Old Gas – Need Help

[jhild]

A prospective buyer is planning to have my boat surveyed sometime soon. In years past, the leftover gas from last year always seems to burn a little rough despite using stabilizer in the fall. My 3.0L is carbureted. The typical “rough” behavior occurs when I throttle up quickly. The motor will occasionally sputter a bit rather that accelerate smoothly. After the winter gas is gone, I don’t have this problem for the rest of the season. Is there any treatment I can add to the old gas that might prevent this from happening during the survey/sea trial? Can I siphon the old gas from the tank even with an anti-siphon valve? Thanks in advance for any helpful hints.

 

[fc3]

Once degraded, you can't restore the quality. You can siphon from the fill cap. E10 has a poor shelf life and is very difficult to stabilize. Many recommend storing empty.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Morpheus]

How much old gas is left? Maybe it's time for 1 last trip before you sell and burn that off? What about just adding a bunch of new gas?

 

[jhild]

Thanks for responding so quickly.

Frank - I followed several Store Empty vs. Store Full debates and decided to store full as I have in the past. If I can siphon from the fill cap, that sounds like the easiest solution.

Morpheus - That was my first thought as well. Unfortunately, my little 3.0L is so damn efficient, it would have to be one heck of a last voyage. (Not a bad thing, I suppose!)

Maybe the answer is to siphon what I can, burn what I can, and refill with fresh gas?