recently, after launching my hunter 23, and intending to motor about 300 yards to my slip, no sails on board, my outboard motor quit. I had stored it inside over the winter, tank just about full. motor quit, pretty stiff breeze, fortunately got towed to my slip by some kids going fishing, love those power boats. a couple of ounces of dry gas , i think it was isoproply alcohol , seems to have solved the problem and i now assume the problem was water vapor which condensed and dropped to the bottom of the tank. i intend to keep dry gas on board as a safety emergency addition. two questions, the label suggests not for use on two cycle engines, is there another product which works better? I assume the problem is that it burns hotter than gas mixed with oil and a couple of ounces is not a problem. appreciate comments second question: to store motor with tank full or empty, i always assumed full was better, no rust to form and clog lines? also the option of tossing a couple of gallons of unused gas is difficult - its hard to properly dispose of and am not happy at thought of throwing out a couple of gallons a gas every spring? jim in ithaca
dry gas suggestion, question
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rust?
Soulds like your answer depends on what make outboard. Assuming it has a plastic tank, there is little if any potential for rust particles to clog anything which begs the question, why keep old fuel stored in it?. Regardless, it's a simple matter to remove and clean any outboard's tank as well as the filter as routine maintenance which you might consider cheap insurance given this is your main engine.
Soulds like your answer depends on what make outboard. Assuming it has a plastic tank, there is little if any potential for rust particles to clog anything which begs the question, why keep old fuel stored in it?. Regardless, it's a simple matter to remove and clean any outboard's tank as well as the filter as routine maintenance which you might consider cheap insurance given this is your main engine.
Just about every two stroke powered item I have...
has written in the manual to run it dry when not going to be used for long periods. I have a two stroke snow blower, generator, trimmer, and two leaf blowers. Run them dry, fresh fuel when the time comes to start using them again. So that is what I would recommend with your outboard. Incidentally, I have a four stroke Honda outboard that I started having problems with when the Ethanol switch over happened with gas. I had to have the carb cleaned. A couple of months later it started having the same problem, I ended up using a bottle of carb cleaner to get it run well again and then started to run it dry after each use (I'd disconnect the hose at the fuel tank), no more problems. One of the guys at my marina had purchased a Yamaha 4 stroke for his dinghy and was also told at the time of purchase to run it dry after each use. His outboard has a fuel shutoff valve. Manny
has written in the manual to run it dry when not going to be used for long periods. I have a two stroke snow blower, generator, trimmer, and two leaf blowers. Run them dry, fresh fuel when the time comes to start using them again. So that is what I would recommend with your outboard. Incidentally, I have a four stroke Honda outboard that I started having problems with when the Ethanol switch over happened with gas. I had to have the carb cleaned. A couple of months later it started having the same problem, I ended up using a bottle of carb cleaner to get it run well again and then started to run it dry after each use (I'd disconnect the hose at the fuel tank), no more problems. One of the guys at my marina had purchased a Yamaha 4 stroke for his dinghy and was also told at the time of purchase to run it dry after each use. His outboard has a fuel shutoff valve. Manny
gas is an oil product
Whether you have a 2 or 4 stoke engine, gas is an oil by product of course and will gum up the carb if gas is left up in the carb for a long period of time. To fix, I have to take the carb completley apart and clean with a good carb cleaner to include all fine jet ports or holes which means removeing all small parts and screws and cleaning with the carb cleaner. Suggest as standard practice you run the gas out of the carb or let the engine quit when it runs out of gas and do not store gas in a tank over the winter as it is not safe and the gas can go bad in many cases thus gumming up the carb.
Whether you have a 2 or 4 stoke engine, gas is an oil by product of course and will gum up the carb if gas is left up in the carb for a long period of time. To fix, I have to take the carb completley apart and clean with a good carb cleaner to include all fine jet ports or holes which means removeing all small parts and screws and cleaning with the carb cleaner. Suggest as standard practice you run the gas out of the carb or let the engine quit when it runs out of gas and do not store gas in a tank over the winter as it is not safe and the gas can go bad in many cases thus gumming up the carb.
motors
I have a 4cycle and not that familar with a 2 cyscle except with my lawnboy lawnmower. the only problem I have with mixed gas is you can't put in the car. I never buy more than I can use in a season. Let your engine run dry by disconnecting the gas line. Drain the tank and store it empty. come spring fresh gas and oil. With my 4 cycle Nissan, I had problems a few years back. The mechanic who worked on it said run only BP hi-test and let it run dry when finished for the weekend. Been doing that and have not had any problems. What I had happen was running cheap gas, allowed the valves to carbon up.
I have a 4cycle and not that familar with a 2 cyscle except with my lawnboy lawnmower. the only problem I have with mixed gas is you can't put in the car. I never buy more than I can use in a season. Let your engine run dry by disconnecting the gas line. Drain the tank and store it empty. come spring fresh gas and oil. With my 4 cycle Nissan, I had problems a few years back. The mechanic who worked on it said run only BP hi-test and let it run dry when finished for the weekend. Been doing that and have not had any problems. What I had happen was running cheap gas, allowed the valves to carbon up.
A couple of things
It's better to drain the tank and run the carb dry. Gasoline breaks down into gum deposits which can be tough to clean out after they form. Just be sure to pull the plug(s) and oil the cylinder(s). Two or four stroke makes no difference. You can dump a small amount of premixed (oil/gas) into your car gas tank. The small amount of oil will do no harm. One brand of gas is the same as the next. They all come from the same depot. Branding is nothing more than advertising. Isopropyl dry gas will do a good job of absorbing excess water in the fuel but does not clean the carb. The isopropyl is a catalyst that breaks down the boundary between gas and water allowing the water to burn harmlessly.
It's better to drain the tank and run the carb dry. Gasoline breaks down into gum deposits which can be tough to clean out after they form. Just be sure to pull the plug(s) and oil the cylinder(s). Two or four stroke makes no difference. You can dump a small amount of premixed (oil/gas) into your car gas tank. The small amount of oil will do no harm. One brand of gas is the same as the next. They all come from the same depot. Branding is nothing more than advertising. Isopropyl dry gas will do a good job of absorbing excess water in the fuel but does not clean the carb. The isopropyl is a catalyst that breaks down the boundary between gas and water allowing the water to burn harmlessly.
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