www.iFourWinns.com

I agree with Cap N'Morgan...and many of the rest of you. Bottom line is this. It doesn't matter how much gas you leave in the tank as long as stabilizer is added. PERIOD.
I've had a carb'd engine and now have an EFI...and that baby fires up regardless of what I did the Fall before....full, half full, nearly full, just a little.

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1995 190 Horizon
5.0 OMC w/EFI

If you leave it full you'll keep condensation from forming. No condensation means no corrosion and no contaminated gasoline.

If you leave it entirely empty you risk condensation but it would only contaminate the small amount of gas left in the tank.

If you leave it half-full you risk the worst of both. The tank can corrode because of condensation and that water will ruin the significant amount of gas left in the tank. Why would you want to risk this? Even with stabilizer you're not preventing the likelihood of condensation. You're merely making sure the gasoline will survive the extended period of time and be useable. That only assumes it's just gas in there, not all the additional condensation! Stablizeer does little (or nothing) to prevent the problem of additional water condensing in the tank and thus leaving you will a lot of bad gas. Gas you'll have to manually remove and dispose of properly. Or, worse yet, accumulate in your fuel/water separator and have to be emptied again, and again, and again...

We'll be leaving it full and putting stabilizer in it.

Does it matter if i am storing the boat in my garage which is under my house. Which is some what heated last year it didn't get any colder than about 40 degrees?
thanks
Matt

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2005 Horizon 200 LE - Volvo Penta 5.0GXi 270

It's not so much a matter of temperature as it is changes in temperature. When the air temp falls below the dew point you start seeing condensation. It's the cycle that's the problem. If you can be sure it'll remain at a consistent temperature you would likely avoid some of the problem. But if it's already on a trailer then you're not at the mercy of hideously expensive gas prices at a marina. So why not just top it off?

I like Capt Morgan's philosophy. I'm not a chemist, but as the fuel tank is vented, the amount of water absorped is partially related to the area of the top fuel surface, so no matter how much fuel is in the tank the top surface area should be the same-?. I once tried to fill all the way the fill pipe and just made a big mess when warmed temps made it oveflow on to the topsides. I don't belive that a 3/4 tank will absorp that much more water and adding fresh higher octane gas in the spring will make up for the stale gas (I think).

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'96 Horizon 200
"Have fenders...will raft"

Gas with MTBE had considerably less likelihood of problems with water than does the new ethanol mix. It's not about top surface area since water is heavier and ethanol ABSORBS water. The water condenses, falls into the fuel at which point it's absorbed by the ethanol. With MTBE there wasn't the absorption risk and the water was likely to just sink to the bottom. Now with ethanol you're faced with the likelihood that the water will stay in suspension in the gas, and this will require SEVERAL changes of a fuel/water separator to eliminate it.

Don't fill it up into the fill tube! Just the tank itself.

It's tough to burn off enough of the tank to get it truly empty. At least not without having to call SeaTow to bring you to the lift slings!

So what's worth the trouble, having to go through a whole bunch of separator changes next season, empty the tank as much as possible, or fill it?

You may be right but my thinking is that the water vapor comes from the surrounding air, unless the tank is overfilled up the fill hose, the water vapor travels through the vent to the top of the tank which is not completly filled (unless the tank is level and overfilled) and with every temp change the gas adsorps more water. If this is the case (just my humble opinion, not based on any testing) why not just accept that some water will find its' way into the fuel, add fresh fuel in the spring and change the water seperatater after a few tanks? Is it really possoble that we can completly fill OR empty the typical under the floor tank?

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'96 Horizon 200
"Have fenders...will raft"

The condensation forms on the walls of the tank, not the hose and not out of thin air (at least not "directly"). If there's a lot of area on the inside of the tank that's not immersed in gasoline that provides an area on which condensation can occur. As boat tanks are vented that means any moisture in the air will condense inside the tank during temperature changes past the dew point.

The more area not covered by fuel, the more condensation can occur. That and there's the possibility of that surface corroding too.

"Some" water in the fuel is inevitable and unlikely to cause harm to the engine. What it will cause, however, is poor running and wasted fuel/water separator filters (or the effort to drain them if they've got bowls). If the tank's full there won't be a lot of room to foster condensation and the fuel won't get contaminated. If you left the tank empty then you wouldn't have liquid to encourage the condensation.

Sure it's possible to fill it, know what your gauges read when you overfill (hearing the line gurgle) and get to that point again. Granted, gauge needles aren't known for accuracy but they're generally predictable.

My Four Winns dealer, where I'm likely to store it this winter, insist the boat be brought in with a full tank. So I'll just fill the tank wherever it's least expensive on the way to the dealer. Once at the dealer I'll top it off and then have them check that it's not too full, if so then it's one last ride around the creek!

Im gonna fill er up for the winter, But do i fill it before or after I take it in to the dealer for winterization? My guess would be after to help mix in any stabilizer or gas line anti freeze. Would that be right?

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Brad T.
2007 Horizon 200 "Done Deal"
2007 F-150 Supercrew

I know a late response, still there's some good info in this thread that may benefit others. Here's my additions:

Add stabilizer to the tank before your last outing of the season. This way you run the stabilizer through the entire system. A friend that has a Horizon 190 VP 5L GL, had varnish/ gumming up problems with fuel filters and fuel pumps because stabilizer was added to the gas and not run all the way through the fuel system thuroughly enough. Note this is in Wisconsin where the off season is long indeed.

Also, only use fresh stabilizer. Throw last year's stabilizer away; yes it's designed to prolong the life of gasoline, but does not in itself have an unlimited shelf life.

With an old 16' runabout, I've done empty, full, and almost every variant in between using ethanol enhanced fuels. No major problems with that carborated Mercruiser, but when stored less than full, topping off with fresh gas always seemed to help with cold starting. Having said that, I would remind folks to look at the cautionary statements FW has placed in the User Manuals regarding ethanol based fuels with regard to wear and tear on hoses, gaskets and tubing.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

That's something most people don't think about. However, Stabil says on the label that it's got a 2-year shelf life once opened.

Personally I add Stabil every time I add fuel. That way I never have to worry about the fuel if the boat should end up being unused for an extended period, etc.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I use Sta-BIL in all my fuels. For the Boat, Tractors, Mowers, Chainsaws, etc.. It is a cheap investment. Works good in Diesel also!!

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Jeff

2006 Four Winns Yellow Horizon 30th Anniversary 200 SS
2005 Nissan Titan Crew Cab
2004 Ford F-150 Lariat

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