Can petrol be left in over winter?

[Lark]

Originally Posted by CDK1

That's bad. The only stuff with 10% ethanol here is cheap wine.

Water in fuel seems to be a serious problem, poor starting, corrosion and gasket damage.
Did anybody try placing a bag of silica gel in the tank filler? A tank cap with a cavity for it might be a useful gadget.

I know nothing at all about the chemistry of all this but the water issue is familiar from our domestic oil tank. I've used products like this (Oil Tank Dryer Water Remover. Petrol Diesel Bio-Diesel & Fuel Oil | eBay) to soak up the water. I put two of them into the tank at a time. I've found they can be reused. They've done a great job. I wonder whether popping one into the boat tank for a week or so before using the boat (and then removing) might get rid of the water.

[9D280]

Originally Posted by Dry_Doc

when left to stand for a decent length of time, so you end up with a layer of water at the bottom of the fuel tank.

I can assure you it will be nicely mixed as soon as you move the trailer!

Which then brings uis into the "what % water will actually be in the mix, and more importantly can your engine put up with it for a tankful?

[captnjack]

Originally Posted by 9D280

I can assure you it will be nicely mixed as soon as you move the trailer!

Which then brings uis into the "what % water will actually be in the mix, and more importantly can your engine put up with it for a tankful?

The added ethanol itself is like 99% ethanol. There's no water in it by design. I can in theory absorb water and that actually happens. But the fuel antifreeze you need to use in (in places like Minnesota and Canada, not here in Seattle) guess what, that's alcohol - either methanol or isopropyl. In either case its intended to disperse the water in fuel tanks and allow it to "burn" off. It doesn't actually burn of course but small amounts of condensation in a larger volume to fuel pass readily through automotive (and marine) engines.

I have never had a problem leaving E10 in my 4 stroke 60hp for months. Perhaps there's some slight extra water absorbed but it passes through without issue and is not separated (or it would be visible in the fuel water separator). Having a deck mounted fuel tank with a closable vent is a big help to avoiding fuel related problems.