Leaving the engine to sit for a while

[71Irwin32]

I'm not winterizing, I'm going back to work...which is 600 miles away. I won't return till March or April. What's the best way to keep the gas from messing up my newly rebuilt fuel system?

I was thinking I should pull the fuse on the fuel pump and running the system and carb dry. I don't know of any stabilizers for regular gas, but there could be some kind of product out there?

Suggestions?

[Bold Rascal]

Hi there Irwin.
Not at all sure what your fuel system is comprised of but assuming you have a primary and polishing filters my suggestion would be:

1) Top-off the fuel tank with non ethanol fuel if available.
2) Add the appropriatte amount of Sta-bil additive to the fuel.
3) Close the fuel shut-off valve.
4) Drain any remaining fuel from the filter(s) fuel lines and carb bowl.

Step 4 might be overkill?

Why pull the fuel pump fuse? I'm assuming your pump only operates if the ignition switch is engaged?

[sastanley]

71,

Stabil fuel stabilizer is available at Wal-Mart (and West Marine for a premium) and they have an "ethanol formula". It seems to help.

Some people also like to add a simple bottle of "DryGas" or similar too. I think it is basically alcohol designed to absorb water. I am not a chemist though. I liked the earth sciences better in school.

When I am done boating for the season (I'll eventually have to winterize here in the mid-Atlantic) I'll try to get my mechanical fuel pump & carb empty. I have a fuel shutoff at the top of the tank and the mech. pump will pull all of that including what's in the Racor filter until it is fuel starved & quits. Priming in the spring is pretty easy..the mech. pump seems to pull the fuel from the tank with no trouble....as I would expect your electric pump to do as well. The only problem with this approach is timing it right so that I get RV antifreeze into my RWC engine at just the right time it dies as it is just running out of fuel.

Once the engine quits, I plan to drain any residual fuel from the carb & probably the fuel pump too, so that fuel doesn't gel & varnish in those critical components.

[71Irwin32]

What's overkill?...don't know what a polishing filter is, but I just installed new fuel tank (Moeller Plastic permanent 24gal), priming bulb, cut-off, new Facet pump, new Racor filter-water separator....All new line and rebuilt the carb.

There is Walmart here in Corpus so I'll look for the Stabil, but I don't want to top off the fuel tank with the idea I can add fresh gas when I return. There's only about an inch of gas left.

....run unfused pump? Run the engine out of gas. A good way to empty the lines. I had no problem priming the system. My fuel pump is only 12 inches from the pickup tube, only separated by the priming bulb and connectors. The cutoff is a fitting connected directly on the pump. but I'd rather not run the new pump with the cutoff unless I have to. I think it'd be easier on the pump.

[Bold Rascal]

Not sure what Websters description of overkill is but I typically liken it to doing much more than you probably really need to. Some folks call it "Being Anal" or "overly obsessive". I'll leave it at that.

Your fuel system set-up sounds very much like mine:
Racor fuel filter/Separator
Facet Fuel pump
Inline filter between the fuel pump and the carb (polishing filiter).

There's a whole lot of debate on the subject. If my boat was someplace in the world where the temeratures werent too drastic year round like So. Calif then I probably would not concern myself about it.

Up here in the more northerly climates we can have huge temperature variations. Having a full tank pretty much nullifies the chance of condensation forming on the interior walls of the fuel tank and thus water contamination of your fuel.

[sastanley]

71, since it sounds like you don't have to worry about freezing, therefore you don't have to worry about timing of RV antifreeze insertion, you should be OK. I would put the Stabil into some amount of gas for mixing purposes and then put that in the tank to mix with the rest...If you have 15 gallons in there now, put the correct Stabil for 16 gallons in the 1/2 gallon or so of fuel mix and add...rock the boat back and forth to mix it all up.

By the way, and this is only my opinion..If you have 15 gallons of old, possibly water separated ethanol gas in your tank and add 10 gallons of fresh fuel to it, now you have 25 gallons of old ethanol water separated gas...if the engine runs on the old gas, run it out as much as you dare before filling with fresh fuel. I also put in a new plastic Moeller tank a couple years back, and I have not been able to use the boat enough to burn a full tank, so I add 5 gallons at a time, and keep it as empty as possible. I figure the less fuel, the less moisture it can absorb, and if it does, that's less bad fuel I have to remove. YMMV of course.

[Antibes]

I would skip the dry gas recommendation until the spring. The more alcohol in the gas the more likely it will absorb more into the tank when left sitting. The dry gas is good to get out the water after it has entered the system, left sitting all winter. Add in spring, burn it off, then add new gas.

I dealt with a water in the gas issue this spring and never wish it on anyone.

[71Irwin32]

Originally Posted by Bold Rascal

Not sure what Websters description of overkill is but I typically liken it to doing much more than you probably really need to. Some folks call it "Being Anal" or "overly obsessive". I'll leave it at that.

I was kidding! I believe whole-heatedly in overkill. Many of the people I've employed have called me thorough to the extreme.

[sastanley]

Haha...sarcasm is hard on the Internet..on this site..these little guys help ->

[71Irwin32]

Originally Posted by Antibes

I would skip the dry gas recommendation

I must've missed this somewhere, what do you mean?

[Kurt]

I really don't think 5 months is that long to let your motor sit - I wouldn't be too worried. It takes me that amount of time to go through a full tank of gas anyway! I do like the recommendation to turn the shut-off valve at the tank off and run the engine until it dies. This will at least ensure that gas isn't sitting in your filters, lines and carb. I like to follow this precaution even when I know I'm not going to use the boat for a month.

[rrranch]

My farmall sits over winter all the time with the tank full. The tank and engine are very simiar to our boats. Never had a problem with it or used any additives. this ethenol crap is something else though. I just found a place here with real gas and my boat runs so much better.

[David Masury]

Others have metioned it and I think that it is important... empty the carb...the ethanol infused fuel seems to do something to the carb when sitting all winter... I have been emptying it now for 5 years and have had no troubles since I started that practice... it only takes a minute...

All other suggestions are valid, you just need to set up a check list for yourself and follow it..

David