boat to use up about 5-10 gal. That way they won't overflow and ruin your striping or decals and yellow your hull when a warm weather spurt sets in during the winter and the fuel expands. This is probably not a concern in Northern climates, but here in the South we had 70F on New Years day att imes when it was in the teeens and twenties before. That temperature will surely overflow a tank that was topped of around 32F.
 
I'm out of the water at at 1/8 tank. The marina was still at $3.85 per gallon but pump price on the street is $2.69. On 80-90 gallons, that's a lot of money to save. Someone told me that some marina's truck in a "winter blend" of fuel hence the higher price but someone could be pulling my leg. I was going to go to a local station who advertises low ethanol (if that's truly the case) and top off before winterizing and storing. Any advise about street fuel vs. dock fuel?
 
Recommendations per the Sea Ray Living magazine I just received.

"We recommend fuel tanks be at least three quarters full. The more head space and air in the fuel tank, the faster the fuel will destabilize, which causes gum in carburetors and injectors and condensation buildup. Condensation cause corrosion and, in the case of diesel fuel, bacteria and sludge."

Historically I haven't topped off the tank but with this recommnedation and gas at $2.70 I think I will do it this year.
 
Any advise about street fuel vs. dock fuel?
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Yeah! If you are fortunate to be able to drive your boat to a land based gas station DO SO WHENEVER POSSIBLE!
 
rondds said:
Yeah! If you are fortunate to be able to drive your boat to a land based gas station DO SO WHENEVER POSSIBLE!
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Shell is the only vendor that doesn't have 15% alcohol blends.. Your marina may have non-blended gas which may be worth the premium??
 
dan,
I'm not sure anyone has the blend at this point. One of the reasons our gas has gone below $3 per gallon is because they are no longer required to use the ethanol blend at this time of year!
 
I ALWAYS fill my boat up with street gas and have never had a problem with fuel. She starts every time :)

I just filled my tank at $2.62 and loving every minute of it! I also filled-up my 10 spare 6 gallon tanks (my rainy day supply). I keep extra fuel around ever since we lost power here in the North-East for 3 days. We lost power on a Thursday afternoon (in 90+ degree heat mind you) and it didn't go back on until Saturday night. Since it was the end of the week, a lot of people didn't have full tanks of gas in their cars and couldn't go anywhere if they needed/wanted to. Most of my neighbors didn't even have water stored to drink. Kind of makes you think....

Anyway, I always have a stash of fuel sitting around and have NEVER experienced any issues with bad gas and I don't use stabilizer. A good friend of mine works for Exxon/Mobile and he told me that the shelf life for gas is 1 year+. I typically rotate my fuel supply every 6-8 months for good measure.

My vote is Tanks Full, No Stabilizer.............
 
I store with the boat 3/4 full- add some Diesel Kleen into the tanks and then change the fuel filters in the spring AFTER spring launch and running the boat once or twice. Seems to work for us. I agree with Dom - I used up that "cheap fuel" from fall of '07 right away in spring of '08- I hope that this Fall's Diesel @ $4.07 (last fill) isn't next years "cheap fuel" come spring....
 
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