Discoloured unleaded fuel

[sailingjeff]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever come across problems with unleaded fuel discolouring when left for a period of time ( 2/ 3 weeks) ?
Ive had loads of problems with a new outboard and I think Ive narrowed it down to fuel. If any is left in the engine it turns a brown/yellow colour. The first time in the fuel hose from the tank to engine ( hose changed) and now Ive had the same problem in the carb its self.
Ive been told that after about 12 weeks unleaded separates, but this has happened much faster and I don't get the problem in the tank only the engine pipes.
If anyone has any thoughts I would be very grateful - especially after having to sail up to the lock at Chichester.

 

[VicS]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever come across problems with unleaded fuel discolouring when left for a period of time ( 2/ 3 weeks) ?
Ive had loads of problems with a new outboard and I think Ive narrowed it down to fuel. If any is left in the engine it turns a brown/yellow colour. The first time in the fuel hose from the tank to engine ( hose changed) and now Ive had the same problem in the carb its self.
Ive been told that after about 12 weeks unleaded separates, but this has happened much faster and I don't get the problem in the tank only the engine pipes.
If anyone has any thoughts I would be very grateful - especially after having to sail up to the lock at Chichester.

I regularly store unleaded petrol for much longer... routinely from one season's end to the beginning of the next. At the moment I am using fuel which has been stored for a year in in my mower without any problems and it was in the outboard tank for a while before that.

However I only store it in full airtight metal cans.

The aim being to store it with minimum exposure to air and not exposed to light.

Nothing should separate if properly stored but these days most petrol contains some ethanol. Ethanol is hygroscopic and if not stored in air tight cans it will absorb water from the atmosphere. Although an ethanol blend can hold more water in solution than a ethanol free blend eventually it will absorb so much water if exposed to the air that a water/ ethanol rich mixture will separate.

It sounds as though the fuel hoses in your engine may not be of the correct material for modern ethanol blended fuel. Although they should be in a new engine.