Run out fuel or not?

[Russ]

I need some winterizing advice from my experts.

I've got the Suzuki DF70 which I believe is fuel injected.

Winterizing...should I run the fuel out dry or just shut it down with fuel in the system? I would add stabilizer either way.

[brokeboatersclub]

I did a little research, and oddly enough, the manual doesn't say anything regarding winterization.

I found this article on winterizing Suzuki 4 strokes.

https://www.partsvu.com/blog/how-to-win ... ard-motor/

It recommends running it dry and adding stabilizer. It also recommends fogging it, but I think that's a little overkill considering it's a 4 stroke, and so already well lubricated. I attached a screenshot of the relevant part.

In the end, you won't hurt anything running it out, besides maybe your arm trying to start it in the spring. That way you don't have to worry about phase separation corroding anything if you use ethanol. I'd run it out, add the stabilizer, and call it good till the spring.

[Stickinthemud57]

I run my 2-stroke dry after every use. I installed a petcock in the fuel line near where it connects to the motor, and shut it off as I am headed into my slip. It starts up promptly with no issues.

After switching over from the old metal gas tank it came with to the new "non-venting" variety, I started having problems with it stalling out as a result of flooding. After an unsuccessful run at rebuilding the carb, I installed a new one and one of those special valves that only allows gas to flow when there is demand from the engine. Several fellow sailors endorsed the practice of running the engine dry after each use. I installed the aforementioned petcock, and have had trouble-free performance since.

I had a 4-stroke for a while with a different boat, and learned that they are pretty finicky about the freshness of their gas. I think running it dry couldn't hurt and could help. I would also recommend putting any unused fuel in your car's tank (assuming it's not a diesel) at the end of the season and buy fresh gas when it's time to hit the water in the Spring.

[Be Free]

If you are using non-ethanol gasoline then you should have no problems storing the gasoline as-is over the winter in an airtight container without any problems. If you plan on storing it more than 6 months then adding a fuel stabilizer will increase the storage time time to well over a year. Some say up to three years but I can't imagine why you would want to stock up fuel for an outboard that long.

If you are using E10 gasoline then anything over three months is suspect. The alcohol will oxidize more quickly that the gasoline making it less combustible but the real killers are water absorption and phase separation. I would not leave E10 in a fuel tank or anywhere in the fuel system of the engine over the winter.

I'd run the engine dry regardless of the fuel if I knew it was not going to be used for several months.

[Russ]

I always run pure gas (no ethanol).

What I did was siphon all the gas out of the tanks. Then added some stabilizer. Then ran the motor for a while and disconnected from the tank and ran it dry.

Sad time. The boat is back on the hard. But no gas in the motor.

[dlandersson]

I disconnect the fuel line from the OB, let the OB run out of fuel (takes a surprisingly long time), then add stabilizer to the fuel tank.

I need some winterizing advice from my experts.

I've got the Suzuki DF70 which I believe is fuel injected.

Winterizing...should I run the fuel out dry or just shut it down with fuel in the system? I would add stabilizer either way.

[Be Free]

+1 on the "surprisingly long time" to run the engine dry.

I try to remember to run my engine 15 minutes a week if I haven't used it. The last time (just before the hurricane) I forgot that I had disconnected the gas tank. It cut off after 14 minutes just as I was climbing aboard to turn it off. Compared to all of the possible causes of a premature engine shutoff that flashed through my mind in that instant finding the fuel line disconnected was a most welcome relief.