Full or empty fuel tank for leaving the boat in the water over winter?

[neale]

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Now, if you are getting water in the fuel then your filler cap is leaking so it will make no difference whether you fill up or not. Change your O-rings and sleep better at night.

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Leaking fuel filler is not the only way for water to get in the tank. Much more likely is the water will come from the air. A half empty tank will breathe as the fuel expands and contracts in the heat. At night, the air in the tank will condense on the tank sides and water will run down into the fuel. The next day the same thing happens and so on. If the tank is full, there is no, (or very little), tank surface for the condensation to form this no, (or very little), water gets into the fuel.

Petrol tanks, keep full and add a fuel stabilizer.

 

[phockit]

How long are you intending to leave it unused ??

Best thing is, as ever, to use the boat. If it's going to be sat for longer than a couple of weeks then add stabiliser. If it's going to be idle for longer than the stabiliser works for then add more or empty it out.

We filled our tank before taking the boat out for it's annual maintenance. The service folks added stabiliser whilst doing their work. Worked fine for us but we were only out for a couple of months.

You could always see what your local Mercruiser service folks recommend....

Paul