Fuel....full or half full?

[Captain Steve]

Next month I am going to pull our R25 out of the water and store it on the trailer for 4 months or so while I get two new knees and the requisite rehab time. I have 40 gal in the fuel tank now. Is it better to fill it so its full during the storage and non operation or just leave it alone. I do treat it with the diesel additive to retard growth, etc. Looking forward to no pain! Although this pain got me into the Ranger. Could not scamper around on deck of our sailboat, so sold it and bought the R25.

 

[rporterfield]

You should leave the tank as close to full as possible, allowing for expansion. This reduces the condensation and water accumulation, which feeds the biological growth. Good luck on the surgery.

Robert :|

 

[Captmike]

second that advice and heal well.

 

[Levitation]

My diesel powered combines sit for 11 months out of the year.
The tractors sit for 6 months.
They start fine and run fine.
I do fill the tanks before storing them.
I do not bother with foo foo juice :mrgreen:

 

[Barry Cohen]

Everyone at my yacht club, including myself, fills the tank.

 

[bbrh842]

Fill-er-up.

 

[knotflying]

Think of it this way; what is the downside? I always fill it up. Leaving it half empty does leave you susceptible to condensation, whereas if it is full there is no air that could absorb moisture and then condense. However, then if you are going to trailer it later on you will be carrying the extra weight.

 

[nzfisher]

The downside of filling up the boat is the extra weight when you trailer it. If you have a typical dual axel it is probably max rated at about 9000-9500. The typical weight for an outfitted R25 from reading Tugnuts is very close to that weight with trailer- (look at your fender clearance when loaded, pretty unnerving). Trailering a full boat just adds that much more weight. Saying all this, I leave my boat tank full except when at the end of the season and I know I will be trailering it home over a marginal Oregon hiway that should have been improved years ago (hiway 20). I always dread bringing it back next season with a full tank (I estimate an extra 600 odd pounds). I do add the bacteria eating ju ju.

 

[Levitation]

(look at your fender clearance when loaded, pretty unnerving)

Depends on the trailer. I have no qualms about pulling my tug with full fuel, gear, etc.
And the difference between full fuel and half full is 280 pounds - which for the typical 27 is a 2.9% increase/decrease
My photo album is under LEVITATION. You can see the trailer.