Fuel line and storing

[TheMaestro]

I have a 1977 9.9 evinrude on my boat. I keep my boat in my garage during the summer because I trailer it to different places and back. In order to fit and still give me access to 'garage items', I take the motor off and store it on a stand with the gas tank on the floor beneath it. I usually disconnect the fuel line/bulb from the tank. Is there any issue in leaving it connected instead? Just curious, in case i forget sometime.

 

[user 7806]

My fuel tank is up front and I never take the line off except when I remove it to refuel. I do however disconnect the fuel line from the motor.

 

[nomowork]

I leave my fuel line connected, ONLY AFTER I RUN THE MOTOR TILL THE CARBS ARE DRY after an outing. I don't know if this is what you are trying to get at, but my 1996 two stroke Mercury and 2011 four stroke Honda both recommend running the carbs dry during storage to aid in keeping the ethanol out of the system as much as possible. Other than that, for storage I keep the lines plugged to keep critters out.

I recently posted a thread about my GF's son's gas weed string trimmer where we found the portion of the gas lines in the tank that literally crumbled like paper when I tried to get them out.

 

[TheMaestro]

In ontario, where I live, premium gas has no ethanol, and the rest have 5%, IF labelled, if not they dont, my gas is ethanol free. But ive never heard running the carbs dry. Do you just disconnect the fuel line at the dock and start it up until it stops?

 

[Keith1]

I run the carbs dry on everything including boat motor, lawn mower, snow blower and chain saw. If you leave gasoline in the float bowl it will evaporate and leave residue. That's what keeps mechanics busy cleaning carburators.

Regards, Keith

 

[TheMaestro]

I run the carbs dry on everything including boat motor, lawn mower, snow blower and chain saw. If you leave gasoline in the float bowl it will evaporate and leave residue. That's what keeps mechanics busy cleaning carburators.

Regards, Keith

You mean like evry week after cutting? How do you do that? Just put in enough gas to mow, then let it run dry ? And how do you do it for the outboard, just disconnect the fuel line, does anyone know?

 

[Pappy]

If you run ethanol free gasoline there is less of a need to run the fuel system dry after every use.
I go the extra mile and purchase ethanol-free gasoline down here and run all of my lawn equip. and outboards on that.
If I know that I am using the engine again in a short amount of time I don't bother to run it dry however I always disconnect the fuel line just in case a carb gets a piece of debris between the needle and seat. Wouldnt want to come home and find several gallons of gasoline on my driveway or in your case...in your garage!

 

[nomowork]

After every outing, fresh and especially salt water, I run the motor in a barrel for awhile (with water always being added) then disconnect the fuel line toward the end to run the carbs dry. After it shuts down, I then connect the fuel line back on to try and keep junk out of the connection. Those nasty spiders make homes in the strangest places.

 

[Keith1]

Maestro,
Yes I run the carb dry on everything. It sure cuts down on problems. My outboards are 1988 and 1993 models and never have had the carb off yet. [Knock on wood]

Everyone should re-read Pappy's advice above about leaving the fuel line connected. If for some reason the float gets stuck open and the system developes pressure due to heat where is the gasoline going? In the boat, garage or on the ground that's where.

Regards, Keith

 

[Buffie]

Hi Keith

Highly recommend using premium fuel in ALL you small engines. A friend of mine runs a marine refurbishing shop and showed me what ethanol does to rubber lines and diaphrams etc. Also a very good idea is to Stabil your fuel as soon as you buy it. If you run a small 4 cycle OB a tank of gas could last you all season and by fall the ethanol has separated from the real gas and thats when the trouble starts. It doesn't apply to our cars as the fuel is constantly being sloshed around and the "e" is mixed with the "g"
Hope this helps.

 

[Tim Murphy]

I run the carbs dry on everything including boat motor, lawn mower, snow blower and chain saw. If you leave gasoline in the float bowl it will evaporate and leave residue. That's what keeps mechanics busy cleaning carburators.

Regards, Keith

You mean like evry week after cutting? How do you do that? Just put in enough gas to mow, then let it run dry ? And how do you do it for the outboard, just disconnect the fuel line, does anyone know?

Dear Maestro,

The easiest way is just sit at the launch and pull the fuel line from the engine while the engine is idling during the cool down period. I've already left it running while I got my truck and trailer, if the boat is beached it isn't going to go anywhere. It can take a minute or two to run all the gas out of the carbs though. I do the same thing if I'm running the motor on the earmuffs in the driveway.

I can't say that I do the same with my lawn equipment though. I had to replace fuel lines on a mower and my tractor this year and I wound up giving away a weedwhacker and replacing it with a 19.2V rechargeable to match the rest of my tools. It was easier for me to give it to someone who could fix it and use it rather than keep another can of different ratio pre-mix laying around ready to use. That gets to be a drag after a while.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Talons]

Hi,

I will be creating a new (custom built) permanently installed gas tank for my 14' Lowe Jon Boat.

The tank will be up front. The design calls for the tank to have a bottom fed feed bunge. From that there will be the standard aluminum or stainless fitting and from there I was hoping to run Aluminum tubing to the stern. All 3/8 diameter (id or od whatever is relatively standard).
I was going to run the fuel line in one of the longitudinal 'strakes' that most alum jon boats have running the lenght of the hull. I am slightly concerned about rubbing and may need a solution to that.

Once the line gets to the stern, in the bilge area, I plan on connecting your regular 3/8" ID rubber automotive type fuel line from the aluminum line to the engine. In this last segment will go the primer bulb and the fuel filter (see through, of course).

Can anyone tell me if there is anything wrong with this idea or if I have missed something or anything else about this concept that I should be aware of?

Thanks,
Talons

 

[user 6672]

Anything you run weekly you do not have to run dry. 2 strokes get the lubrication for the pistons from the gas/2 stroke oil.. So running it dry often is not the best idea.

As for the 4 stroke motors.. if your running them often don't worry about it.

 

[Talons]

Unfortunately a lot of us do not get to run our engines as often as we want to.

Sometimes mine sits. For months. :evil:

Sometimes it gets used everyday for brief periods.

So, for us, we have to consider the situation for storing the fuel and the fact that this new gas is pathetic.

Talons