To clean or not to clean (fuel tank)

[TiltonBB]

In over 50 years of owning boats and I have never cleaned a gas tank. Unless you know you have a problem I wouldn't worry about it.

You can take a look at your used fuel filters, even dissect them, and see if they are picking up a lot of contamination. If they look decent I wouldn't worry about it.

I do put some dry gas in during the spring in case winter condensation has caused water droplets to invade the gas tank.

[mswlogo]

I’ve had 2 boats since 1986 that stayed on water all summer and never cleaned the tank. For that mater I never changed the fuel filter either

Most tanks have a pickup that does not reach the bottom, with a screen. So even if a little dirt is in there it’s not a problem.

And I’d say the bigger the tank the less likely it could ever be a problem. Largest tank I had was 35 gallon.

Never cleaned tanks in lawn mowers or rotor tillers etc. my rototiller is 30 ish years old and I can see dirt in there for as long as I can remember.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

In over 50 years of owning boats and I have never cleaned a gas tank. Unless you know you have a problem I wouldn't worry about it.

You can take a look at your used fuel filters, even dissect them, and see if they are picking up a lot of contamination. If they look decent I wouldn't worry about it.

I do put some dry gas in during the spring in case winter condensation has caused water droplets to invade the gas tank.

Good advice about the fuel filter dissection.

You don't need to bother with the dry gas, your gas is already 10% ethanol which is quite similar to isopropyl alcohol (dry gas) when it comes to water absorption.