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| Fuel tank maintenance https://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=14743 |
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| Author: | purdueosch [ Tue Mar 29, 2016 9:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Fuel tank maintenance |
Is there any advantage to running the tank low and then completely pumping the fuel tank dry every few years? My old Century had a metal tank and I was told to never run so low on fuel that you start to pick up the sediment at the bottom. Seems like sound advice, but does the same hold true for a poly tank? *To be clear, I always fill up around half a tank and never run so low that I would pick up any sediment. Thanks! |
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| Author: | 230 Mike [ Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I didn't want to answer since I've never had a tank pumped. But thinking it through, it's hard to imagine any advantage to doing that with either metal or poly. I would think the annual fuel filter change would take care of normal impurities, as long as you buy gas from a reputable place that maintains their pumps, etc. On the other hand it shouldn't hurt anything if it's just for peace of mind. Maybe have it done once to be sure no stuff was in there from prior to delivery. |
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| Author: | purdueosch [ Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I must be overthinking my maintenance based on the amount of responses I got on this.  Maybe I was just bored of waiting on boating season to begin. I'm not going to worry too much about it since I've had the boat since new and I've always used reputable gas stations. Thanks Mike! -Matt |
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| Author: | 230 Mike [ Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I know the feeling! 
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| Author: | LouC [ Tue Apr 12, 2016 6:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
Get a Mason jar and dump the gas from the water separating fuel filter in it. Let it sit and see if you get a layer of crud or water in the bottom. If so you might want to get the tank cleaned out. If not then don't worry about it...I do this every season and I've never had to clean out the tank. |
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| Author: | jeepjeepster [ Tue May 09, 2017 12:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I think youre over thinking it a little. Im not entirely sure how some people get so much crud and such in their tanks. I know that most boats arent used all that often but gas is typically clean. We always run ours down below 1/4 tank and haven't had any issues. I dropped the tank on my 94 Jeep not long ago to change out the fuel pump and the tank was as clean as could be. No seds at all and the sock on the pump was clean also. Jeep has 246,000mi on it... Haven't done anything special with it at all. |
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| Author: | Vintage Beauty [ Wed May 10, 2017 6:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
LouC wrote: Get a Mason jar and dump the gas from the water separating fuel filter in it. Let it sit and see if you get a layer of crud or water in the bottom. If so you might want to get the tank cleaned out. If not then don't worry about it...I do this every season and I've never had to clean out the tank. Fantastic advice. I was taught to do this when I first started boating as well. |
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| Author: | rpengr [ Thu May 11, 2017 2:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I never bought into the "don't run the tank low or you will suck up sediment" statement. The reason is that the fuel outlet always picks up from near the bottom of the tank (within 1/2" above the bottom), so it really doesn't matter how much clean gas is above that point. If you get down to that last 1/2", then you start sucking air instead of gas. In a boat, there is always lots of sloshing around, so any sediment in the tank could be picked up at any time no matter what the fuel gage says. The only reason to pump the tank out is if you know you have a problem (see LouC's comment above). I once had to have my tank pumped out because of a large water contamination in my 10% ethanol fuel. The water was due to a missing o-ring on the fuel filler cap. But in 4 decades of boating, that is the only time I had a tank pumped out. |
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| Author: | Obie [ Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I remove all the fuel from the boat tank in the fall using an external fuel pump. The flow rate of the external fuel pump is much higher than the fuel pump on the engine and should be removing any sediment that in in the tank. Many years ago I did this and found about 1/4 cup of sand and grit in the tank that must have been pumped in at the gas station. By the way, I had the boat tank full and was able to pump out 64.5 gallons from a 65 gallon tank so the fuel pickup is very near the bottom of the boat tank and grit (if present) is always getting sucked into the fuel filter. |
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| Author: | Oldav8tor [ Tue Nov 21, 2017 3:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
I just got my elderly Sundowner in September so looking into the tank is a project for later. That said, I do have a little experience dealing with fuel contamination, particularly in airplanes. Aircraft are designed with drains at the lowest points of the tanks and the fuel system as a whole. Typically we drain a little fuel before each flight and it is not unheard of to get a little water and crud. Pilots are taught that partially empty fuel tanks are sometimes subject to water condensation, especially when temperatures are going up and down a lot. A cooling tank can draw moist air in thru the vents which can condense in the tank. For that reason, tanks are usually left full if the aircraft will likely sit for any length of time. Another thing - I never purchase gas from a station where I see a tanker off-loading fuel. Modern storage tanks are supposed to be pretty clean but sometimes there is some water and crud on the bottom which gets all stirred up when the tank is being filled. If you pump gas before it settles out, some may get into your tank. I made the mistake once of fueling an airplane right after a tanker had topped off the storage tanks. At my next stop, I drained almost a quart of gunky water out of the two 18 gallon wing tanks! If I hadn't checked the tanks I might have been sucking water on takeoff instead of fuel, with possible tragic consequences. Regarding fuel filters - you might consider cutting one open after you replace it to see if it is picking up any significant crud. We also do that with oil filters to look for any signs that the engine might be shedding metal from bearings or the like going bad. |
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| Author: | LouC [ Tue Nov 21, 2017 5:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
All good points...I had heard that using E10 while it has its drawbacks has one advantage in that it cleans the tank out. During hurricane Sandy 5 years ago I removed the gas gauge sending unit to siphon out gas. While I was at it I looked down to the bottom of the tank with a bright flashlight and it looked really clean as far as I could see.... |
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| Author: | dannyr [ Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:07 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fuel tank maintenance |
Good to hear the tanks of these boats doesn't get much issue and high maintenance. |
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