Ethanol

[Eyeman]

No wonder the kick motor wouldn't start. Absolutely amazing - This fuel was new in October 2010 and was stabilized.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Ethanol

Throw a little SeaFoam in it.

(edit) Of course that's a joke. SeaFoam is mostly alcohol.

The primary problem is not the fuel, but you're getting water in it, maybe by flooding the fuel vent in rough water, maybe by buying bad fuel. Maybe rain water in a poor filler or vent.

If you have all dino fuel, and you get 4 oz of water in it, the water separator sorts it out and it's a minor maintenance item. If you get 4 oz of water in a tank full of gasohol, it drops out a couple of quarts of chit that overwhelms the separator.

If you can't buy non-alcohol fuel, maybe your best effort would be to figure out the water intrusion problem.

 

[Eyeman]

Re: Ethanol

HEET. Remember using that stuff? Not these days. Just put a tank of the etho in and your good for the winter.

You probably hit it right on. My son was using the rig for boarding and when you hit the brakes, it floods the rear splash deck where the fuel fill snap covers are located. The covers are the vented type - I thought they'd have designed them for one way venting, but probably not.

No water separator on the 6 gallon kicker tank, so the fix is not simple. Replace the fill cover(s) with sealed units and route the vent lines to a dry area. Doable, but not simple. My Skeeter has always had a venting problem anyway - The only way to fill the darn thing when it's floating is to have two big boys stand on the bow allowing the rear end to raise up high enough for the big tank to burp.

I always use non-alcohol fuel when it's available. Milwaukee greenies won't allow it however. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Ethanol

There is no high place on a bass boat for a fuel tank vent. It's on the outboard side of the starboard gunwale as high as it can be without being in the way, but rough water and/or a back wave from a quick shutdown or bat turn will flood it. I also had trouble with fuel splashing out of it, screwing up the boat cover on the trailer.

I installed a Racor fuel/air separator to solve the fuel spillage, and it seems to have helped the water intrusion also. I have a 60 gph Racor fuel/water separator in the fuel line. Occasionally I have to drop a few ounces of water out of it if i've been in some rough going.