Having had a 2 stroke engine my entire sailing life, I have always stopped the engine, when done for the day, by removing the gas line and letting the engine run out. I just got a brand new 4 stroke, a Nissan 6 hp sailmaster, and the directions do not mention running out the gas. Should I continue running the gas out when done for the day?
How to stop a new 4 stroke engine.
- Thread starter rs8684
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The consensus is that if the engine is going to be used again in a few days not to do it but if you are putting it away for the season then go ahead and do it. In a two stroke gas is mixed with oil and that will increase gumming but really not to any significant extent over straight gasoline. You are still able to find ethanol free gasoline at some Marinas but be prepared to pay a premium per gallon. Really there is no conclusive evidence whether running out the engine is indeed beneficial.
I think that running the new "crap-o" fuel is worth running out if you are not going to use the engine for a week or more.
In the old days we could leave the fuel for weeks without worrying about this, but I try to run mine out every weekend when I use the engine.
In the old days we could leave the fuel for weeks without worrying about this, but I try to run mine out every weekend when I use the engine.
Try it and see. I had a Mercury 6 4 stroke that started much better if you left the carb full. The bowl was such that a little fuel remained when you ran it "dry". With the air in the carb, that litte bit of Fuel evaporated and gummed up the float. If I took the cover off and opened the drain screw everything would be ok, but that got old as the motor was on a mount behind the transom.
When we are done for the day with our 4-stroke 9.8HP Nissan, we just turn off the key and that is it. I should, however, add that we use our boat multiple times per week and use ethanol free gas. It is more expensive (around $4.39 a gallon last time as opposed to $3.59 for regular that day), but you will use so little of it that the price difference does not really matter anyway (maybe $10 extra so far this year to get the ethanol free for us). There is a gas station near us that sells ethanol free gas, so we just fill up a can there. Also, you can go to pure-gas.org and find a station near you (though I advise calling ahead to make sure they have what you want).