Re: Power Output from 15hp Johnson
Thank's for the reply Joe. O.k. let me start by telling you what I use the engine for. I fish Lough Corrib and Lough Mask on the west coast of Ireland (best wild brown trout fishing in western europe). The lakes are approx. 20 miles long by 8 miles wide,Corrib being a bit bigger, so the majority of Anglers use engines in the 9.9-15hp range. This is mostly for safety in case a gale blows up you want to have some power behind you and to get to the best spots before anyone else, not that I'm greedy. So its motor out, full throtle, fish a drift, crank it up and full on to the next spot, fish a drift and so on.<br />Therefore I rarely ever use the engine in low gear. I purchased the engine second hand so it had been well broken in before I started to use it. It ran like a dream when I got it first. I have the engine serviced annually before winter time and store it indoors. At the start of last season on my first day out the engine started playing up, cutting out in idle, cutting out pulling away from the pier, which it never done, and running at approx half power, a friend passed me with a 9.9 Johnson and I happened to have it opened up at the time!!! Oh and it's not sucking up fuel so I have to prime it virtually every time I want to move and even on the move, never had to do this before. I knew then that something was wrong so I brought it back to the shop. The mechanic said he replaced a waterpump and that it should run fine, it never ran fine. It still cuts out, still have to prime it and still running on half power. Friends have told me that my petrol/oil mix is wrong, I mix 50:1 and have always done, the manual recommends it. I asked a friend to take a look at it, he worked on outboards for years with Yamaha,he replaced the plugs and cleaned the carb, he said it looked clean anyway. Still not running as before. So I said to myself that I'd service the engine myself, I dont feel confident bringing it back to the shop, your advice so far has been great and gives me someplace to start.<br /><br />Thanks a million.<br /><br />P.s. May have gone a bit overboard with the info, sorry, got a bit excited !
