Twelver

It's been 3-4 years since I fired up my boat with outboard motor. How long is gasoline good for before I should siphon it out vs. mix in some fresh & fire it up. Further complicating things, the gas is in a built-in tank and mixed with oil. Does 2-stroke oil separate from gas over time? (Hope this is the right category for this. I figured the RV and ATV crowd might be in here.) Thanks in advance for any help!

ptgarcia

I would siphon out the old stuff, then fill up with a fresh mix. When you leave gas in a tank that long it will go bad. You may have a bit of trouble starting her up, especially if that outboard has a carburetor. You may have to take it apart and clean it out. Good luck!

johnh

i would change the gas and put some gas stabilizer in it, like "stabil".... maybe you will get lucky and not have to disassemble the carbs, i forgot to add stabil twice,i had to disassemble and clean the carbs two years in a row....when you put your boat away for the season it's a good idea to drain the carbs........ i have oil injection so i don't mix it with gas, but i am useing oil i bought 7 years ago. still works

John Halter

I was told that the gas and oil will separate after 30 days and not to use it after that . Right or wrong that is what I go by and only mix enough for that many days . After that time I dump it in a tractor and mix the fuel with full tank . On another note I also never use any fuel in a two cycle that has alcohol in it either it does not mix well and will cause you problems down the road .

Twelver

Thanks for the advice everyone. I bought a siphon and will go that route, then refill with new gas/oil mix, plus I'll add the appropriate amount of fuel stabilizer...picked up some Lucas. On a related note, should I rinse out a portable 6-gal tank that sat for 20 or so years with a little fresh gas to get the old gunk semi-flushed out before using? Thanks again!