Your experiences with ethanol storage over the winter?

Hi all, We store over 500 boats here in Ohio inside heated, inside cold and outside storage. ALL fuel has at least 10% ethanol in it. I store all my boats around 1/2 full. This is contrary to old thinking however old thinking didn't involve ethanol. Ethanol breaks down directly into water in about 2 weeks. Use a good stabalizer, "Startron" is the best I have found. Also (as the diesel guys have known for years) fuel filtration is very important. You MUST have good water seperaters.
 
for what it's worth, i just fired up my chipper/shredder that i havent run since fall of 06 and it started on the first pull. so in the boat engines, the generator, one lawn tractor, one push mower, two leaf blowers (two cycle) and a 2 cycle weed wacker, i have had no ethanol issues. and all had the appropriate amount of startron.
 
Since I trailer my boat I mostly gas-up at the local gas station. Knowing that it contains ethanol, I have gotten into the habit of adding the appropriate amount of Startron at fill-up. This Fall I ran the fuel down and stored it on empty. In the spring I will fill the tank with fresh fuel, add Startron and replace the fuel filter/water separator before I launch. No problems so far.:grin:
 
I'm having an e10 problem with my tractor now. Started it up to blow snow 2 weeks ago, no problem. Tried to start it last weekend to blow snow. No go. It has new plugs, air cleaner, stabilized fresh filter clean tank and new fuel lines. It also has a paper fuel filter of the sort that was recalled by Westerbeke for my genny. The recall says that e10eats the glue in the filter and this plugs up the fuel system. I'm thinking I'll remove the fuel filter altogether. Got a love this cr#p.
 
Last fall I filled my 55 gal tank on my Sundeck 210 and added Startron. So far I've had no problems and am glad I filled up with "cheap" $2.50/gal gas. The year before I left tank at 1/8 full and used Startron and never had problems. I run Startron all summer long. I also changed the fuel filter this year.
 
I add Startron every time I add gas.
This past winter I added Stabil after the last weekend on the boat before heading back to the marina to be hauled out. The Stabil had a good chance to mix with the gas during the final run of the season.
I had no issues at all when I started the boat this year. My first trip was to the fuel dock to top off the tanks and mix fresh gas with the stuff that sat in there all winter.
So far, so good.
 
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JVM
ditto to all you said. startron is the way to go!
 
I hate to be the odd man out, but...

I have never added anything to the fuel for storage.

I usually end up with 25gal or so at the end of the season. (October) and do not start it again until May and have never had problems with this boat or a 24' Bayliner I had for 22 years. No additives and no problems ever over those 25 years.

We have had 10% ethanol here in Calif in all gasoline like someone else said for 25 years or so.

I store inside an unheated warehouse (can get as low as 30 degrees in the winter and 90+ in the summer)

Sure, the additive is cheap, but I never bought into it's use. Maybe I am lucky because the tanks are usually 1/4 full at storage time.

I do run my dinghy's outboard out of gas (until it dies out) after each use.
 
I always use Stabil and the past 2 years have stored over the Winter with full tank. I just recently found out that some gas stations in PA DO sell gas without ethynol. My boat is in MD, and I dont think that is the case there. I will tell you I do have problems with all of my small engines in Md. Outboard and lawn mower are a constant struggle to keep running. Gas is stored outside (i have no choice). I threw away a perfectly good mower this year. I didnt know it was the gas until I brought back the brand new one and it ran exactly the same way.
On the boat, I fill my tank full and add Stabil. I usually put a little extra in for Winter storage. I have absolutely no problems with the boat. I also change out the filter after the first 8-10 hrs in the spring. This year I will also be adding Startron.
By the way, after I started buying gas for my truck without ethynol, my gas milage increased by about 2 miles per gallon.
 
By the way, after I started buying gas for my truck without ethynol, my gas milage increased by about 2 miles per gallon.
Click to expand...

Which is only ONE reason in a LONG list of why ethanol gasoine is a complete and total FARCE. (also on list: appeasing the green lobby, subsidizing farmers, driving the price of food up, lousey BTU production)
 
I believe it now more than ever. You wouldn't believe the crappy mileage I'm getting in my Hemi Durango now...and thats without towing the boat....
 
rondds said:
Which is only ONE reason in a LONG list of why ethanol gasoine is a complete and total FARCE. (also on list: appeasing the green lobby, subsidizing farmers, driving the price of food up, lousey BTU production)
Click to expand...

I agree, my mileage on my Tundra's gone down a little over 1-1.5 mpg(without towing) since I've been seeing Ethanol pop up more at gas stations this yr. I need to start looking for non-ethanol stations. This ethanol is costing us more in the long run than it's saving us short-term. Just another short-sighted program from Al & Co. He must have stock in Stabilizer co's too.

Does anyone know if it's a federal or state requirement to put an Ethanol sticker on fuel pumps that have it in their tanks? I asked one station that didn't have it marked, and they weren't sure if they had Ethanol or not.

-VtSeaRay
 
it should be clearly marked on the pump, by law.
 
it should be clearly marked on the pump, by law. if there's no sticker, then you've got old-fashioned gasoline.
 
VTSeaRay said:
Does anyone know if it's a federal or state requirement to put an Ethanol sticker on fuel pumps that have it in their tanks? I asked one station that didn't have it marked, and they weren't sure if they had Ethanol or not.-VtSeaRay
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Yes. It is state law. Michigan law does not require pumps to be labeled so you can't tell what you are buying unless the station employees know. Most I've asked have no clue. Fortunately, our local marinas all sell regular gas.
 
The reason why the ethanol blended fuels yeild worse mileage is because ethanol has less energy than gas:

Gas - 132x10-e6 joules or 132,000 BTU's
Ethanol - 77X10-e6 joules or 77,000 BTU's

Let's say your gas has 10% ethanol. Then you have 90% @ 132K BTU's and 10% @ 77K BTU's for a total of 126,500 BTU's for a net energy LOSS of 4.2%.

So if your truck/car is rated at 20 MPG, you can expect to loose 4.2% (or a little less than 1 MPG) of your MPG due to the loss of energy in Ethanol!

Thanks Al Gore & team!

firecadet613 said:
I believe it now more than ever. You wouldn't believe the crappy mileage I'm getting in my Hemi Durango now...and thats without towing the boat....
Click to expand...
 
I don't add anything to my fuel while storing it during the winter months. I typically fill my tank (only because gas is cheeper in November) and add 2 oz. of synthetic-blend 2-stroke oil per gallon. I actually always add the two-stroke oil to my fuel (even in my cars & SUV). The reason I add this oil is to lubricate the injectors that are constantly getting 'cleaned' out by the ethanol. Cleaning is good for the nozzles, but bad for the plunger & electromagnet assembly that need to be lubricated.
 
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday saying the world is awash in ethanol and producers are pushing the Feds to raise the ETOH percentage from 10% to 15 or 20%. With the goof balls we now have in control of federal policy, I can imagine they will try to ram this down our throats some time later in year.
 
The only good news hers is that they can't push it that high. The car's are not made to run on anything over 10% ETHANOL. That's why they came up with the whole 'flex fuel' thing.

sbw1 said:
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday saying the world is awash in ethanol and producers are pushing the Feds to raise the ETOH percentage from 10% to 15 or 20%. With the goof balls we now have in control of federal policy, I can imagine they will try to ram this down our throats some time later in year.
Click to expand...
 
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