Run the outboard dry

[LittleCreek]

If you are really only going through a few gallons of dinghy gas a year, one strategy is to buy "small engine fuel" (be sure to get the 4 cycle version with no oil mixed in). This has no ethanol and stabilizers already mixed in. It will last a long time. My Honda dealer (who sold me some) said the 93 octane is fine as long as I don't run for long periods at wide open throttle. No need to run it out. I got it from my Honda dealer (they sell a lot for landscaping equipment). Home Depot sells it too.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...-94-Octane-Ethanol-Free-8-Pack-6208/203528942

It is good stuff. I keep it in my chain saws and weed eater. I do "initial services" for property asset managers on repo's.

My chain saw often sits idle for 9-12 months at a time. It always starts on the 2nd-3rd pull.

Lowes sells a couple different brands of it.

 

[Chief RA]

Weedeaters, chainsaws and other such motors don't even have float bowls! Chief

 

[woodster]

What I have read is that as you get to the end of the fuel, the mixture becomes very fuel (and lubricant) lean, and that's where the problem is. That last 30-45 seconds when it starts running faster even though you haven't touched the throttle

Never seemed to be a problem on Granddad's boatallthose

the reason it revs up on the end is because you are introducing more air/oxygen in the system thus leaning out the mixture because you are supplying less fuel as it runs out

 

[Capt jgw]

I run the gas out of mine if its going into the trunk of the wife's car. Didn't do that once, big mistake. If its going into the back of my pickup, I don't.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I have no way to shut my 9.9 two stroke off. There is no kill switch. When the sails go up, the line is disconnected and I let it run out. When I pull into the marina, I pull the fuel line off as I am approaching my slip. I get about 45 seconds of motor operation once the line is pulled. I'm always amazed at how easy my motor starts. Connect the line, pump the bulb once or twice and pull.

Is there a better way? I don't know but unlike my mower, the boat starts first or second pull in the spring.

 

[LittleCreek]

Weedeaters, chainsaws and other such motors don't even have float bowls! Chief

True.......but they can foul/gum/clog up just as bad as any other carb. The product works just as well for my 15 HP 4 stroke chipper, 4 stroke mowers, and other equipment. I am quite sure they are have float bowls. I can walk away from some of the equipment for a year, without fear of bad fuel when I go to bring them online for a job.

 

[Chief RA]

Littlecreek: If a power piece of equipment has a float bowl, what do you think happens to it when you turn it over? Many people who run these things do not even have a clue how they work. I said nothing about letting them set for some time without any problems if proper additive is put in the gas. I did say it is unwise to let them sit all winter without draining them. I furthur said: if you don't agree, then do it your own way! I have advised and advised on this and there is just to many genious's out there for a simple ol' Industrial Engineer certified in small engines to compete with! Chief

 

[Gunni]

Well, the good news is the modern small outboard motor's weak link is pretty much the super lean jetted carburetors, aluminum construction, and the corrosive nature of ethanol/water. So if you just keep a box of factory-spec carburetors at the ready, they work as good, or better than they ever have.

 

[WayneH]

Anecdotal evidence:

1974 Johnson 6hp 2 stroke. I bought the engine with a sailboat. The gentleman who sold it to me told me to always run it dry in fresh water. The engine was 30 years old at that time. While I owned it, the only time it failed to start and stay running, was due to operator error. You do know that BOTH ends of the fuel hose have to be connected to get fuel out of the tank and into the engine, don't you?

P.S. I sold the boat back to the original owner with the engine still running.

 

[CarlN]

The OP has the "perfect storm" of ethanol fouling - (1) Located in the Northeast US (ethanol in all gas and high humidity summers), (2) a fairly new four-cycle small (15hp or less) outboard with the microscopic jets now required to meet EPA regs, and (3) infrequent use.

As anyone caught with all three of the "perfect storm" problems will tell you, no additive works well to combat ethanol fouling - not seafoam not sta-bil not star-tron. Carb cleaners won't clean an ethanol varnish. Sometimes 24 hours in an ultrasonic tank will work, but not always. The better New England outboard shops increasingly say it's cheaper to replace an ethanol fouled carburetor than to successfully clean it.

Coming up the ICW in the spring, I now buy enough no-ethanol gas in jerry jugs in North Carolina to get the dinghy through the New England summer without buying ethanol gas.

It sucks.

 

[LittleCreek]

Littlecreek: If a power piece of equipment has a float bowl, what do you think happens to it when you turn it over? Many people who run these things do not even have a clue how they work. I said nothing about letting them set for some time without any problems if proper additive is put in the gas. I did say it is unwise to let them sit all winter without draining them. I furthur said: if you don't agree, then do it your own way! I have advised and advised on this and there is just to many genious's out there for a simple ol' Industrial Engineer certified in small engines to compete with! Chief

Hey......I agree with everything you have put out there. My original post was referring to products like TruFuel (ethanol free gas) being a nice alternative. You responded by saying my equipment didn't have float bowls. You were correct. I had failed to mention my other 4 stroke equipment. I have been using the stuff for about 6 years now, and never had to open up a carb since switching over to it. I started using it for lay up's after finding the pesky white buildup in a few carbs. I knew that some of the junk made it's way into the idle/low speed circuits. I was lucky because my carbs responded well to cleaning in the past. I also agree with what Gunni said about the leaned out low speed passages in the newer 4 stroke carbs being easy victims to the slightest amount of contamination.

 

[jibes138]

Home Depot sells it too.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...-94-Octane-Ethanol-Free-8-Pack-6208/203528942

Wow.

47 bucks for two gallons of gas. Back in the old days they would lock people up for extortion :>)

I suppose it is cheaper than a case of carburetors as Gunni suggests.

 

[caguy]

Wow.

47 bucks for two gallons of gas. Back in the old days they would lock people up for extortion :>)

I suppose it is cheaper than a case of carburetors as Gunni suggests.

Back in the old days they would lock people up for paying $47 for that stuff, that's crazy. AVgas is usually about a buck more /gallon than gas with ethylene. As for the person worried about the lead, it only affects motors with catalytic converters. Last I looked even California hasn't required converters on OB's, yet.

 

[Gunni]

Zoro sells a 6-pack of one gallon cans of VP Fuel for $99 (free shipping). Which is pretty much the maximum amount of boat gas I use in a season, AND half the price of a new carburetor, and fuel filter. Saving me from a balky outboard leaving the dinghy dock - priceless!

http://www.zoro.com/vp-small-engine...gclid=CLzV0JnpssYCFYI7gQodGjgIPA&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Rick Webb]

How Much is Coleman Lantern Gas?

White Gas

Is it even available now?

 

[Doc_holiday]

I don't know why, but it seems odd this stuff can be shipped through the post office

 

[Rick Webb]

Never Mind

Octane is too low, it is about 50

 

[Gunni]

I don't know why, but it seems odd this stuff can be shipped through the post office

I think they use the private sector parcel services and only do ground transport...but yeah, I thought the same thing. Puts new meaning to "handle with care".

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Moonshine works great for fuel when better by mouth than engine. Either way it is good.

 

[Jake N Eggs]

FWIW, Kleen-Flo diesel fuel conditioner cleans the carb well. If the engine runs bad due to carb fouling add about 20% by tank volume and run the engine. The engine will start to run better in about 5 minutes of running.