New boat fuel and regulation question?

[mnhunter2]

I have a 2003 18' lund alaskan that has a built in fuel tank and has seen very little use in the last few years and it came with a full fuel tank and I was wondering if I should drain and refill with new gas or add a fuel additive and run it thru? Am I correct in needing a fire extingisher on board when I haave an enclosed fuel tank?

[jwmiller33]

u need a fire extinguisher if your boat is 16 ft or longer, regardless of fuel tank size [the is in MN]. yes that fuel is probably bad. not sure what to do with it but id take it out and run seafoam

[theoilman]

Are you saying the fuel might be as old as 7 years? Definitely you need to have it pumped out and probably have tank cleaned. Even if you had used a storage product additive, 1 1/2 to 2 years is the max protection you are going to get. Without protection non-ethanol will start to loose octane and varnish by 2 months. The new ethanol starts to loose octane and varnish in as little as 2 weeks.

What to do with it? How much do you have? A gallon added to a tank full in your truck won't hurt it. Does your county have some type of hazaderous waste acceptance site/program? Do you know a land clearing contractor who can use it as fire starter?

[mnhunter2]

I think that I put 2-3 gallons in the tank after I bought the boat and it was full, the motor was running fine when I bought it and I assume the fuel was just a few year old, the guy said he used the boat a couple of hrs in the spring and fall. I have drained the tank and was wonder what I should do, refill with what type of fuel, ethanol or non-ethanol fuel and what type of fuel additive to use for a 2006 Yamaha?

[walleyemaniac]

I'd burn the gas up in another vehicle shouldn't hurt a car or truck. Yamaha makes a fuel additive I would recommend that, double dose it the first tank like it says on the bottle. Then add an ounce, I think, every tank full. Made night and day differance with my motor performance and the life of my gas. I can leave gas in my tank all winter now and the motor runs just fine when I pull it out in the sping. Used to always have problems in the spring. Suppose to keep the top rings from getting carboned up as well.

[BobT]

u need a fire extinguisher if your boat is 16 ft or longer, regardless of fuel tank size [the is in MN]. yes that fuel is probably bad. not sure what to do with it but id take it out and run seafoam

[Jim Almquist]

I have drained the tank and was wonder what I should do, refill with what type of fuel, ethanol or non-ethanol fuel and what type of fuel additive to use for a 2006 Yamaha?

I ONLY run Non-Ethanol in my boat and I have NEVER had any problems with my motor. I try to run it down in the fall and add a fuel stabilizer and in the spring fill it up with fresh tankful of Non-Oxy. My boat gets put away in late October and started up in April and that helps keep the age of the gas to just a couple of months.

I have never added any additives to my 2004 4 stroke 60HP Yamaha and it purrs when trolling and runs like a champ at WOT.

[TR21HP]

If you can't find non ethanol gas, I would use the recommended amount of marine stabil and add a bottle of Yamaha Ring Free. The Stabil is going to minimize the effects of the ethanol and the ring free is a de carbonizer and keeps any build up to a mimimum.

[BobT]

I ONLY run 87 octane in my boat(s) and I have NEVER had any problems with my motor(s). This includes a 1973 Evinrude 25hp, 1982 Mercury 7.5hp, 1987 Evinrude 40hp, and my current 1988 Johnson 90hp. I don't pay much attention to how much I leave in the tank(s) over winter. Last year I left it half full. I think the year before it was full. I do use seafoam once in a while, maybe once a year and usually early in the year, to clean my carbs and/or injectors.