Stale Fuel (for member ROBENDOG)

[BM]

Hi all,

Posting this for new member ROBENDOG who can pm but he cannot post :-/ Can anyone help him on that front???

Anyway, he had a question on stale fuel and I said I would put it up for him, so here is his pm to me:

"In relation to the discussion about stale fuel.....(I am a newbie to boating and fishing - 2 months now).

I have a 6m runabout with 200hp yamaha and 160 litre fuel beneath the deck. Try to get out once a month and use bout half a tank.

When I purchased it I was encouraged to fill fuek tank at the end of the day to reduce condensation in the tank (water in fuel is BAD!!!! I was told).

Makes me wonder now that this stale fuel issue is raised, which is the bigger concern, stale fuel or condensation? Thanks in advance. Ben."

Cheers

[northernblue]

I'll have a swing.....
I guess it probably depends on weather or not you have water separaters fitted.
If fitted then go with the fresh fuel approach, if not then top up after each trip.
Personally I have not had a problem with condensation, I do have filters, but have not had any water [yet]
My previous boats were all used 2-3 times a fortnight [one no filter one with filter]
Latest boat [has filters] sits in drive all day, everyday.......

[ROBENDOG]

Woo-Hoo!!! I have been validated!!;D

I can post now.

Thanks BM for posting that question for me. Was not sure how long validation was going to take.

Thanks for your advice northernblue and BM. I guess I am shopping for a better fuel filter and filling my tank on the way to the ramp.

Ta

[skipalong]

yeah if the motor is new should be changed at 5 hours

[cormorant]

water is one of the key elements creating in stale fuel. I will search some old topics when I get time on stale fuel as lots has been written and try and past links.


Link here on stale fuel but do a search for others including fuel treatments and stabilizer

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=114659&page=3

[FNQCairns]

ATM I have a 6 week old 20L jerry full of fresh unleaded, another full of rescued from the fuel tank 6 week old premix fuel, this still leaves me around 15L in the tank, my tank drains to the last litre.

These days instead of refilling back to full I try to fill to as close as I can guess I will need for that trip only, hence the fresh jerry as backup if needed. Not ideal but a response to fuel prices and the shocking weather we have been having for so long.

When the weather lets me plan a trip I will pump out the 15L in the tank and throw it, will now also throw the rescued 20L as it's just been too long (it's premix) but I think I will take the chance on the original fresh spare jerry of straight unleaded.

If you can be sure 2 weeks is your longest layup then I wouldn't strictly worry about it but each trip I would like to plan so I did use more than 1/3 of the tank without fail, conditioner in your case may be worth considering although I think they are all ethanol based so I stay away.

cheers fnq

[Horse]

If the fuel is getting on in my tank I will top it with premium to lift the octane level. There is also an OMC product that I have used in the past called fuel stabilizer that is added to fuel to keep it good when stored

Neil

[Dignity]

If you can be sure 2 weeks is your longest layup then I wouldn't strictly worry about it but each trip I would like to plan so I did use more than 1/3 of the tank without fail, conditioner in your case may be worth considering although I think they are all ethanol based so I stay away.

cheers fnq

Forgive me if I am wrong as my memory is not what it used to be but I thought that water condesation was one of the reasons ethanol was not good for applications where fuel might stand a while so wouldn't have thought stabilisers would be made from ethanol.

[FNQCairns]

Forgive me if I am wrong as my memory is not what it used to be but I thought that water condesation was one of the reasons ethanol was not good for applications where fuel might stand a while so wouldn't have thought stabilisers would be made from ethanol.

yeah I know what you are saying, caught me by surprise but I could be wrong too, it just sticks in my memory from a while ago as a rule to follow and to never use the stuff, all a stabilizer does is surface coat the fuel to slow down the volatile bits escaping, different brands may use a different mix?? but pretty sure when it is called a conditioner it will include alcohol to capture water.

cheers fnq

[Outsider1]

yeah I know what you are saying, caught me by surprise but I could be wrong too, it just sticks in my memory from a while ago as a rule to follow and to never use the stuff, all a stabilizer does is surface coat the fuel to slow down the volatile bits escaping, different brands may use a different mix?? but pretty sure when it is called a conditioner it will include alcohol to capture water.

cheers fnq

They contain Isopropyl alcohol, not Ethanol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropanol

Cheers

Dave