latley a few power boats in our marina have complained about failing engines due to ethanol fuel. has any one encoutered problems with thier gas or diesel fuel.
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ethanol & fiberglass.
There have been several articles about this. This can occur when the vessel has a fiberglass tank.
There have been several articles about this. This can occur when the vessel has a fiberglass tank.
I have!
My 5hp Nissan dinghy motor fell victim last week. And I read about it and asked a number of mechanics. It seems that the enthanol (alcohol) "cleans" residue and sludge from the gasoline tanks (boat or dinghy). Diesel and 4 strokes are not a problem. It does NOT destroy the motor, but simply doesn't filter the residue, since it is so small) and fouls/dirties the carbs of the motors. Be patient and all should "clean out" in a year or two. In the meantime, clean out your carbs, hoses and tanks. Change your filters to a smaller micron (since ethanol will hold about 1 teaspoon water/ per gallon more than "conventional" gas. Shelf life of the gas is now about 2 months, so treat ALL gas with a stabilizer (helps remove water, too). Yesterday, I found out that WM is also now selling a gas additive to help with this problem. Good Luck to all.
My 5hp Nissan dinghy motor fell victim last week. And I read about it and asked a number of mechanics. It seems that the enthanol (alcohol) "cleans" residue and sludge from the gasoline tanks (boat or dinghy). Diesel and 4 strokes are not a problem. It does NOT destroy the motor, but simply doesn't filter the residue, since it is so small) and fouls/dirties the carbs of the motors. Be patient and all should "clean out" in a year or two. In the meantime, clean out your carbs, hoses and tanks. Change your filters to a smaller micron (since ethanol will hold about 1 teaspoon water/ per gallon more than "conventional" gas. Shelf life of the gas is now about 2 months, so treat ALL gas with a stabilizer (helps remove water, too). Yesterday, I found out that WM is also now selling a gas additive to help with this problem. Good Luck to all.
Ethanol Problems with 2 Stroke Outboard
I, too, have had problems this year with my 3.0 HP Johnson 2 Stroke outboard for the dinghy. The Ethanol in the gas has been the problem. I have sprayed Gummout Carb Cleaner thru the choke a few times, with only slight improvement. I have then added Gummout Carb Cleaner additive to the fuel (about 1/2 Oz per Gal of fuel. After going thru about 3/4 of the outboards tank of fuel it seems to be getting better. It was initally very hard starting and when it did start it would stall if throttle set less than full. It now can be set to idle, after starting, and is just on the verge of stalling, but only after running at more than half throttle for a minute or two. Paul, what is the additive that West Marine has?
I, too, have had problems this year with my 3.0 HP Johnson 2 Stroke outboard for the dinghy. The Ethanol in the gas has been the problem. I have sprayed Gummout Carb Cleaner thru the choke a few times, with only slight improvement. I have then added Gummout Carb Cleaner additive to the fuel (about 1/2 Oz per Gal of fuel. After going thru about 3/4 of the outboards tank of fuel it seems to be getting better. It was initally very hard starting and when it did start it would stall if throttle set less than full. It now can be set to idle, after starting, and is just on the verge of stalling, but only after running at more than half throttle for a minute or two. Paul, what is the additive that West Marine has?
BoatUS has a full forum just for this problem!
http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=142 The link is to the BoatUS forum that deals with this problem.
http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=142 The link is to the BoatUS forum that deals with this problem.
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