What am i MISSING

[R1racer]

1998 200 Hp Evinrude .. I got 2 tanks on 24ft WA , Was out the other day using my spare/AUX tank 38 Gal and noticed at WOT i received auditable loud alarm with check Eng light.. Turn boat off and start again give it gas but no alarm at Mid -low speed

Though it was old fuel or some dirt got to it , I was told possible fuel restriction at WOT, Ran the boat yesterday on full fresh fuel to the AUX tank..About 24 miles latter I got the same alarm. Today I opened the tank access it's half full so I got enough fuel there, I also checked & found there is a pipe that supply the fuel to the house, Took it a part nothing stuck there I blow air in it and hear the air coming from the other side. The fuel line looks ok ... when I shine the flash light inside the tank I was able to see some noticeable size dirt in there ?..What could it be ? Do I need to pump the tank ..?

 

[boobie]

Re: What am i MISSING

If you got an alarm at WOT and the check engine lite came on it sounds like a fuel restriction some place. Take a 6 gal remote fuel tank and hook it directly to the mtr and run it. Use the hose and primer bulb that comes with it. If the prob goes away you'll know where to start looking.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

If you got an alarm at WOT and the check engine lite came on it sounds like a fuel restriction some place. Take a 6 gal remote fuel tank and hook it directly to the mtr and run it. Use the hose and primer bulb that comes with it. If the prob goes away you'll know where to start looking.

I got 2 tanks on this boat, When i switch to the main tank I don?t get this alarm what so ever, It's only when am running using my backup tank so that serve well .

Would it be the few dirt deposits that i spotted (which there could be way more dirt that I can?t see) in the bottom of the tank get sucked up in the feeding tube that the fuel line hocked to it causing sudden fuel restriction...?

All my fuel lines for both tanks hocked the same.. They are going to the same Fuel /water filter.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What am i MISSING

Sometimes fuel tnaks have screens on the fuel pickup tubes. Dirt can clog them anytime and then unclog them. I would siphon the aux tank dry, and clean it out. Now filter the fuel and refill the tank, clean or replace all filters and check all connections.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

I was told the 99.9 % fix for this is to knock the ball bearing out of the anti-siphon fitting loose , Knock the screen out of the pickup tube ,this way the fuel flow directly to the fuel /water filter also there is in line filter to pick up and collect any dirt/ trash .Rather than siphon the tank and cycle all the fuel and there is no way i would be able to get the back of the tank to clean it without pulling the thing out ...?

Not sure if the above sound reasonable ...Sure does sound like a good idea to fix the possibilities am getting trash sucked up causing my restriction, But want to know the down side of knocking the screen and opening the anti ?siphon..

BTW all my fuel filters and hose connection is above the tanks

 

[54fleetwin]

Re: What am i MISSING

Well once your filter clogs out on the water, then what?
How many times are you going to have to change it?

I would siphon it out

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

54fleetwin ...This is a good point , I guess my 2 q are

1- how trash or dirt get in the fuel ...Is this common to happen ..? Any way to stop it in the future ...?

2- How can i siphon the tank ..Is there any easy way ..Like a hand pump or some sort of a trick ...As i never done that before

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What am i MISSING

Trash/dirt get into fuel tank via accident or on purpose. Knowing who you buy fuel from eliminates the accidental. The puposeful introduction is more difficult to manage....

You may use a siphon or hand pump to pump fuel out into jerry cans. Removing the fuel gauge sender (5 cap screws), makes it easier. I use a shake-shake siphon with a piece of 1/2" copper pipe shoved in the end. The pipe will fit thru the bilge garboard drain. Stick a jerry can under the copper pipe, outside the hull, start the siphon and keep changing the jerry cans as they fill.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

Trash/dirt get into fuel tank via accident or on purpose. Knowing who you buy fuel from eliminates the accidental. The puposeful introduction is more difficult to manage....

You may use a siphon or hand pump to pump fuel out into jerry cans. Removing the fuel gauge sender (5 cap screws), makes it easier. I use a shake-shake siphon with a piece of 1/2" copper pipe shoved in the end. The pipe will fit thru the bilge garboard drain. Stick a jerry can under the copper pipe, outside the hull, start the siphon and keep changing the jerry cans as they fill.

So this process should suck the dirt trash out of the tank totally including the rear of the tank , Is there any thing else i need to do or check prior pumping fresh fuel there

 

[boobie]

Re: What am i MISSING

I'd knock the ball bearing and spring out of the anti-siphon valve but wouldn't be so quick to take the screen off of the pick-up. If this boat is on a trailer you can always raise and lower the bow to get the fuel close to the pick-up in the tank. Anti-siphon valves have given a lot of probs over the years. As long as the fuel lines and mtr are above the tank it should be legal to disable the anti-siphon valve.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

Ok I siphoned the Spare /AUX tank, took out some times but collected noticeable amount of trash Now got the last few OZ?s of fuel that I cant get them out with little trash seen inside ..Any trick to pull the last few Oz's out.

I also pulled out the pick up tube and saw little dirt stuck there (cleaned that)

Boobie ..I decided to wait on knocking the ball of the ant-siphon valve tell i see if doing the above will help .I figured this ball there for a reason ( am guessing to keep fuel level pressured all the way to Carb

 

[boobie]

Re: What am i MISSING

Lets say you had a boat with the gas tank higher than the mtr and had a mtr fire burning off the fuel line. If the fuel tank was higher than the burned off line on the mtr fuel could siphon from the tank and keep feeding the fire. The anti-siphon valves keep this from happening. But if the tank is lower than the mtr fuel won't run up hill so you can eliminate the valve. The OEM manual shows a procedure for testing this valve but with all the trouble I've seen with them and the tank was lower than the mtr I just got rid of them. Remember, some fuel still remains in the carb and you have a primer bulb to bring up fuel to the mtr so the valve really doesn't have anything to do with keeping pressure in the system.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

took care of the Anti-siphon issue ( it's wide open ) Will get new fuel house while we at it ... Keeping the screen in the pick up tube that is for sure .Will fill and give it a run

On a side note . This is the 1st time am going to winterize I live South it doesn?t get that cold but I don?t have much time this winter to run it so I decided to winterize When you winterize you boat do you keep full tank ? Empty ? or with what ever lift in there ..?

 

[garzilla]

Re: What am i MISSING

I always added proper amount of Stabil, fill her to the brim.

 

[boobie]

Re: What am i MISSING

Use Blue Stabil or Startron. Fill the tank as air in the tank can attract moisture. Remember, this is a vented tank and the less air you have the less moisture.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What am i MISSING

R1, Keeping the fuel tank full, empty or in between is a subject of much debate. Before E10 gasoline, the answer was to fill 'em up. Now, there is no widely accepted answer.

Stabilizing the fuel is probably a good idea. There are many brands of fuel stabilizer. Where you live, stabilizing the fuel is not real important, as your off-season is likely very short. Startron is snake oil IMHO.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

Found the source of dirt and trash in my tank ...After I siphoned my tank , noticed all the black small size dirt and trash was collected ...Well as I was ready to install my sending unit decided to gave it a good visual and electrical inspection to find out One corner of the ABS float start to give away ... As soon I touch it saw similar dirt drooping like bred crumb ...

So here it is ..Age and fuel do the trick, Was lucky enough to hit e-bay and found replacement float for tempo sending unit ( am only going to use the Float ) rather than fork the price for sending unit since mine work perfect ..I guess you could say am spending the least $$$?s right now on Boating being the end of the season ...

Chris1956 ..I got the same mix feeling about re filling the tanks, Currently my main tank about half full but my AUX which was in q is empty..SO am 50 /50 and not sure what to do ..i guess I top one and leave one empty

 

[bkwapisz]

Re: What am i MISSING

I had an old car that did the same thing. Had rust in the tank and when I would drive at speed the rust would stick to the pickup filter and I'd lose pressure, but when I stopped it'd all fall off back into the tank. I'll bet that's yer issue.

 

[R1racer]

Re: What am i MISSING

This might sound stupid but want hurt to ask ?.There is a few trash left in the bottom of the tank that I can't pump, Is it possible to use the Shop-vac to create succession to pull all that left over trash out ?Or using Shop -Vac around the tank not a good idea

 

[boobie]

Re: What am i MISSING

NO!NO!NO! Don't use a shop vac around a fuel tank with it open to the air. Remember there are still fuel vapors in the air around the tank with it open and they can go BOOM! Shop vacs aren't flame protected.