Bad fuel day

[K9Kampers]

It seems that all season, I've been drawing from my starboard fuel tank exclusively, saving the port tank as spare gas. Yesterday I refilled the star tank, but hooked up the port tank. From the ramp to the dock, things ran fine. Within minutes of leaving the dock, the motor quit, but the sails were already up so we sailed away. For an hour or more, while sailing with the admiral at the helm, I troubleshot & fixed the no start problem, focusing on the fuel system. I found water at the fuel filter, spark plugs, & middle carb. I drained the fuel filter, tank line, blew out the engine lines, changed spark plugs & switched tanks. Up & running fine again.

The star tank was always full to the top - no empty space for condesation to form, but it attracted water anyway. I'll run that tank thru a fuel filter / water seperator, and use both tanks more often.

[Mark Prouty]

I wonder if your fuel had ethenhol. I have been concerned about the longevity of gasoline mixed with 10% ethanol. Could water have settled-out?

[Catigale]

ITs the time of year in New England where we are getting 10+ C temperature changes, with lots of morning humidity....even a the 'expansion space' in a tank is enough to water your gas....just like I found on my Seagull on Cayuga a month ago..

You can use methanol (dry gas) to bring the water back into mix with the gas, but with a small tank, be careful how much you use (read instructions...a pint of methanol usually treats a 16 gallon car gas tank.

[ronacarme]

in gasoline for outboard use. See for example Google, at "2003 marine manufacturer fuel recommendations".
Prior postings on this board and on the trailersailor board discuss OB problems resulting from ethanol laced gasoline. See also articles on the BoatUS website.
Having just laid out $4K to replace a 5 year old Evinrude OB long plagued with unreliability and service costs from repetitive fuel system failures, due to my and my dealer's ignorance of the problems of ethanol laced fuels in sailboat OBs, I have a new dealer who is knowledgeable and I pay a LOT more attention to fueling the new Honda OB.
Ron

[kmclemore]

The ethanol issues are mostly related to using it in boats with fiberglass tanks, so this does not impact any Macs that I know of.

[RandyMoon]

I wonder what the wisdom is on using additives like "gas dryers" to absorb water? Speaking of additives, what about using something to clean injectors?