Gotta hate ehtanol.........

[gss036]

I use to get quite a bit of water in my 115 gal aluminum tank until an old friend/boat mechanic told me to leave the cap off of the gas tank and stuff a paper towel in it to keep out the bugs, etc,. It works great for me since I trailer my boat and store it inside my pole barn. I still get some condensation on the outside of the hull, but heck our humidity rate here stays around 80% most of the time.

[nestorpr]

From my experience from many years in aviation and boating the difference is that if you leave the tank with 1/4 to 3/4 of fuel you will get water due to condensation, but if you leave it EMPTY or FULL then you get almost none. Of course, unlined metal tanks are the most guilty for this, lined metal, fiberglass and other composites don't suffer much from this problem.

[Jon G]

I think this winter I'm gonna drain it completely after reading the recomendations for the new fuel when used in boat. They say is starts loosing is octane after 15days and starts to go stale in 60-90, they are also recomending a fuel stabilizer YEAR ROUND, a non alchohol based stabilizer that is. They were saying to NOT fill your boat only put what you need in it and keep pitting smaller amoun ts in it more often to keep it fresh. I'm definatly gonna try a dead empty tank this winter, I read the post some where? I just remembered its over at that other real cool site here http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...hlight=ethanol kinda interesting, I'm gonna do things differant this year for sure. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[salvagefirst]

The problem here is filling a 135 gallon tank $$$$$$$$$$$$$ Les

[rockdoc]

In the past I've always used five 6 gal. plastic Jerry cans that I fill at the gas station, then bring to the boat and transfer, adding oil, to the six gal outboard tanks or under console 24 gal tank. That's in the 18' Maritime skiff. Now, with the Seafari and 19' Bowriders, both I/O, we'll see how that works. But the thing I like about the six gal. Jerry cans is I can use them to put gas in the boats or the car. That way the gas gets used up. And I don't pay fuel dock prices.

The prices at the gas station are scary enough out here.

I think that this year the answer is to go out in the boat more often just to make sure the gas gets burned up in time before it goes bad.......

rockdoc

[Jon G]

Marina prices are going to be out of control this year, last Aug I saw them go over $4, I trailer so I find the best deal I can thats kind close. I just topped of with 16 gallons of super for $51($3.14 gallon) lol, I already have my coffee can gas savings acount open for the year I have never filled up at the dock because I drive by two gas stations on the way. Rockdok my uncle used to take four five gallon jugs with him every time he rowed out to his 28 Bertram that was on a mooring in Wyhchmere harbor, I used to think he was nuts when I was a kid but now I under stand he kept it full and never paid the heavy price at the dock. lucky for him it had two 4.3L's so It sipped gas compared to v-8's, how much is gas on the island now in town? We go over every year just to look at the beautiful people and mega yatchs. There is no place on earth that is Nantucket, somehow the nine dollar icecream cone tastes just that much better I cant' wait to get over there this summer already.

[Finster]

I don't know about anyone else's area, but around here the word on the street is that it going to cause big problems for boat motors being it absorbs water. Apperantly Yamaha has already voided it's warranty for motors running on it.

[rockdoc]

Finster- no kidding!?! Yikes! It sounds like we don't have a choice, but voiding the warranty?

A big concern I've heard out here is that it's going to "clean out" old crud deposits and send them flowing through the fuel system.

Jon G- hopefully ice cream prices (and beer prices!) will stay stable on Nantucket this summer.
Regular gas was $3.49 at the pump on Monday. Today, who knows?

rockdoc

[Finster]

I'm not sure if that warranty thing is true or not. But all the boating folks around here are concerned. I understand there's a problem with certain poly-tanks as well.

[toppintom]

I'd like to know more about what it's going to do to the gas tanks. I have a 24 gal. Pate in my whaler. I heard it might damage it.