Boat Storage

[speck]

Due to an illness wont be able to fish for a few months then its time to chase ducks. Boat will be stored until Feb. Kind of new to bassboat ownership so just curious on what to do for the off season. i have about 8 gallons i the main tank and 5 in each rear side tank so i added some sta built. Main question is regarding the three trolling motor batteries. Should i take them out or just plug in the on board charger and leave it. Charge them then un plug? Any help appreciated.

[godshippy]

I would keep them plugged in. My dad always told me to leave anything electronic plugged in if you don't plan to use it for extended periods of time. He used to fix TVs and VCRs for a living.

[ash]

Hopefully a battery guy will be by soon to answer your question on the batteries. I would say leave them in the boat, but disconnect them, esp the cranking battery if you have GPS as it will always pull power from the battery.

In terms of fuel in the boat I have read that one should fill up the tanks all the way, treat with Stabil. The reason to fill up the tanks is so that condensation does not occur with todays gas being ethonal I am not sure if this school of thought is still valid. I would try to run the gas out of the engine lines, hook it up to the hose on ear muffs run the engine and kill the gas at boat tank and let the engine eat up any gas in the lines.

When you fire her back up, I would replace the fuel / water seperator or at least drain it. but again I am a garage mechanic and these are steps that I would take.

[Leon Pugh]

Have you towed the boat since the stabill was installed, if not tow it for a few miles to insure it is mixed with gas. Be sure the tank fillers and tank vents are sealed. It is usaully easy to remove the vent hoses and plug the vents. A soft rubber ball works well for sealing the fillers. Put a piece of braided line around the balls to make it easier to pull theme out when ready. Do not fill the tanks, you will just have more fuel that will degrade. If you seal the tanks you will not have to worry about moisture. Charge the batteries to 100% and disconnect them. If they are AGM's they will still be up in February, just top off the charge. If they are lead acid they should be recharged every 60 days. I do not like to leave chargers hooked up when not needed, they do fail sometimes and can overcharge a battery thus ruining it. There is also the very small risk of malfunctions that can melt wiring or even cause fires. It is very rare for to days chargers to fail in such a way as described above, but it can happen. Do not run the fuel system dry, it can cause more harm than good. I would mix up a little gas with about a 10 to one oil ration and run the motor at fast idle till it is smoking real good and shut it off. draining the separator and replacing the filter is a good thing to do.

[FishDiver]

Do not run the fuel system dry, it can cause more harm than good. I would mix up a little gas with about a 10 to one oil ration and run the motor at fast idle till it is smoking real good and shut it off. draining the separator and replacing the filter is a good thing to do.

Is this correct for carbureted engines as well as injected?

[Leon Pugh]

Yes:
If you run it dry, all o-rings and seals will start shrinking and could start cracking or splitting resulting in a failure not long after you put it back in service. Also if it is dry thermal cycling can cause moisture to migrate into places you would not believe causing corrosion of aluminum parts. This corrosion can then pass through the system plugging or restricting fuel flow through the injectors. Running the rich oil mix will will leave a heavy coating of oil on everything stopping the corrosion process and keeping the seals from drying out. It may have to have fresh plugs though after you restart it because of oil fouling.