On 5/27/2015 8:34 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 27 May 2015 19:37:08 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/27/2015 7:05 PM, Username wrote:
True North wrote:
Johnny.....I operate on a 5 month use and 7 month storage schedule.
Manual says to treat gas and run for a bit and then fog
cylinders.....which is exactly what the dealer does at the end of the
season. And yes, this is a 4 stroke motor and no one confuses 2
stroke oil with 4 stroke.
In the spring I burn off the previous years treated gas and then
change my water filter. Motor starts up right away and might smoke
for a couple of minutes...but works well after warming up.


You have to consider how old the gas is that you are treating. The
clock starts ticking the minute you fill your tank. Fuel stabilizers
only stabilize, they can't help old gas.


How old is the gas by the time it's delivered to your local gas station?

Someone told me once that I should put an additive to the fuel in the
first diesel powered boat that I had (unless I was using it daily and
going through a lot of fuel quickly). Diesel fuel is a breeding ground
for "bugs" that can clog fuel filters if they get too bad. But I
mentioned it to the marina owner who sold diesel. He said the
recommended additive to prevent bug growth is put in the fuel by the
distributor, so don't waste my money on it.

Maybe gasoline is also stabilized at some point after refining but
before delivery to retailers.


===

Unlike gasoline, diesel fuel lasts a long time without breaking down.
It has another problem though related to bacteria growth in the
presence of water. The additives that you buy are really an
antibiotic of sorts. But if you can keep all moisture out of the
diesel, it will last just about forever with no additives at all.



The only time I had any concern about diesel fuel was when I was
preparing to bring the Navigator back up to MA from Florida. The boat
had sat in it's slip in Jupiter, FL for over 2 years, pretty much unused
and the fuel tanks were full but the fuel was old. I hired a guy to
polish the fuel, just to be safe. You're right though. An inspection
of the filters he used after polishing almost 500 gallons of fuel showed
very few contaminants. The Racors on the boat would have easily taken
care of them.

I also had redundant main Racor filters with valving on that boat ... as
I also had on the Egg Harbor. Never needed to switch over while
underway but it was peace of mind.