oil mix chart?

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
can I belive any of the oil mix charts online? I think I tracked down my issues with poor running and fouling plugs due to the fact that the chart on the back of the oil can I have been using says for a 50-1 mix I need 3oz of oil per gallon. I just checked a few charts online and they say 2.5oz per gallon. so in my 3 gallon tank I have 9oz of oil instead of 7.5oz. have I been duped by the oil can?
 

5150abf

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
5,808
Re: oil mix chart?

I have mixxed mine like that for years and can't remember the last time I fouled a plug, it is only 1 1/2 ounces over 3 gallons.

Cheap insurance if you ask me since the oil in the gas is all the lubrication the motor gets I always run a bit extra.

Are you using the correct plug for your engine?
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: oil mix chart?

I have mixxed mine like that for years and can't remember the last time I fouled a plug, it is only 1 1/2 ounces over 3 gallons.

Cheap insurance if you ask me since the oil in the gas is all the lubrication the motor gets I always run a bit extra.

Are you using the correct plug for your engine?

I put in a new set of NGK's that were the same as what was in the motor when I got it. it ran great the first few times I had it. it seems like each time I filled the tank it got worse.

can the amount of oil im adding cause an issue? I rebuilt the carb and I do have spark yet my new plugs are wet and it wont idle. The way Im figuring im mixing closer to 40-1 not the 50-1 Im supposed to be mixing (65 Johnson 6HP)

TD, thats just the thing I was looking for. I knew I needed a better method of figuring ounces.
 

dajohnson53

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
1,627
Re: oil mix chart?

can I belive any of the oil mix charts online? I think I tracked down my issues with poor running and fouling plugs due to the fact that the chart on the back of the oil can I have been using says for a 50-1 mix I need 3oz of oil per gallon. I just checked a few charts online and they say 2.5oz per gallon. so in my 3 gallon tank I have 9oz of oil instead of 7.5oz. have I been duped by the oil can?

"50:1" is not really 50:1 in the US. In the US it is, and has always been, 6 gallons gas with one pint of oil which is 48:1. All this means is that your 7.5 ounce calculation, while technically accurate, is not what is generally meant by "50:1" for 3 gallons. That 3 gallons would really be 8 ounces (1/2 pt). You've mixed 9 ounces, which is not really a lot of extra oil, 43:1 instead of 48:1. Some people routinely mix a pint in 5 gallons for convenience and swear by the 40:1 ratio. I have done this a lot when transporting 5 gallon jugs to my on-board tanks and have never had a single problem.

I'd look at the plugs you're using and make sure they're the exact ones specified for your engine (brand, type, gap, etc). I personally don't believe that the mixture you're using would foul plugs. When in doubt, it's probably prudent to round up (more oil) than to round down (less oil). That's what they've done.

I wonder what your chart had for 3 gallons? My oil containers usually have a chart for various amounts of gasoline and ratios and therefore would show 8 ounces for 3 gallons. If not, it would probably be better and easier to use 1/2 of the 6 gallon oil amount rather than 3X the 1 gallon amount.

Think in terms of "portions of 6 gallons of gas" and corresponding portions of pints.
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: oil mix chart?

Ill be grabbing the correct plugs after work tonight. Ill also report on the chart on the can.

the reason I was stating per gallon is I prefer to mix out of the boat's tank in a seperate container and pour the well mixed gas in to the boat tank. I currently have a 1 gallon can I mix in, but Im going to pick up a larger can so I can mix a larger amount in.

one last question, how snug should both ends of my fuel line be on the quick connect fittings? should they be tight with no movement at all or is a slight amount of play alright? both ends have good O-rings but there is a slight amount of movement on the quick connect.

pardon my "noobid-ness" but im new to boats. Not new to vehicles, but new to boats.
 

dajohnson53

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
1,627
Re: oil mix chart?

Ill be grabbing the correct plugs after work tonight. Ill also report on the chart on the can.

the reason I was stating per gallon is I prefer to mix out of the boat's tank in a seperate container and pour the well mixed gas in to the boat tank. I currently have a 1 gallon can I mix in, but Im going to pick up a larger can so I can mix a larger amount in.

one last question, how snug should both ends of my fuel line be on the quick connect fittings? should they be tight with no movement at all or is a slight amount of play alright? both ends have good O-rings but there is a slight amount of movement on the quick connect.

pardon my "noobid-ness" but im new to boats. Not new to vehicles, but new to boats.

One of the things that always has irritated me is that 2 stroke oil is packaged for easiest use in 6 or 12 gallon increments, and most consumer gas cans are 5 gallons. It makes it tough(er) if you refill your on-board tank from a 5 gallon can. Of course, you could just do a quick and dirty measurement for 5 gallons directly from the oil container (13 oz) if you can see the markings (that's what I'd do and have done). But really 2.5-3 oz per gallon should easily be close enough.

Or like someone suggested, they make graduated containers that will have a mark for exactly how much oil to add for exactly how much gasoline for 50:1. They can be a mess, dripping oil, unless it has a screw cap you can put on afterwards.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,771
Re: oil mix chart?

You are making way too much work for yourself. Mixing in 1 gallon increments is painfully slow and besides, you don't need to mix it externally. Current TCW3 can be poured directly in the tank and the appropriate amount of fuel added. Rock the boat twice and the fuel will be mixed. Here is a simpler technique. When filling at a gas station you will generally have an idea how much fuel it will take to fill the tank (if that's what you want to do). Lets say you know it will take at least 12 gallons. Well -- pour in 2 pints (1 quart) of oil and add 12 gallons of gas. If you look at the gauge and it appears it will take another 3, add another 1/2 pint and add 3 gallons. If it only took 2 gallons, you will be slightly rich but no problem whatsoever. As was mentioned, work in multiples or 1/2 amounts of 6 gallons and 1 pint. It's just too simple.
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: oil mix chart?

I spent the $2 at Fleet Farm and picked up one of those mixing cans. its graduated down the side for what mix you need and how many gallons you are mixing. $2 well spent. I had to order the champion plugs, so they will be in tomorrow. the engine did run slightly better with the proper mix, but its still not great. Ill see if it runs any better with the Champion plugs.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
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Re: oil mix chart?

Add SeaFoam to the fuel. It may help clean up the carbs and take care of the running problem.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 25, 2004
Messages
28,073
Re: oil mix chart?

Silvertip has it right. Mix in 3 gal increments, and it will be close enough. Remember my old Johnny ran 24::1 fuel, and had magneto ignition and never fouled a plug. We also used to run last years fuel at the begining of a season. I will bet that stuff was about 16::1 due to evaporation over the winter. We still never fouled a plug.

BTW - there are six gal consumer gas cans available. You need to look around for them. Blitz is one maker of 6.2 gal plastic gas cans. They were about $6 each.
 

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: oil mix chart?

[soap box]

The reason why it is based on "6 gallons" is because the rest of the world considers this to be 5 gallons. Never did understand why the US changed the size of a gallon, but the formula works for 5 gallons everywhere else.

[/soap box]

Or at least it did before the rest of the world went metric..

Now it is even simpler. 25L of fuel for 500ml of oil. Real 50:1.

I pick up a 4L jug of oil and pour it into 500ml bottles. Add it to 25L of fuel and I'm good to go.
 

CATransplant

Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
6,319
Re: oil mix chart?

Next time you're at Fleet Farm, head for the boat section. They have 6 gallon fuel containers. I fill one of those up, and it lasts me half the summer. I just top off my 3.5gal boat tank from the 6 gal container. Then, when I empty the 6 gallon, I do it again.

Saves all that math work.
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
16,313
Re: oil mix chart?

Never did understand why the US changed the size of a gallon, but the formula works for 5 gallons everywhere else.

Who changed what? It's seems that the Imperial gallon was defined 117 years after the US gallon and has been redfined three times since. :D:D


At one time, the volume of a gallon depended on what was being measured, and where it was being measured. But, by the end of the 18th century, three definitions were in common use:

The corn gallon, or ?Winchester gallon?, of about 268.8 cubic inches (≈ 4.405 L),
the wine gallon, or ?Queen Anne?s gallon?, which was 231 cubic inches (≈ 3.79 L), and
the ale gallon of 282 cubic inches (≈ 4.62 L).

The corn or dry gallon was used in the United States until recently for grain and other dry commodities. It is one eighth of the (Winchester) bushel, originally a cylindrical measure of 18? inches in diameter and 8 inches depth. That made the dry gallon 9???π in? ≈ 268.80252 cubic inches. The bushel, which like dry quart and pint still sees some use, was later defined to be 2150.42 cubic inches exactly, making its gallon 268.8025 cubic inches exactly (4.40488377086 L). In previous centuries there had been a corn gallon of around 271 to 272 cubic inches.

The wine, fluid, or liquid gallon is the standard U.S. gallon since the early 19th century. The wine gallon, which some sources relate to the volume occupied by eight medieval merchant pounds of wine, was at one time defined as the volume of a cylinder six inches deep and seven inches in diameter, i.e. 6?3???π ≈ 230.90706 cubic inches. It had been redefined during the reign of Queen Anne, in 1706, as 231 cubic inches exactly (3 ? 7 ? 11 in), which is the result of the earlier definition with π approximated to 22⁄7. Although the wine gallon had been used for centuries for import duty purposes there was no legal standard of it in the Exchequer and a smaller gallon (224 cu in) was actually in use, so this statute became necessary. It remains the U.S. definition today.

In 1824, Britain adopted a close approximation to the ale gallon known as the Imperial gallon and abolished all other gallons in favour of it. Inspired by the kilogram-litre relationship, the Imperial gallon was based on the volume of 10 pounds of distilled water weighed in air with brass weights with the barometer standing at 30 inches of mercury and at a temperature of 62 ?F.

In 1963, this definition was refined as the space occupied by 10 pounds of distilled water of density 0.998859 grams per millilitre weighed in air of density 0.001217 g/mL against weights of density 8.136 g/mL. This works out at approximately 4.5460903 L (277.4416 cu in). The metric definition of exactly 4.54609 cubic decimetres (also 4.54609 L after the litre was redefined in 1964, ca. 277.419433 cu in) was adopted shortly afterwards in Canada; for several years, the conventional value of 4.546092 L was used in the United Kingdom, until the Canadian convention was adopted in 1985.
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: oil mix chart?

Next time you're at Fleet Farm, head for the boat section. They have 6 gallon fuel containers. I fill one of those up, and it lasts me half the summer. I just top off my 3.5gal boat tank from the 6 gal container. Then, when I empty the 6 gallon, I do it again.

Saves all that math work.

I picked up a fresh 5gal at Fleet farm. that mixing jug I bought has lines for how many gallons you are mixing.

BTW, the bottle of oil I had reads like this.

50-1 mix

1 gal 3oz
2 gal 5oz (?)
3 gal 8oz (??)

no wonder I was having issues figuring out the mix. :mad:
 

steelespike

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 26, 2002
Messages
19,069
Re: oil mix chart?

Any properly operating motor would run for weeks at 16:1 without fouling.Perhaps a season with mostly high speed operation.Perhaps your motor has blocked puddle valves.Or a leaky fuel pump diaphram.
Is your spark blue with an audible snap?
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: oil mix chart?

its blue/white, not sure about a snap. I have seen better and I have seen worse spark.

I decided to take an evening off tinkering with the motor. I always belive sometimes its best to shut the hood and walk away for a day. Im going to try the champ plugs and the proper packing on the low speed needle (the napa kit just had o rings) tomorrow. after that Im going to check the sync and if that doesnt work Ill pull the flywheel and see how things look.
 

Tacklewasher

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
1,588
Re: oil mix chart?

Who changed what? It's seems that the Imperial gallon was defined 117 years after the US gallon and has been redfined three times since. :D:D

Oh, don't go confusing the issue with facts and stuff.






:)
 

mudslinging79

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
374
Re: oil mix chart?

i just go down to the dollar store, pick up a plastic measuring cup, and mark on the side the appropiate line for which gas tanks i have. 1, 2, or the 5 gallon, fill tank at pump, pour oil into cup to right line, then put in tank. shake tank, then pour into boat tank. that way i dont have to try to figure out, ok was half tank, took 2 1/2 gallons, now how much oil??
 
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