Old gas in the tanks

[mcmichael]

Hi
Unfortunately my boat sat in the yard for 14 months with fuel in the tanks. I'm about to pump the old fuel out and wondered if anyone had the experience before. I realize that the fuel should have been stabliized, but it wasn't. The fuel tanks were however as close to empty as I could get them. My questions to you would be:

1/ I assume that by pumping out the fuel from the fuel lines at the engines I will still have fuel left in the bottom of the tank. Is there a way to pump all of the fuel out of the tank?

2/ I assume that the fuel in the tanks is varnished. Is it a bad idea to try and dilute the fuel that I can't pump out with good fuel and attempt to run it through the engines?

3/ What additives would you recommend once the tanks are refilled to help clean the tanks themselves?

Thanks very much
Mike

 

[Redhook98]

I don't see the need to pump them dry. There may be some water in there, but thats nothing a iitle Starbright or other additive wouldn't take care off. I have done this multiple times. When I bought my Chris Craft to resore, it had 2 150-gallon tanks that were mostly full. It had been sitting for 4 years. I dumped a noxious combination of additives in there, along with some 93-octane and never had an issue. No issues with the carbs either. I think your OK.

 

[jpk33]

Try Sea Foam. Its always been GTG. Was this fuel "REAL" gasoline or 10% ethanol - there may be some phase seperation if it was E10. When in doubt drain what you can, treat the rest & refill with good gas. Make sure you change your filters too! (fuel & fuel/water seperator).

 

[andy k]

add sea foam and then fill her up and keep the boat tanks topped off for a while so all of the bad fuel is thinned out.

 

[Sundancer]

My only concern would be the amount of water in the very bottom of the tank. See if you can get a sample and let it sit to see how much water separates out. I doubt you'll have much of a problem. Add the additives, fill it up and it will probably run just fine. Take a few extra fuel filters just in case, but I'd bet it will be just fine.

 

[mcmichael]

Thanks very much to all of you for your responses.
Mike