Fuel

[wba 1879]

Hi,

My fuel tank has not been used for a couple of months. I believe the petrol in the tank will still be OK but is there any problem with the petrol in the pipe leading to the connector. The tank is kept in a damp free dry garage. Cheers for any replies

[rogerblack]

A couple of months should be OK - I always add fuel stabiliser in any case as I never know how long I'm likely to be storing it before use. However, if you can drain any fuel in the pipe that would probably be safer, just as using up or draining any in the carb before storage is advised. Ideally, do this with fuel in the pipe before storage next time as some of those connecting hoses have had liner disintegration issues which then gums up the carb.

[wba 1879]

Cheers for your reply, I used the sib today and it was OK. I always run the carb dry after each trip when flushing the OB out.

[PeterM]

Good call on running dry.. on little carbed engines it's a good thing to do.. with a little push on the fuel fitting to ease any air press if its an external tank.

I'll go 4 months without thinking about stale fuel if I know its been air tight in a constant temp dark garage

[wba 1879]

Thanks Peter

[Alan]

Hi
I have a Mercury 20 hp EFI which is never completely run dry. Even for winter storage the stabilized fuel remains in the lines for almost 6 months. I have never had a first start problem in the late spring. I always use ethanol free fuel and add stabilizer through the entire year. These small engines use so little fuel I just want to remove all issues I can control even if it costs a little more.