Water in Gasoline??

[Andrew Danner]

I have an Atomic 4 Gasoline engine in my Catalina 30 which has had several episodes at the start of the sailing season this year. The engine will start to lose power but I keep it running by using the choke. Could this be water in the gas? The tank was not full over the winter and only a quarter tank of last years gas when I have had the problems.

 

[john renfro]

choke

hello andrew, a common problem with carburetors that have been unused for many months is that as the gas in the float bowl evaporates, the less volatile stuff in the gas begins to consintrate and coats the main jet, where it eventualy dries out and plugs it off. the choke gives gas an alternate route around the main jet. also a partialy full fuel tank can condence water and you nay have inded sucked water into the carb. you can't tell until you open the carb.good luckjohn

 

[John]

Another Possibility

Andrew, another possibilty that I learned last month after thinking I had water in the gas was that the electric fuel pump connection was in need of cleaning. I would recommend starting with the easy things first. Buy a bottle of water remover and add it to the gas tank and fill it up. If that doesn't work check the electrical connections for the pump. Then I would check the carborator.John

 

[Rob R.]

Gas Quality...

Andrew - Today's reformulated gas is not as durable as the gasolines of 20 years ago. From what I have read and seen, it will actually go bad rather quickly, and weak gas could cause what you describe. So could several other things, as the other responses have mentioned. Here is what I would do. Completely remove all of the old gas from your tank. Siphon it or use a pump approved for pumping gasoline. I use one of those hoses that is inteneded for outboards. It has an inline squeeze ball that pumps gas when you squeeze it. Once you get the gas going, it will allow a siphon. Make sure you get the tank dry to the bone. This will require lots of ventilation. If you fail to ventilate the cabin, you will suffer, believe me. You could even die if the fumes are heavy enough. This, of course, is a minor concern next to the fact that you need to make sure that there are no sparks in the cabin, etc. Allow the tank to dry for a few days if you can.Once you are done, refill the tank with about 5 gallons of fresh 93 octane gas. Dump in some fuel cleaner as well. If this fixes the problem, you are all set. If not, get out your troubleshooting hat.If you don't have one yet, install a good fuel filter - it will pay for itself quickly. I once had a symptom just like yours - turned out I had a slightly clogged fuel filter. I changed it and all was well.Good Luck -Rob