Old Gas

[BassNut33]

I read an article in Bassmaster about how you should get rid of old gas in your boat after it has sat all winter, due to the ethanol settling at the bottom of the tank. I have a bout a 1/4 of a tank of old gas from last year that is still in there. Anyone have any ideas on how I can effectively drain it, or will it be OK if I fill the tank and use an ethanol treatment?

[TR21HP]

Throw some fresh gas in it and some marine stabil and you should be fine.

[BassNut33]

Thats what I was thinking, but then I read this article.

[Meyer8043]

You can take off the fuel line to the motor and pump the ball and it will get the gas out but probably not the last little bit which might be all the water, or next year you can run non-oxy gas and not have that problem.

[motley man]

I add stable in fall and some fresh high octane gas to the tank every spring and have never had a problem.

[Superduty]

You can drain it if you want, but IMO people get WAY to excited about the "bad gas" issues. Just fill it up with gas and the proper additives in your owners manual and don't look back. Do not add higher octane gas than what is recommended in your owners manual. High octane gas burns slower than 87 octane. Not good if motor not designed for it. Get nonoxy if you can.

[TR21HP]

Mills Fleet Farm in Blaine has nonoxygenated gas and thats not too far from you if you live in Roseville.

[BassNut33]

Thanks guys, I will have to check the manual. I was under the impression I should run 93 octane. I am moving to Woodbury in a few weeks. Does the fleet farm in oakdale have the same gas.

[polarsusd81]

Don't know if fleet farm has it but Hagbergs Market on hwy 5 in Lake Elmo has it. Best hometown meat market in town. Their beef sticks are awesome for the boat.

[jpries]

Watch out for phase separation if you are switching to non oxy and have some fuel in the tank.

[tacklejunkie]

Not to hijack this thread, but if I pull up to a gas station and it has a pump marked "Premium" but doesn't say it's non oxygenated on the pump, can I assume it's non oxy?

[CAMAN]

Not to hijack this thread, but if I pull up to a gas station and it has a pump marked "Premium" but doesn't say it's non oxygenated on the pump, can I assume it's non oxy?

Nope, it has to say non-oxygenated

[CAMAN]

Just an FYI for everyone - high octane gas isn't going to hurt the motor, BUT you could be just throwing your money away since the only difference between 87 and 91 octane gas is 4 octane points, some motors do prefer higher octane but most don't need it. And just because its high octane doesn't mean its better or make the motor run better or even last longer. The only fuel that will help in a boat is the fuel that specifically states NON-OXYGENATED. It means it has NO ETHANOL, ethanol is the leading cause of gum in your carbs and injectors which will cost a lot of money and time to clean out. If you are going to pay extra money for fuel make sure it is non-oxy, otherwise get regular 87 octane and add some seafoam or marine stabill and don't worry about it.

[CAMAN]

I read an article in Bassmaster about how you should get rid of old gas in your boat after it has sat all winter, due to the ethanol settling at the bottom of the tank. I have a bout a 1/4 of a tank of old gas from last year that is still in there. Anyone have any ideas on how I can effectively drain it, or will it be OK if I fill the tank and use an ethanol treatment?

You should have used an ethanol treatment BEFORE you stored the boat, you should actually use it at each fillup if you aren't using non-oxy. You can't fix fuel that has already gone bad. Best thing to do IF you didn't treat the fuel last fall is to siphon it out and if it isn't a full tank add it to your vehicle tanks. Top off the vehicle tanks and the boat tank adding Marine Stabill or Seafoam to the boat tank.

[Superduty]

Running premium gas in an engine designed for 87 octane can in fact harm the engine. Higher octane fuel burns slower and cooler. You don't get a complete burn and it leads to carbon build up over time. Go with what is recommended in the owners manual.

[BassNut33]

You should have used an ethanol treatment BEFORE you stored the boat, you should actually use it at each fillup if you aren't using non-oxy. You can't fix fuel that has already gone bad. Best thing to do IF you didn't treat the fuel last fall is to siphon it out and if it isn't a full tank add it to your vehicle tanks. Top off the vehicle tanks and the boat tank adding Marine Stabill or Seafoam to the boat tank.

[CAMAN]

Running premium gas in an engine designed for 87 octane can in fact harm the engine. Higher octane fuel burns slower and cooler. You don't get a complete burn and it leads to carbon build up over time. Go with what is recommended in the owners manual.

Higher octane just requires more pressure to combust, it has the exact same BTU's as regular unleaded and doesn't burn any slower or cooler. They use it to prevent premature detonation(AKA knocking) that is caused by "hot spots" in a motor OR for high performance motors that run a higher compression ratio than a normal engine, BUT it will not harm an engine. Especially consider the fact mechanics (including ones that frequent HSO) recommend using non-oxy premium in all engines and it almost always HAS a higher octane rating than regular 87 octane.

[EBass]

If you really don't want to use that old gas bring it to your county's hazzard waste dump. I'm pretty sure it's free. Well it was the last time I brought used oil and old propane tanks and other junk.

For Hennipen county they have 2 places - http://hennepin.us/dropoffs