The advise is to entirely empty tanks or full, no in betweens.
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/boatus/200911/#/66
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/boatus/200911/#/66
E10 in Winter
- Thread starter BobP
- Start date
I haven't done either yet in many seasons and have had no problems in the spring. My tank is about 3/4 full this year. We will see in April.
I know I've said this 1000 times. It is very difficult to empty a tank. You don't want to be at sea with a very small load. You don't want to sit on land and burn off 20 or more gallons. I don't want to drain the tank and even if i did using the fuel line, there would still be several gallons on the bottom. I am not going to open the sender plate and pump out the tank.
I am not going to fill my tank to the brim and risk overflow from heating or having fuel sit in the fill and vent hoses all winter.
Have you been inside a wrapped boat in the fall and felt how warm it is on a cold but sunny day?
So I doubt a lot of boaters completely empty their tanks or completely fill their tanks.
I would rather add Stabil for the winter and then add fresh gas in the spring.
I know I've said this 1000 times. It is very difficult to empty a tank. You don't want to be at sea with a very small load. You don't want to sit on land and burn off 20 or more gallons. I don't want to drain the tank and even if i did using the fuel line, there would still be several gallons on the bottom. I am not going to open the sender plate and pump out the tank.
I am not going to fill my tank to the brim and risk overflow from heating or having fuel sit in the fill and vent hoses all winter.
Have you been inside a wrapped boat in the fall and felt how warm it is on a cold but sunny day?
So I doubt a lot of boaters completely empty their tanks or completely fill their tanks.
I would rather add Stabil for the winter and then add fresh gas in the spring.
Seasick, just what the BOATUS article reads, can't practically fully drain tank, so tank up.
Tank-up means full tank with room for expansion otherwise fuel will push out vents when it gets warm(er). Been there done that.
Depends too how late boat comes out, and how soon boat goes back in water and starts being used to take on new fuel, some don't go back until until July 4th, others March 15th.
And make sure O ring seals at caps are clean and good, absolutely no leaks.
Tank-up means full tank with room for expansion otherwise fuel will push out vents when it gets warm(er). Been there done that.
Depends too how late boat comes out, and how soon boat goes back in water and starts being used to take on new fuel, some don't go back until until July 4th, others March 15th.
And make sure O ring seals at caps are clean and good, absolutely no leaks.
I did an informal survey at my club today. I asked two boaters!
One said " I leave the tank empty" I asked how he managed to do that and he said "Empty is 20 or 30 galons in the tank"
The second person was an old-timer. He said " I always fill it up and add 3 cans of dry gas, 40 years and no problems"
On the way out a third fellow was adding Stabil to his gas. The boat has been hauled and blocked for two weeks already. I mentioned that the stabil wasn't going to get distributed into the carbs, filters and even the whole tank perhaps. He just shrugged his shoulders.
So, I guess there are all kings of theories and practices.
One said " I leave the tank empty" I asked how he managed to do that and he said "Empty is 20 or 30 galons in the tank"
The second person was an old-timer. He said " I always fill it up and add 3 cans of dry gas, 40 years and no problems"
On the way out a third fellow was adding Stabil to his gas. The boat has been hauled and blocked for two weeks already. I mentioned that the stabil wasn't going to get distributed into the carbs, filters and even the whole tank perhaps. He just shrugged his shoulders.
So, I guess there are all kings of theories and practices.
seasick said:
you should not be using Drygas with e-10. it's alcohol and exacerbates the problem.
Dry gas does the same as ethanol does. He added a meaningless amount - considering 10% of the tank is already ethanol.
Dry gas combines with the traditional gas and also combines with water so the water gets off the bottom of the tank back into solution and burned. Or out of laying in the bottom of car fuel lines/carbs, etc., where it can expand while freezing and block flow. That's why we all used it in the winter.
That is, a certain amount of water it can readmit.
Today, there can no longer be water (only) at the bottom of gas tanks with E10, it will be water combined with ethanol should phase separation occur. And that combination (per BOATUS article), is very corrosive.
That explains (to me) the corrosion occuring in VST tanks, pumps, injectors, etc.
Up in the northeast here fall and winter is very dry of humidity, it's the spring into the summer when it can get very humid - that's when the condensation inside tank walls can be more prevalent along with E10 absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.
My racors can't seperate water from E10.
If the phase seperated fuel does occur and reach the suction lines, I expect to see a darker color in my racor bowls since it will sink in a fuel column.
If anyone is adding Stabil and they miss the chance to add it before fueling, they can mix the full amount in a 3 gallon or so fuel container and pour it in fast, the splashing about and the driving flow will mix good enough.
The article also mentioned the NFPA (nat fire protection agency) calls for full fuel tank storage, that's a fire safety thing but may prompt some concerns to not conflict in alternate advise, to avoid lawsuits.
My boat comes home for the winter with just enough gas to get our last licks in, then in Dec/Jan, I'll use the 30 gallons worth of fuel containers I have to fill up from local car station, which gives me fresh fuel at a considerable discount vs. marine pump pricing.
What we all need to avoid is phase separation, if phase seperation doesn't occur, no problems with the dissolved water being burned, within E10 fuel.
Dry gas combines with the traditional gas and also combines with water so the water gets off the bottom of the tank back into solution and burned. Or out of laying in the bottom of car fuel lines/carbs, etc., where it can expand while freezing and block flow. That's why we all used it in the winter.
That is, a certain amount of water it can readmit.
Today, there can no longer be water (only) at the bottom of gas tanks with E10, it will be water combined with ethanol should phase separation occur. And that combination (per BOATUS article), is very corrosive.
That explains (to me) the corrosion occuring in VST tanks, pumps, injectors, etc.
Up in the northeast here fall and winter is very dry of humidity, it's the spring into the summer when it can get very humid - that's when the condensation inside tank walls can be more prevalent along with E10 absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.
My racors can't seperate water from E10.
If the phase seperated fuel does occur and reach the suction lines, I expect to see a darker color in my racor bowls since it will sink in a fuel column.
If anyone is adding Stabil and they miss the chance to add it before fueling, they can mix the full amount in a 3 gallon or so fuel container and pour it in fast, the splashing about and the driving flow will mix good enough.
The article also mentioned the NFPA (nat fire protection agency) calls for full fuel tank storage, that's a fire safety thing but may prompt some concerns to not conflict in alternate advise, to avoid lawsuits.
My boat comes home for the winter with just enough gas to get our last licks in, then in Dec/Jan, I'll use the 30 gallons worth of fuel containers I have to fill up from local car station, which gives me fresh fuel at a considerable discount vs. marine pump pricing.
What we all need to avoid is phase separation, if phase seperation doesn't occur, no problems with the dissolved water being burned, within E10 fuel.
ElyseM said:
Try explaining that to old salts that have been doing it for 40 years.... In the scheme of things, it doesn't really make a big difference. In a 100 gal tank you have 10 gals of alcahol (E10). To that he added 3 pints of drygas.
Gman25
GreatGrady Captain
Been storing full with stabilizer and startron/ringfree since 1990(E10 since 2002ish) and never had a fuel issue...and I will be doing the same whenever I deal with E10.The boat is stored from Dec. till mid March.
Kept mine "full" for all my years boating and never had a problem. On my last trip out i fill up before i double the dose on Startron take a ride of about 15-20 miles, come back to the dock, run fresh water (do that ALL the time anyway) with saltaway in my motors then call the guy to PULL me by the lift with my motors in the down position for the rest of the lay up period. She gets a special place in a heated storage room at my marina 
REEL SOON
please take the t-shark picture out of sig
it makes me mad at these guys are taken out of ocean
please take the t-shark picture out of sig
it makes me mad at these guys are taken out of ocean
JUST-IN-TIME said:
LOL...Are you kidding me... that shark was delicious!!!
Find another cause!!!
Excellent table fare. Thresher and Mako Sharks have seperate urinary tracks, so they don't piss through the skin like other sharks after you kill them. Excellent on the grill. The shark in my signature was the first fish I caught when I got my Grady, hard fighting, it rammed the side of my boat after it figured out it was hooked. Also, it was the only Thresher since.
Neptune will find you one day on the water, and you will not like what he does
I fish for sharks all the time, just never bring them aboard or pics
we used to do the shark tourney all the time in montauk, for many many years when i was a kid. we placed in the top 5 yearly, captain OTTO was the man!
I fish for sharks all the time, just never bring them aboard or pics
we used to do the shark tourney all the time in montauk, for many many years when i was a kid. we placed in the top 5 yearly, captain OTTO was the man!
No matter your technique for winterizing (empty tank, full tank, etc), I think the #1 consideration is to have at least one spare fuel filter onboard per fuel line.
In the event you do encounter water issues in your fuel, your fuel filter will get fouled. Having a replacement onboard can get you out of a jamb.
Cheers,
Rhumbline
PS Agree - shark makes excellent table fare.
In the event you do encounter water issues in your fuel, your fuel filter will get fouled. Having a replacement onboard can get you out of a jamb.
Cheers,
Rhumbline
PS Agree - shark makes excellent table fare.
I'm the Op on this one, I have something to say -
Big difference between catching and thowing in trash vs. consuming.
The Montauk Star Island YC shark tournaments have been protested by certain groups, I believe the sharks weighed in are cut up and distributed free to (a) local food bank/kitchen for the less fortunate. They are caught and not trashed as garbage.
This shark is both a game fish, and edible.
When I was a kid surf fishing, when sea robbins and dogfish came up, horseshoe crabs, we threw them to die on the beach and be collected as trash, so as not to have to hook them again. I'd never do that today. At least the first two are edible.
I'm more of a catch and release guy myself, but either way, that's why we have creed limits etc, to manage and sustain the resource for us to fish for game, fish to eat, and do both forever for all generations to come.
I do have a problem with those who always must "limit out" and feed the neighbors the fish since way more than they as a family could ever eat, or even worse for those who don't even eat fish at all and give it all away or sell it w/o a liscense.
If the nonfisherman neighbors want to eat fish, let them buy farm raised fish. You can catch and release, and feed the neighbors one meal a year as a gift, of your catch.
Big difference between catching and thowing in trash vs. consuming.
The Montauk Star Island YC shark tournaments have been protested by certain groups, I believe the sharks weighed in are cut up and distributed free to (a) local food bank/kitchen for the less fortunate. They are caught and not trashed as garbage.
This shark is both a game fish, and edible.
When I was a kid surf fishing, when sea robbins and dogfish came up, horseshoe crabs, we threw them to die on the beach and be collected as trash, so as not to have to hook them again. I'd never do that today. At least the first two are edible.
I'm more of a catch and release guy myself, but either way, that's why we have creed limits etc, to manage and sustain the resource for us to fish for game, fish to eat, and do both forever for all generations to come.
I do have a problem with those who always must "limit out" and feed the neighbors the fish since way more than they as a family could ever eat, or even worse for those who don't even eat fish at all and give it all away or sell it w/o a liscense.
If the nonfisherman neighbors want to eat fish, let them buy farm raised fish. You can catch and release, and feed the neighbors one meal a year as a gift, of your catch.