New boat - old petrol

[MBM_Greg]

I bought an old Fletcher at the weekend. Full restoration required, including an entirely new interior.






As you can see, it needs a lot of work. One of the first issues is that it has a full tank of fuel. I reckon there is around 60l in there - but after a little research, it is appearing to be quite difficult to get rid of. Any ideas?

 

[secretagentmole]

How about using some PRI fuel additive? Has been successfully used to get 14 year old petrol to go apparently....

 

[Mr fishy]

I recently tried the fuel in my boat i bought the boat as a project( was probably 3/4 full) and i'd say it was sitting for 2-3 years easy and thought i would see if it would work or not, didn't have much hope in it but the engine fired right up on the fuel straight away. I was surprised, so I would just try and see if it works fine.

 

[MBM_Greg]

Have had a look for PRI products and sent off an email. Sounds like it is worth a go, although still a year from fitting an engine to it.

Turning the boat upsidedown to work on the hull, so will at least stick it in a few cans.

 

[rosssavage]

Try it!!

Got my old Mariner 3.3 out at the weekend - still had a full tank of three year old fuel in it, with added crusty 2 stroke oil.

Friends gathered rounds in anticipation of hours of frustration and tinkering to get it going... Fourth pull, job done

 

[crazy4557]

Stick it in the tractor mower you have, no problem using old stuff in them. Or do you have a petrol powered car ?

 

[MBM_Greg]

It is a full tank, so hopefully no water in the fuel. Would be good to get rid of it - don't like storing too much fuel for too long. Is it best to mix it with good stuff when sticking it in the car?

 

[SEARANGER ANCASTER]

It is a full tank, so hopefully no water in the fuel. Would be good to get rid of it - don't like storing too much fuel for too long. Is it best to mix it with good stuff when sticking it in the car?

Old fuel can damage engines but will be fine in car if you mix it with fresh stuff

 

[rbcoomer]

Old fuel can damage engines but will be fine in car if you mix it with fresh stuff

I did similar when I bought a Fletcher that hadn't been used for well over a year recently... I decanted most of the old fuel and topped up the tank with fresh, but obviously left enough behind as the first outing resulted in a carb full of water! I did have a spare tank with me, but lesson learned as I had to decant the entire 60L - which I did via a 5L clear container. I left each fill an hour to settle and then poured off the fuel into a bigger can and discarded the 2-5mm of water in the bottom each time! I then added all 60L of fuel and a bottle of Wynn's 'Dry Fuel' to the car! No issues with that. If it's a metal tank, you'll almost certainly have some condensation IMHO... I've also added a water separator in-line between the tank and the engine now!

 

[crazy4557]

Old fuel can damage engines but will be fine in car if you mix it with fresh stuff

Try telling the population of most of the Third World countries that!!! Most cars run on old rubbish fuel over there, some modern high performance engines might moan a bit though.

 

[Seastoke]

if you have a petrol car mix it in bit by bit

 

[rafiki_]

Greg, as long as it is unleaded, and clean, it will do your engine no harm, as long as it has sufficient lites to start. If not, you can get an additive.