Stale petrol & breather questions

[Alan Vaughan]

Anyone know a site(s)that advises re petrol going off. Suspect my 75 litres left in underfloor tank for 12 months should not have been topped up to 100 and used last week. I use 96 but suspect all is not well. Hope I haven't done any damage. Result of using this petrol was subject of separate post teasing with a "Guess what the problem is" on the repairs forum.<br /><br />The breather coughed up a couple of times in the heat we had - fair enough - but what is to stop water - say from rain - going down into the under floor tank. It is situated high up in the well. I am getting paranoid until I get the service done on 5th Feb. <br /><br />Another little issue may be as follows. The spin on petrol cap is about 3" in dia with a narrower neck with an O ring. However when done up tight I have only just noticed that the outer edge of the 3" rubs on the slope of the well making one think all is nice and tight. I may have to raise the base a quarter inch to prove the O ring seals. Thats all. Cheers<br />AV <br />New Zealand

 

[Solittle]

Re: Stale petrol & breather questions

The design and construction of your boat will determine if water can get under your tank if that is your question. You may want to rephrase what you wrote as I found it difficult to understand - maybe it is just me and my two brain cells.

 

[OBJ]

Re: Stale petrol & breather questions

AV...Personnally I don't think I would have used 12 month old gas. I think I would have drained the tank and used the stuff in my lawn mower. Setting that long, a lot of moisture would have had to condense into the gas and probably, if the tank is not of a poly material and is metal, done no good to the tank it's self. This is why most all wrench's suggest the use of gas stabilizer in the tank for lay up as well as having the tank full.<br /><br />As solittle posted, the issue of wether or not the tank will take on water from normal use, depends on design and construction. Inboard or built in tanks are designed to keep water out from normal use and being caught in the rain or even high seas.

 

[Alan Vaughan]

Re: Stale petrol & breather questions

Thanks guys, after a day surfing the bad fuel sites I can see the error of my ways. In fact some of the fuel will be nearly 2 years old. I get to use the boat so little that I appear to have overlooked this aspect. It all comes out on the 5th at the dealer. I still can't work out why water - rain or otherwise can't go down the breather. And I have yet to prove that the side of the filler screw-on cap isn't rubbing on the side of the motor well and not allowing the internal O ring to seal properly. I am goin g to have to think about whether I can run around with 50 litres and not 100 litres. My average day out with all stops and starts uses on average only 25 litres. Maybe I should take the tank out for my duration with the boat and use a couple of 25 litre tanks in its place with secure fixing. May be able to keep an eye on the gas that way. Thanks for chat. Hope like hell the motor is all right. Only done 38 hours. Cheers<br /><br />AV<br />Wellington<br />New Zealand. (Perhaps if I retired I would use it more - now there's a thought).