Winter storage without gas

[adamwisneski]

Hello,

I'm wanting to store my 2012 stella 4t in my basement for the winter, but my roommate requested that it be stored without gas for safety.

In the service manual for the 4t, it says that if you're going to store if for a long time you should remove the gas anyways. But I've always thought that the tank will rust if you take the gas out and let it sit for too long.

My local scooter shops have been completely unhelpful with answers on the topic.

Will it rust over 3 months with no gas? Or will it be okay? Any advice is appreciated.

I also heard about "fogging" the tank and carbs, but never knew what that meant.

Also, I've heard of people just removing the tank and storing it elsewhere, though i don't know how easy that is.

[Dooglas]

Will it rust over 3 months with no gas? Or will it be okay? Any advice is appreciated.

I do not believe you are running any great risk of rust in the tank while in winter storage as you describe. The tank will be completely dry when you empty it and evaporate the last of the gas. I presume the basement is heated so any accumulation of moisture in the tank during storage seems unlikely to me. ("fogging" by the way, is the process of spraying a small amount of light oil on interior components of an engine during storage to avoid rust - most commonly done to the inside of cylinders during extended storage)

[adamwisneski]

Thanks for the response! I will probably go ahead and leave it there. One thing though, the basement is not heated, it's underground and obviously stays warmer than outside, but it can get cold enough to see your breath down there in these Chicago polar vortices.

Maybe I should just take the gas tank out and store it somewhere full of gas and stabil?

Thanks again for the advice.

[stASH]

The risk of rust inside of a gas tank comes from condensation. If your tank is only partially filled or empty, the air in the tank may contain some water vapor. In cold temperatures, that water vapor condenses to liquid water, and then has the potential to cause rust. I've always been told a full tank poses the lowest risk for rust since there's little to no air in it. If you can ensure that your empty tank has no water vapor in it you won't get any rust, but I'm not entirely sure how you accomplish that.

[PeteH]

Heh. If only we could reverse all that emissions junk and pump inert exhaust gas into the top of the tank.

[Dooglas]

Maybe I should just take the gas tank out and store it somewhere full of gas and stabil.

That really seems like overkill to me. To ease your concerns, you could put a bag of desiccant in the empty and dry fuel tank.

[PeteH]

Maybe I should just take the gas tank out and store it somewhere full of gas and stabil.

That really seems like overkill to me. To ease your concerns, you could put a bag of desiccant in the empty and dry fuel tank.

There's an idea. Silica Gel. Do Not Eat.

[jimmbomb]

Maybe I should just take the gas tank out and store it somewhere full of gas and stabil.

That really seems like overkill to me. To ease your concerns, you could put a bag of desiccant in the empty and dry fuel tank.

There's an idea. Silica Gel. Do Not Eat.

I like it too!
tie a string to it so you can pull it out when you want to bring it out of storage..
And disconnect your negative battery cable.
good luck

ps//.. other options include :

ignore the roommate, and
get a new roommate, (after they help you carry it down the basement steps)


j/k

[Neurotic-Hapi-Snak]