Purchasing Boat Gas

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I have always purchased gas for my Seadoo at gas stations- not marina's. We just purchased a new pontoon boat with a new 150hp Honda engine on it. Will it hurt the engine if I purchase the gas off water? I know the marina's say that they have extra ingredients in their gas, but I wonder if it makes a difference? I would like to save some money on the gas. Our new pontoon boat has a 50 gallon tank. We travel all over the lake so we are spending many $$$$$.

[gtxrider]

We buy gas from stations not on the lake an lug 5 gallon cans to the boat and jetski. We have not experienced any problems. There would also seem to be less chance of water in the gas since the station's tanks are not on or near the water.

[ITD]

Makes no difference. Not sure if you are trailering to gas station or hauling the gas to the boat. Just remember a gallon of gas weighs about 6 lbs, so 50 gallons weighs 300 lbs, 25 gallons weighs 150 pounds. For me the convenience of pulling up to a pump far outweighs the few dollars I may save lugging gas to my dock. Not to mention the inherent danger of handling gas.

Good Luck.

[jrc]

Most of the marinas on the lake sell normal mid-grade automobile gas. Recently a very few add some chemicals to try and help with the ethanol problem.

Your engine is designed to run off standard automobile gas. If you can easily fill it, with a container, or while on the trailer, you will save money.

Plus I bet your engine will run fine on a lower octane than the mid-grade sold on the lake saving you even more money.

I would only worry about ethanol problems if you had an old engine or if you let you fuel sit for a long time. Even then, you can add the chemicals to the fuel yourself.

I always treat the last tank of the season because it will sit all winter. All season, I buy untreated gas from MVYC. I wish I could get to road gas stations but I don't have a trailer and cans are impractical my usage.

[BroadHopper]

If you are on the NH rebaate program, you may find it difficult to get a valid receipt at self service stations. A valid receipt will have the bow number written on it and the gas station is to keep a copy for the state.

[John A. Birdsall]

I have a 24' Pontoon boat with a 75 HP Mecury, I use 6 gal tanks. I have not bought more than three tanks of gas at marinas in the last 5 years. I buy it at NH gas stations enroute to camp. I do the rebate program and I have to put the hull no and word boat on every slip. Where I have had problems is when they do not have there address on it.

So buying gas at a station is no problem. I buy a lot on 28 and last time it was only $3.199 per gallon.

And I put the treatment for ethonal in the last two tanks, the last tank more than the next to last.

[meredith weekender]

We buy all of gas on the water. Lakeport Landing always has the cheapest gas on the lake. They track all of my purchases for the season and going there gives me a good reason to go for a boat ride :):). On a typical weekend we burn thru 50 +/- gallons and the convenience of pulling up and having it done is definitely worth it in my opinion. By hauling our own we would save no more than $10 per fillip and have the time and fuel to go to the station and the risk of handling the fuel. We would rather spend more time on the water. This is a to each his own one.

[LIforrelaxin]

So far good advice... I would check your owners manual and see what the manufacturer list for necessary octane. Most want at least 89 which means mid grade. The only difference between the mid grade at a gas station on the road and that at a marina, is that the Marina's often treat the gas with Valvtech, Startron, or stabil fuel stabilizer. I personally buy the gas at a gas station and add the stabilizer myself.... Fortunately I have a small boat, so 15 -20 gallons is all I have to worry about....

[surfnsnow]

i also use sta-bil.just in case

[Wolfeboro_Baja]

My 25ft Baja runs a 496Mag HO and the manual specifically states it's designed to run on 87 octane. Since we trailer, 90% of my fuel purchases are on land and I treat it myself with Sta-Bil Marine formula. The other 10% is purchases made when I'm up on the lake on vacation (like this week...YAY!!) and it's just inconvenient and pointless to pull out of the water just to fill up. Needless to say, with a 96 gal fuel tank, we enjoy significant savings purchasing on land compared to purchasing at a marina. The only catch is making sure the gas station I use has enough maneuvering room for my F250 and 30ft trailer!

As for the state gas tax rebate, I've never had a problem with my on-land purchases; they just have me add my name and the boat bow number to each receipt, never been a problem! :)