Does a 20 ft Overnighter have a fuel shutoff and gas tank drain?

[oldrusty]

Hi, pretty new to boating and recently bought a Grady . Getting ready for storing for winter and wanted to know if there is a way to shutdown the fuel to the motor and also if there is a way to drain the gas tank. Boat is new to me ( 1992 Overnighter ) and can't find a owners manual that shows what i need to know , but i'm learning a lot here reading thru the forums.
thanks Dennis

 

[Blaugrana]

Have you checked out GradyWhite.com???

.Go to Grady owners and then owners manuals. They have just one general one for 1992 but have a bunch of info on fuel in there...

 

[DennisG01]

Gas tank won't have a drain. Actually, not aware of any tank that has a drain. No fuel shutoff, either - butyou could disconnect or clamp a hose.

But... why? Treat the fuel properly, fill the tank, you're good to go. Draining tanks and running engines dry - that's for tiny engines and portable tanks where it's feasible to do so. Even with those, if the fuel is properly treated, there's no reason to run it dry. Although there's probably enough residual oil, it's "best practice" not to run a 2-stroke engine (which a '92 surely is) dry.

 

[Willy-C]

Although mine is stored indoors heated lately, in the past I filled the boat tank then pumped most out in the spring into my everyday drivers with a 12vdc fuel pump. It gave me the best of both worlds of a full tank for winter and a fresh refill in the spring. Plus and added benefit of having a 60 full reserve tank in the driveway for my generator if ole man winter needs some extra energy.

 

[Lt.Mike]

I have an ‘87 Overnighter, no shutoff, no drain.

 

[Lt.Mike]

Although mine is stored indoors heated lately, in the past I filled the boat tank then pumped most out in the spring into my everyday drivers with a 12vdc fuel pump. It gave me the best of both worlds of a full tank for winter and a fresh refill in the spring. Plus and added benefit of having a 60 full reserve tank in the driveway for my generator if ole man winter needs some extra energy.

Be careful with that.
I drained my boats tank which had just enough contamination to wreak havoc with my truck.
I ended up having to drain the trucks tank, wipe it out and clean the fuel pumps sock.
Trying to reclaim $50 in gas cost me a huge headache.

 

[Willy-C]

Be careful with that.
I drained my boats tank which had just enough contamination to wreak havoc with my truck.
I ended up having to drain the trucks tank, wipe it out and clean the fuel pumps sock.
Trying to reclaim $50 in gas cost me a huge headache.

That sux, never had an issue with water in the gas yet but that could be a concern for others.

 

[Parthery]

In the old days, we all disconnected the fuel line at the motor and let it run until the motor quit. Whether that was good or bad, who knows, but it was the accepted practice.

I think the last motor I had that had a quick disconnect fuel line was a mid-80s OMC V4 on the back of a 17 Aquasport and that was 25 years ago.

Treat the fuel, button it up for the winter, you will be fine in the Spring.

 

[seasick]

I don't drain the tank, I treat the gas with the appropriate amount of Stabil and run the motor for a while to get stabil into the inner workings.
I do drain my VST tank ( don't know if you have one) and I drain the fuel bowl. If you do that, make sure in the spring you fill them back up using the primer bulb before you start the motor.
I also fog the cylinders.

A side comment; I never understood the logic of pumping out a boat gas tank because the gas may be stale or contaminated and them putting that into a personal auto. Newer cars are a lot more complicated in the emissions area and sensors . Someone explain that logic to me

 

[oldrusty]

Have you checked out GradyWhite.com???

.Go to Grady owners and then owners manuals. They have just one general one for 1992 but have a bunch of info on fuel in there...

Thanks, Amamola, been there and checked it out good info thanks again

 

[oldrusty]

Gas tank won't have a drain. Actually, not aware of any tank that has a drain. No fuel shutoff, either - butyou could disconnect or clamp a hose.

But... why? Treat the fuel properly, fill the tank, you're good to go. Draining tanks and running engines dry - that's for tiny engines and portable tanks where it's feasible to do so. Even with those, if the fuel is properly treated, there's no reason to run it dry. Although there's probably enough residual oil, it's "best practice" not to run a 2-stroke engine (which a '92 surely is) dry.

Hi, Thanks DennisGo1 I did exactly as you replied. treated the full tank and fogged the engine. Batteries are garage in storage and will be monitored.
I also have a 16 Ft Starcraft with two 6 gallon tanks and those were drained (in my truck lol) motor fogged and covered. Grady is new to me and can't wait till spring to take it out. thanks again for info.
Dennis

 

[oldrusty]

Although mine is stored indoors heated lately, in the past I filled the boat tank then pumped most out in the spring into my everyday drivers with a 12vdc fuel pump. It gave me the best of both worlds of a full tank for winter and a fresh refill in the spring. Plus and added benefit of having a 60 full reserve tank in the driveway for my generator if ole man winter needs some extra energy.

Smart man Willy-C saving a lot of money too lol I emptied my 16 Ft Starcraft 12 gallons (2 6 gallon tanks) into my truck yeaterday also. thanks again

 

[oldrusty]

Be careful with that.
I drained my boats tank which had just enough contamination to wreak havoc with my truck.
I ended up having to drain the trucks tank, wipe it out and clean the fuel pumps sock.
Trying to reclaim $50 in gas cost me a huge headache.

Sorry to hear that wow I"ve done that for years, was lucky , will watch out for that in future though , thanks Lt. Mike

 

[oldrusty]

In the old days, we all disconnected the fuel line at the motor and let it run until the motor quit. Whether that was good or bad, who knows, but it was the accepted practice.

I think the last motor I had that had a quick disconnect fuel line was a mid-80s OMC V4 on the back of a 17 Aquasport and that was 25 years ago.

Treat the fuel, button it up for the winter, you will be fine in the Spring.

as you said I treated the tank in the Grady and fogged the engine. On my 16 Ft Starcraft bowrider I empty the tanks and fogged the engine, 94 Mercury 50hp everything is covered for winter here in ma. Thanks for info.

 

[oldrusty]

I don't drain the tank, I treat the gas with the appropriate amount of Stabil and run the motor for a while to get stabil into the inner workings.
I do drain my VST tank ( don't know if you have one) and I drain the fuel bowl. If you do that, make sure in the spring you fill them back up using the primer bulb before you start the motor.
I also fog the cylinders.

A side comment; I never understood the logic of pumping out a boat gas tank because the gas may be stale or contaminated and them putting that into a personal auto. Newer cars are a lot more complicated in the emissions area and sensors . Someone explain that logic to me
[/QUOTE
Hi seasick,, did same ,treated the full tank and fogged the engine... by the way who can afford a newer car lol i have a 2002 silverado with 312,000
looking forward to 400,000.

 

[Hookup1]

Boats have dual fuel filters and water separators. Boat fuel systems are better prepared to deal with contaminates. I pulled fuel out of my boat and put it in my F150. Truck ran rough and threw a check code but fortunately it cleared up.

Even more important to not transfer boat fuel with ethanol. I have had at least two seasons where I had what I believe was phase separation immediately after adding stabilizer. I installed Sierra fuel filters with clear bowls to allow me to monitor water in the fuel and easily drain.

12/14/18 Added fuel stabilizer and ran boat to mix it up and get into the engines. Didn't get far. Boat ran like crap. Barely made it back to marina. This is what came out of filters. Small amount of something on the surface (maybe fuel) and the rest water? Nothing separates out overnight.

After pumping this out I installed Sierra filters and used the remaining fuel without incident.

 

[oldrusty]

Hookup1 thanks for the info i didn't drain the tank. I took the advise and treated it and fogged the motor I'm getting a lot of good advise here.
I drained my other boat (16 footer) gas cans and used that in my truck gas was only a month old and in really clean 6 gallon tanks. All put away now for the winter. thanks again for the info... Dennis

 

[Lt.Mike]

I’ve been having issues with my tow vehicle this fall so sadly it’s looking like my seasons done, no striper fishing till spring.
I dumped another 10 gallons of fresh gas with enough Stable 360 to treat that and the fuel in the tank. I also treated the fuel with a 50:1 premix as prescribed by Suzuki for the first tank after extended storage.
I believe the premix does it’s share to protect the fuel system from what bad ethanol can do.
I replaced my Sierra filters with Racor units with clear bowls that can be drained if water is found.