Winterizing the gas tank

[mmiklosz]

My first season is sadly coming to a close here on Lk. Michigan. I will take it out of the water this week.

I plan on topping the tank off. What treatments should I add?

[chumbucket]

Fuel stabilizer is all you need. Something like Stabil. Available in any auto parts stores locally. ;)

[Mulv80]

Stabil is good. Just remember if you are going to leave gas in the carbs allow the motor to run long enough with the stabil in the tank to make its way to the carbs.

[Skools Out]

Alot of the new 2 stroke oils have a Stabil already in them but good idea to use a bottom also.

[mmiklosz]

Skool,
I have a 225 Johnson also. I was planning on running all the gas out of the motor, pulling the plugs and fogging. I am also going to change the lower lube oil and store the motor down to drain out the water.
Anything else??
Thanks!

[Skools Out]

i use Marvel Mystery Oil for fog oil cause it will not gum up and will burn away next year

[mmiklosz]

I'll get the Marvel Mystery Oil.
Thanks

[macojoe]

I have been using Mystery oil for years!! I put in a squirt bottle and squirt it into the carbs while they are running, wa\hat a cloud this makes!! :o
If I am going to leave something for a long long time I will also take the pluges out fill with the oil and then give the motor a quick crank with out starting.

I add stabil to the tanks just beforew my last trip of the year. this way it gets all thur the lines and all. Then i can just top off the tanks add a bit more with out having to let the motor run.

I also remove the steering cable from to motor tube and grease it and bag it and leave it out all winter. This way it will never get stuck in the tube!!
I am lucky that I have a bracket cause I no all cables on the V20 can not come out with out removing the motor! :-/ In this case grease the crap out of it and make sure that the motor is turned so that the sterring shaft is all the way inside the tube so it is not exposed to the weather.

[willy]

Any of you guys use sea foam, I just bought it to put in my new v20, had a mechanic from the boat dealer near here tell me I should put it in regulary as it will clean my tank of crap clean my carbs and remove/prevent carbon build up in heads plus it acts just like a stabil type thing for storage. He told me guys that use it on a regular basis see a big diffrence in longevity as far as the head goes.

[macojoe]

Well I have heard good things about it, But have never used it.
IMO you have to be careful with all the add ins, don't use more then you have to. And somethings just don't work.
Like this will take all the crap out?? Were does it go?? what does a little germlin carry it out in the night when you sleep??
It takes the water out of your tank?? How is there a grelim and his budys sucking straws all night from your tank??

Don't get me wrong there are a lot of good things out there!! But it all has to run thur the motor and carbs and lines before its gone!!
So becareful of snake oils!! Sometimes its just good old hard work needed to get it done and a little hard worked never killed anyone!

I use gas, oil, foging oil, decarb addative and thats it! When my old tanks needed cleaning, I emptyed all I could then removed the tanks cleaned dryed reinstalled and started new!

This was what was in my tank that the old owner left me, and nothing would have gotten it out!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/macojoe/f29b71e6.jpg

[willy]

Nothing is carrying that out MJ :-[
I don't think there are any gremlins, but it does bond and alter/breakdown things so they flow out of your tank and into the filters to be cleaned by you. Which I do regulary, I remember using something years ago a mechanic gave me to get condensation and crud outof your tank. The first time I went out after using it my water seperaator filter had brown crap all in it. After cleaning two seperate times it was flowing clear so it definetly did something in there to clean it out. I don't think it was sea foam it came from one of the engine manufactures. The guys on some of the other sites use the sea foam all the time as a constant decarb, in use carb cleaner and fuel conditioner and spoke high of it. ;)

[Mac_Attack]

Seafoam works for me. I add it to my gas, run motor on muffs and fog engine. Thats it, also change lower end oil. Bill Mc ;D

[macojoe]

I understand and said that there are a lot of good stuff out there!! Just becareful of all the false advertising!!

As for Seafoam a lot of people use it and say it is great!! I just have nnot.

[willy]

Gotcha MJ

[offshorega]

Just to add on-I always top off the tank after every run to prevent any water from condenation, forming in the tank.
Seafoam-I've got a buddy that swears by it, but he doesn'/t put it into his main tank. He uses a smaller tank to run it through his yam 175.
Do you put seafoam in your main tanks? How long have you been doing that? worked well?
Thanks

[mirage2521]

In this case grease the crap out of it and make sure that the motor is turned so that the sterring shaft is all the way inside the tube so it is not exposed to the weather.

I have had more than one tech tell me just the opposite, they said leve them out so if the get stuck you have something to work with. It's not all hidden up in the tube. If I ever live anywhere that I don't use my boats all year I will give this a little more consideration (It's 71' and sunny T'sgiving day here)

[macojoe]

as of right now it is 19* here!!

[mmiklosz]

It was 19 deg here on Thanksgiving, we got 2" of snow. My V20 is sleeping for the winter, while I page through boating catalogs for more stuff I don't really need.