It's That Time of Year; Burn That Gas Out of Your Boat

Fall is fast approaching, season ending fishing tournaments and championships are going on now. Some have already put their boats away to get ready for hunting season, while others are just putting their boats away for the season. I know that I blog about ethanol way to much, but that should be a sign to you that it continues to big a huge issue for our customers. If you continue to use your boat year round, ethanol will not be a issue that you will have to deal with. If you do store your rig over the winter months, burn that gas out of your boat before your you put your rig away.

Ethanol is used in all gasoline that is distributed along Route 95, this means that everyone using gasoline in the Mid Atlantic area uses it. That means you use it in your boat, your lawn mower, chain saw etc. Ethanol has a shelf life of under 90 days before it has phase separation. At which time it will begin to absorb water, creates an acid solution and loose its octane rating. This is really bad of your outboard and any other gasoline engine that you put into storage. Phase separated gasoline can blow your engine, corrosion can cause damage to your engine components and cost you a lot of money.

Preventing problems from ethanol phase separation is pretty easy. Before you put your rig away for the season, add some brand of ethanol fuel treatment to your boats gas tank (we use Sierra E Guard or Star-tron at our shops), then run the boats gas tank as low as possible the last time you plan on using it. If you have already put your boat away without doing this, drain your gasoline out of your boat and put it in your car or truck, then add ethanol treatment to your tank. When you put gasoline in your boat for the first time next spring, fill it up with high test gasoline, this will raise the octane level of the older gas when blended with fresh gasoline.

Remember that you still need to do your standard winterizing, gear oil filter, greasing etc. If you winterize your boat and take care of the ethanol issue you will be a lot better off when spring arrives. If not, we will be waiting to see you in the shop in the spring.