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First time winterizing Drain the Gas or stable the Gas?


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I have a 1998 Malibu Response LX I have heard I should stable the gas then drain it, because otherwise I have just old gas sitting around. I also have heard if I remove the gas it could have moisture in it.

Thoughts?

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Big debate on this one, but I have always stabilled, run it to get that stabilled gas through the lines and injectors and shut her down for the winter. Usually only leave 10 or less gallons so I can top it off with fresh stuff in the spring. As long as you have a plastic tank, a less than full tank should not have a condensate issue.

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Agree with the above. If you go with Stabil no need to drain. I like to have room for fresh premium fuel for first run in the spring. I only use premium for the fist run to bump any loss of octane. If you want to do a drain it wont hurt. I also go with the use of Stabil before you take the boat out for the year so you do have Stabil fuel the fuel system Lines,carb or injectors, fuel pump.

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Being a Ten Dollar Boater, I am way to cheap to leave a full tank of gas sitting around unused for the winter. So I Stabil, then winterize, then siphon five gallons at a time until its empty, or close to it.

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Just a few words, ok, probably more then a few, on pump octane rating, volatility and aging fuel.

gasoline is made up of a ratio of octane and heptane. The ratio, which is what the pump octane rating is derived from, it how the fuels volatility is controlled. The fuel volatility is the point at which it ignites, or the temp it resists before ignition. This ignition point, or resistance to heat, is what gives us the different octane ratings we see at the pump. Once ignited, they expel about the same energy. Or in other words, an ounce of 87 contains about the same BTUs as an ounce of 93.

The higher the pump octane rating, like 93 oct, the more the fuel resists ignition due to temp. It has a lower volatility. The lower the pump octane rating, like 87, the less the the fuel resists pre-ignition due to temp. Its more volatile.

As fuel ages and spoils, 2 things happen, regardless of its pump octane rating. 1, its volatility goes down. This means it takes more heat to ignite it. 2, its BTUs go down, which means once ignited, it expels less energy then fresh fuel. So, there is no real correlation between the fuels pump octane rating and its BTUs once spoiled. Mixing in a fresh tank of 93 octane gasoline in the spring into an aged tank of 87, will do no more to return its BTUs and volatility, then adding a fresh tank of the same 87. Adding a tank of higher octane, is actually adding a tank of fuel with less volatility then what you started with.

IMO, the answer to the OP's original question, is tied more to ethanol distribution in his area. Theres a couple threads here recently, with some good info about ethanol and which type of fuel additive is best. The current thinking is to store the boat with a little fuel, thats treated and run through the entire fuel system, when it contains ethanol. This is due to the amount of water the ethanol can absorb. If you are lucky to have non-ethanol fuel available, even if its higher then needed pump octane, then you can store using the old thinking of a near full tank. But still add some stabilizer and rung the engine.

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I drain the tank completely dry via the fuel pump.

I add 5 gallons of stabil'd gas and run the motor for a bit to get it in there.

I shut it down and drain those 5 gallons out and leave the tank bone dry during the winter.

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I drain the tank completely dry via the fuel pump.

I add 5 gallons of stabil'd gas and run the motor for a bit to get it in there.

I shut it down and drain those 5 gallons out and leave the tank bone dry during the winter.

How long would you say it takes to drain 25-30 gals using the fuel pump? Is it quick? Does it take long enoug that there would be concern about hurting the battery?

Thanks

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I drain the tank completely dry via the fuel pump.

I add 5 gallons of stabil'd gas and run the motor for a bit to get it in there.

I shut it down and drain those 5 gallons out and leave the tank bone dry during the winter.

You're the only person I have ever heard of, that does this. I'm not saying it's good or bad, I've just never heard of anyone doing it.

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