I have a question about winterizing a diesel engine and diesel fuel
stabilizer.

Due to limited use of our boat this season, we only used about an 1/8
of the tank of diesel fuel this summer.

The diesel that is in the tank was stabilized last year (2007) when
the boat was stored for the winter.

My question is whether I should stabilize again this year based on the
entire tank, or whether I should reduce the stabilizer and only use
that amount required for the additional diesel that will be added to
top up the tank before winterizing?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Scott

--
Posted at author's request, using http://www.BoatingForumz.com interface.
Articles individually moderated. Abuse/Problem? Report at http://www.BoatingForumz.com/contact.html
Thread archive: http://www.BoatingForumz.com/Winteri...ict100051.html

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:22:22 -0500, yu177089 wrote:

I have a question about winterizing a diesel engine and diesel fuel
stabilizer.

Due to limited use of our boat this season, we only used about an 1/8
of the tank of diesel fuel this summer.

The diesel that is in the tank was stabilized last year (2007) when
the boat was stored for the winter.

My question is whether I should stabilize again this year based on the
entire tank, or whether I should reduce the stabilizer and only use
that amount required for the additional diesel that will be added to
top up the tank before winterizing?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Diesel fuel does not break down as it ages the way that gasoline does.
Properly stored it lasts a long time. The biggest risk is moisture in
the fuel which will cause bacteria/algae to grow and foul the tanks.
I would add some additional biocide like Biobor or Pri-D, enough for
the entire fuel load. You could also hire a fuel polishing service to
check the condition of the tanks and fuel.