www.iFourWinns.com

So what does everyone do for your fuel during the winter? Obviously sta-bil will go in but do you leave the tank full or close to empty?

I have a car I store in the winter and I've always kept it full. Was going to do the same with the boat but my mechanic said I should store it as close to empty as i can. I already pulled the boat with a full tank and am wondering if I should siphon it out?

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2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Kind of a "What Oil is best" question. You will get many answers. I have done it full, empty, 1/2 full 3/4 full, with and without StaBil. Never made a difference for me in 18 years of owning boats. It's your choice really. Whatever makes you sleep better is the way to go.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Due to a number of unforeseen circumstances last year, I ended up storing the tanks 1/2 full with no stabilizer. No issues at all. In the past with winterizing my motor bike, I always used stabilizer and a full tank. I'm sure there are plenty of good arguments both ways. This year the plan is to fill the tanks, add a stabilizer then boat ~38nm to where I store it, so I guess the tanks will each be 82.7% full. Maybe that's the magic number!

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1969 Chris Craft Commander 47
1999 Four Winns 328 Vista - SOLD

Same here, I use stabil because I noticed I had much less trouble starting my lawn equipment in the spring when I used it, but I stabilize whatever is left in the tank and have not had problems whether its 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 etc.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Full tank is what I do every year.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Preparing Power Package for Storage
1. Fill the fuel tanks with fresh gasoline (that does not contain alcohol) and a sufficient amount of Quicksilver Gasoline Stabilizer for Marine Engines to treat the gasoline. Follow instructions on the container.
2. If the boat is to be placed in storage with fuel containing alcohol in fuel tanks (if fuel without alcohol is not available): Fuel tanks should be drained as low as possible and Quicksilver Gasoline Stabilizer for Marine Engines added to any fuel remaining in the tank.

Fuel System Treatment & Stabilizer Fuel system 858071K01

http://www.marinemechanic.com/merc/dist ... olfuel.PDF

Whatever is left in the tank with stabilizer of some description.

Canadian Shell premium contains no ethanol for now, so that is what I use in the boat and SeaDoo.

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2008 210SS 6.2L DTS Bravo 1 Now featuring MercMonitor w/SmartTow

I have to laugh, at what Merc says, just what do they expect you to do with 20+ gallons of gasoline, and how do they expect you do siphon it out? The only time you'd ever had to do that, if you get a load of water in the gas (then you get a pro to do it, not safe to do yourself) or bad gas from another cause. Don't they know that in many parts of the US, there is nothing BUT gas with ethanol? I think its another way for them to get out of warrantee claims, yeah well there was too much ethanol in that gas, not our fault. Time for some one to reel in the EPA, they are operating as if they are in a communist or fascist state.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I never store mine full. Just in case there's a real warm spell and the fuel expands and starts coming out of the vent.
I do put 1 litre of methyl hydrate in and treat it with Star Tron, take her for her final rip of the year to get it through the entire system, then, it's all over but the crying

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07 Azure AZ200,
Previous boat,
95 278 Vista,
And a lot of others.

Ontario, Canada

I leave mine full... i use standard methanol laced gas from the pumps... i add stabil, but some years i have forgotten to do this and it is not absolutely critical... never had a problem. You know, some folks store gas in 55 gallon drums for 10 years with stabilizer/preservatives... I also think that it takes longer for a larger volume of gas to go bad than a smaller volume... I read that somewhere, but can't remember where...

when i change my fuel filter every 3 years or so, it is always clean...

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2007 FW Horizon 200 5.0GXi/SX-A

I think you mean ethanol not methanol, methanol you cannot use in most engines.
The problem with ethanol in motor fuel is this:
At 10% it should not cause problems, and all motor manufacturers have said so. But, because it is corrosive, the oil companies will not ship it over their pipelines. It is mixed in the tanker truck at the distribution point. So if the driver is off about how many gallons is in the tank, it could be E-10, E-15, E-20, and so on. That is what causes the problem. If it was accurately measured out then most people would be OK after the initial change over where it cleaned out the tank and and may have clogged filters.

The first year we had it there was a reddish gunk in the bottom of the fuel filter on our boat, after that I have not seen anything in the gas dump out at the end of the season.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II