[smaman]

I have heard that putting sta-bil along with a full tank of gas is the way to do it. I found a local gas station that sells ethanol free fuel (via pure-gas.org) I would think this is preferable to standard fuel. What about a gallon of ethanol free with sta-bil, then running the car till dry? Then there is no fuel to age, and any residual fuel is treated and free of ethanol? What do you guy think?

[Dens71TA]

I've never had a problem with a full gas tank and some Sta-bil. My old '73 T/A sat in an unheated shed from 2005-2010 and it was up and running within 45 seconds after storage.

An empty gas tank will condense water inside and sometimes also cause the gauge sender to fail.

[West Coast GTO]

The reason that small aircraft call for the fuel truck to fill their tanks after turning them off is because of condensation and engines don't run too well on water. Same concept with your fuel tank, fill it to the top for winter. Add Sta-Bil to the tank.
Good to go( next spring).

[necdb3]

I've never done anything but fill the tanks (no Sta-bil) and have never had a problem. In the spring, I make sure to drive the car over the summer enough to burn the whole tank of fuel and repeat next year. Some cars I drive more than others and get multiple tanks of fuel in the summer and some I only drive enough for 1 tank.

[RASK]

I read somewhere where modern fuels will last at least a year untreated. However, Sta-bil is cheap insurance. Note that Sta-bil has expanded its line to include products for ethanol and ethanol free fuel. Add recommended amount, fill 'er up, run it to ensure that it gets mixed well and is run through the system.

[smaman]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

The reason that small aircraft call for the fuel truck to fill their tanks after turning them off is because of condensation and engines don't run too well on water. Same concept with your fuel tank, fill it to the top for winter. Add Sta-Bil to the tank.
Good to go( next spring).

That's what I've heard in terms of the reasoning behind the full winter tank- my problem is I haven't been able to even get through one tank a year with the car. Would leaving the gas cap off avoid the condensation problem? I'll probably just go with draining the existing fuel, filling up with ethanol free with stabil and calling it good. If I haven't gone through a full tank by next year, I'll drain it again and start over.

[necdb3]

Originally Posted by smaman

That's what I've heard in terms of the reasoning behind the full winter tank- my problem is I haven't been able to even get through one tank a year with the car. Would leaving the gas cap off avoid the condensation problem? I'll probably just go with draining the existing fuel, filling up with ethanol free with stabil and calling it good. If I haven't gone through a full tank by next year, I'll drain it again and start over.

Make it a point to burn all the fuel from last year. Even in the winter, I run my cars every month. I may not take them out of my driveway, but I'll let them get up to normal operating temp. That way the engine/trans stay lubricated and your battery stays charged.

OR

How bad can that be that you have to drive your car!

[Formulajones]

I was thinking the same thing. You just need to drive it more often. Doesn't take much to run a tank out of these things

And what is winter storage anyway

[Formulabruce]

March 10th!! We had a little bit of rain previous day to wash salt off at least the middle of the roads.. I use a battery tender and a product ( I will find the bottle and post, it blew away star tron, sta-bil in testing) to keep the ethanol mixed with the gas while absorbing any water. My Garage has low humidity though.

[Formulajones]

Eeeew, I've seen enough of that stuff to last me a life time, that's why I left that part of the country

[smaman]

You guys crack me up - yeah I should enjoy the car more and true it takes little to empty a tank. Part of the problem this year was overheating - first fast then slow. I changed the thermostat and the fast overheat went away, but a slow one followed. I didn't have time to pull the radiator and have it checked- I'm going to do that this winter. I did go and fill with the ethanol free fuel with stabil and took it for a spin. Driving it was fun - the sound, power, handling, and just the history. There isn't much left that's exactly like 1971, but this car comes close. The fuel was only 4.59 per gallon (91 octane) vs 3.35 for standard 87. Besides, aren't you supposed to get better mpg with ethanol free fuel? I'm probably up to 10.5 mpg from 10.

[74 SD455 Formula]

I put in 5 Gallons of 110 octane race gas and top the rest off with 91 octane unreformulated Premium gas and leave it until Spring. Car runs great and the Gas smells great.For what it's worth I put my cars away around Thanksgiving and bring them back out around April.

[Formulajones]

I used to deal with winter storage when I lived back east. I never really did anything special for the cars. When the first salt was laid down the cars went into hibernation.

I simply filled up the tanks, no sta-bil or anything fancy. Never even used battery tenders until recently the last few years. I just made a habbit of starting them up every couple of weeks and let them run for 15-20 minutes to lube everything. If we were lucky enough to get a warm day with rain to wash the roads off in the middle of winter, I'd make an effort to take the cars around the block to just move everything (after the roads dried of course). Practiced this for dozens of years back East, never a problem.

[Brewster]

Can you say Sea Foam?? Its the only thing I use besides keeping the garage around 55 degrees, battery tenders, jack stands (depending upon rubber), car covers, mouse trap- line set up.

[MescaBug]

In 20 years, never cared about winter storage and fuel. Full tank, empty tank... And I am in Quebec, Canada.

When I start the car after the winter, I pour a 5 gallons of new fuel, fill the carb and thats it.

[TTOP350]

I just fill it to the top when I park it for the winter. Done.

[1966Lemans]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

The reason that small aircraft call for the fuel truck to fill their tanks after turning them off is because of condensation and engines don't run too well on water. Same concept with your fuel tank, fill it to the top for winter. Add Sta-Bil to the tank.
Good to go( next spring).

That's pretty much an Old Wives Tale. I've never filled my plane's tanks to the top, in 21 years, and have never gotten any water in the fuel.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by MescaBug

In 20 years, never cared about winter storage and fuel. Full tank, empty tank... And I am in Quebec, Canada.

When I start the car after the winter, I pour a 5 gallons of new fuel, fill the carb and thats it.

yup, cooler temps, less phase breakdown. I dont have any issues aside from the fact that my car sits up neat the roof and its hot up there in summer ( evaps my carb every time).
Im not too far directly south of QB Pr.

[West Coast GTO]

Hmmm, guess I must be an old wife.
Both the 150 Cessna and the 180 Cherokee were treated that way. On your pre-flight, don't you drain fuel from the tank bottom to check specifically for condensed water in the fuel?

Originally Posted by 1966Lemans

That's pretty much an Old Wives Tale. I've never filled my plane's tanks to the top, in 21 years, and have never gotten any water in the fuel.

[West Coast GTO]

I mis printed.
No check with Cherokee, definite check with the 150 Cessna

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

Hmmm, guess I must be an old wife.
Both the 150 Cessna and the 180 Cherokee were treated that way. On your pre-flight, don't you drain fuel from the tank bottom to check specifically for condensed water in the fuel?