empty carb or not

[RalphL]

for years i have let my outboard carbs "run dry" before storage. Yesterday a marine tech told me it is best to use Stabil, and leave them full over the winter. He claims if you run them dry the seals dry out. Whats the consensus here??

[SuperD]

My service guy said that there is no such thing as running them dry. There is always a little residual in the bowl. Keeping them full with oil or heavy Stabil mixture will prevent the carb surface from shellacing.

[TrophyBoat]

run a fuel stabilizer through them and leave it wet, I heard the same thing that if you run em dry it lets the gaskets and seals dry rot.

[autorick]

I use my boat all year around, but i use stabil in the gas for eveything else and never had any problems.

[ZONKER]

There are three kinds of Stabil, and there is one just for what you want it for.

[fishbiker]

Run the stable threw it and keep it wet as other post says, with out fuel stable carb will gum up, mainly the low spped area. make sure you use a fuel stable that will work with E10 gas as thats what most all pump gas is. If you are running a meatl tank or even plastic fill the tank completly full, this will keep condensation from forming.

[SuperD]

I heard that HEET and E10 don't do well together. Anyone else heard that?

[fishbiker]

heres a good link with question and answers on fuel stable.
http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/stabil/faq.aspx

[AV8R]

for years i have let my outboard carbs "run dry" before storage. Yesterday a marine tech told me it is best to use Stabil, and leave them full over the winter. He claims if you run them dry the seals dry out. Whats the consensus here??

RalphL,

I'm wondering if you have experienced any float bowl gasket leaks yourself? You mentioned that you have run the carbs dry for years, and I'm assuming you haven't had any problems with this common practice. It's funny when someone tells you to fix something that isn't broken.

Food for thought: My 8hp Johnson has always been run dry by my grandpa after every fishing trip since it was new in 1990. It was passed on to me last year and I decided to give it a once over myself also rebuilding the carb at that time. The gaskets weren't dry, cracked or otherwise leaking at all. In addition there wasn't a speck of varnish on the inside of the carb components and the only slightly warn part was the bowl needle and seat. It was extremely clean due to the fact that it had always been allowed to run the gas out. Even if this procedure causes a gasket to dry out, might be easier to replace one of these, than to develop a poor running condition over time, followed by troubleshooting and thorough cleaning of the entire carb. Just my thoughts anyway.

[RalphL]

like you, I began running the gas out with my dads old 15 hp evinrude when I was a real young pup. I continued the practice with all my motors in the many years(decades) since. Never had a problem,but heres the rub,,,we never had to deal with ethenol. That corn crap changes the rules and is rough on seals. I think the stabil and leave them full approach may be the new norm but I am not yet convinced that the gas left in the carb wont just evaporate over the winter anyway. Will check it out over this winter.. Kind of old dog new trick scenario, but ,, times MAY call for a change..

[AV8R]

I think I would be less likely to leave Ethanol gas in the carb over non-e gas. One important thing to remember about Sta-bil is that it DOESN'T remove the ethanol. It just helps fight and prevent corrosion caused by ethanol gas.

Since you can't eliminate the ethanol, why not use sta-bil in the tank to stabilize the fuel, pull the fuel line to run carb dry, then use fogging oil just like you always have to prevent further corrosion?

Don't get me wrong, Sta-bil or similar product which helps prevent corrosion is a must in every tank. I don't think there is any claim however that it helps keep gaskets from leaking during extended storage.

[fishbiker]

E10 is 10% ethier way would work.

[ondarvr]

For the most part people that run the carbs dry and people that don't have the same results, it's because like has been said before, they don't run dry. You need to pull the drain plug to actually drain the carb. I never drain the carb and rarely use any stabilizer, mostly because it never sits for more than a couple of months. Now before you say things have changed because of E-10, remember many parts of WA have been using it for about 20 years.

[bob r]

I agree with ondarvr, with a 4 stroke tohatsu we never run it dry and try to run it at least once a month in winterand use stabil.% years and running like a top,even at low trolling speed. I used to run my 2 strokes dry and changed after talking to service folks. He's right, there is always fuel left unless you drain it. Bob R

[fishbiker]

theres 2 therorys, run dry or drain the carb will work but then you have risk of condensation, such as metal gas tanks on boats or motorcycles the condensation will rust the tank, if every thing is full with stableizer you won,t see any rust or clooging from gas turning to varnish. the important thing is making sure you use a E 10 friendly stableizer as the wrong one will damage the rubbers and o-rings. The thing i see the most on motorcycle repair is carb cleans. most of the float needles have a rubber tip inlike the old days of steel tip, when these stick to the seat or get deformed they will piss gas or not let any fuel into the carbs.

[Flyguy55]

Its not hard to remove the ethanol from gas .I do it for my gas powered racimg rc boats.
Ethanol absorbs water . That makes it heavy . In a clear container pour in about 10 - 15 % water . Add gas . Shake it up some and let it set. Soon the ethanol will absorb water , sink to the bottom . There will be a clear line between the water- ethanol and gas ( thats why a clear container ). let it set till the gas clears .Syphon off the gas from the top. I have only used Phillips 66 so my mix is the same each batch .
, but ought to work with any brand .

Try a small amount and see for yourself . I use a big 5 gal. botteled water jug .
If concerned , just use it for the last tank on the kicker at seasones end .
BTW , gas softens some plastic containers , its why I use glass .

Dick

[ondarvr]

Don't out smart yourself. Ethanol is used to increase the octane rating of the gas, not a huge amount, but it does. So removing the ethanol reduces the octane rating.

Not really a good thing.

After using E-10 for the last 20 years I can say I don't have too many issues with it.

[Flyguy55]

http://www.fuel-testers.com/gasoline_octane_and_ethanol_E10.html
Read this before you decide if ethanol increases or decreases octane rating in fuel used in a boat , or a boat in storage .

[ondarvr]

I'm not sure what your point was in posting that. You posted how you removed the ethanol from your gas, I said it lowers the octane rating and to be careful, then you posted something that confirms what I said.

I have been aware of that site for many years, it has some good information, but their goal is to sell test kits for ethanol, so they go a little over board on the scare tactics on shelf life and speed of phase separation, they use the shortest time possible in a worst case scenario.