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Trouble draining old fuel

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dolinsk71

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At the end of every season, when storing the boat (Speedster 150, 155 HP) for the winter, I am never able to finish the tank's fuel, sometimes leaving almost full tank for over the winter. I do always add Star-Tron, but every year in hot garage (Florida), a lot of water accumulates in the tank and as he result, the spark plugs get ruined/need to be changed. I was thinking about a solution, and recently attempted to drain the tank through the gas fill line, but when reaching the tank with a siphon hose, the hose gets stuck just before getting into the tank, as if there was some kind of protective mesh inside the fill line. Then I attempted to remove the fill line where it connects to the tank by way of a clamp, but the line feels like it's fused to the neck of the tank. Am I doing something wrong? Any advice/thought would be appreciated.
 
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Really no need to do that. just add Sta-Bil Marine then run the motor a bit to get it through the carbs.

Actually the best way, since you are in Florida is to ride it every couple weeks....some guys make it a point to ride the skis on Christmas just to irritate us Northerners. :)
 
Worst case is a partially filled fuel tank. A completely full tank will tend to collect less water than, say, a 1/2 empty tank, because there is less air space above the fuel for the condensation process to take place. Condensation (sweating) in the top area of the fuel tank will reach a point to where the water droplets will fall or run down the sides into the fuel and become trapped in the bottom, under the fuel, where it cannot evaporate.

So, IMO, there are two best options and of course both also involve using storage stabilizer to help prevent fuel quality decay, but I prefer if possible to remove as much as possible of the fuel till there are only minimum amounts remaining and the condensed water isn't trapped, thus can evaporate off the bottom of the tank.

One way to remove a majority of the fuel is to siphon it or pump it using an electric automotive fuel pump, THROUGH THE FUEL PICKUP, which draws from the bottom of the tank, into several spare gas canisters. I do this for my customers who prefer an empty tank during winter storage, but it does require some equipment such as the appropriate fuel line connectors and associated hardware in addition to an electric fuel pump but I can usually remove most all the fuel by positioning the boat such that the fuel runs into the fuel pickup area.

The other option is to place the stabilizer in the fuel tank fill tank and flush it down into the existing fuel with good fresh fuel, or mix first and fill the fuel tank completely before performing the fogging process. It's key though, to fill the tank to the point where the airspace above the fuel is minimized in order to avoid condensation.

Some people don't like having the fuel tank full due to the fear of fire, mostly in the case their boat is stored indoors during the off season.
 
I don't use Star-Tron. I use Marine Stay-Bil. I've never had an issue with water, and I just burnt a half tank of fuel that was at least a year old. (in my XP)


Also.... in my islandia..... The last tank of fuel was put in, at the beginning of Sept. (last labor day) and I didn't get a chance to use the rest of that tank until July of this year. (55 gallon tank, and we swim more than ride) So.... that tank was 10 months old before I put in new fuel.

AND, yes... this is e10 automotive fuel.


Anyway... use the stuff that's been proven for the past 40 years... and you won't have an issue. I don't top off at the end of the season... but I do put Stay-Bil on every fill up with a water toy.
 
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