Water in fuel question

lentz · 04-07-2010, 06:14 PM

Ok here it goes, i bought a boat last year and it was my first boat for the most part. I didn't put any additives in the fuel last fall, rookie mistake. A few weeks ago i got it ready to go. I changed the water fuel separator, puts the muffs on, and got her going...so far, so good. This afternoon i decided to get her out on the water before the guys fishing trip this weekend...good thing i did it today. Anyways, the boat ran fine up and down the reservior at full speed and my girls wanted to fish a little bit so i started up the trolling motor and all was well....for a little bit atleast. After about 30 minutes of trolling the trolling motor started to load up and died. We were ready to head back anyways so i started up the main motor and took off and then about 30 seconds later it died completely. It would start back up and then die right away. Maybe out of gas or something else possibly....wrong answer. Started up the trolling motor again and it would run for about 10 seconds, load up again and die. I put a new plug in it but that didn't help at all. I called a buddy of mine and he brought me some fuel, put it in and still wouldn't start. My main motor is a 1985 75 horse Suzuki and the troller is a 1984 4 horse Suzuki, both are 2 strokes of course and they both ran really good last year. So...here are my questions...Could i possibly have water in the fuel and that is why it ran good until the new water fuel seperator filled back up with water? If there is water in the fuel, is there anyway to get it out without having to dump it all? As far as the trolling motor goes, i'm just going to dump the fuel and get new. That will probably take care of that. Thought that i would ask you guys because i know that not everybody around here is a new boat owner. Thanks.

loveseafood · 04-07-2010, 08:20 PM

might try a couple of bottles of heet in the gas

tallswedeone · 04-07-2010, 10:13 PM

Dump the fuel water seperator out into a glass jar and see if you see the seperation, it will be apparent if there is water in the fuel. Fuel water seperators will only remove a couple of table spoons until the filter is saturated and the water continues on to the engine. If the fuel does have a fair amount of water in the fuel I would pump and clean the tank. Additives will only deal with small amounts of water.

bigredapes · 04-08-2010, 06:44 AM

Drain gas tanks completely
Run gas through a water separating fuel funnel (I paid $$ for mine 'cause I got it at west marine) Use gas elsewhere or dispose of safely.
Put new gas in the tanks, add stabilizer of your choice.
Replace water separating fuel filter.
Disconnect fuel lines from outboards and pump primer bulbs to flush all bad gas out of lines and fill with fresh gas. Deal with flushed gas as above.
Drain carborators of engines. Chances are there is a drain valve in the settling bowl of the carb, or a bolt/screw to undo that lets the settling bowl come off easily. Have rags to prevent fuel spill.
Try again. If it works, good.
If you still have problems, I'd vote for having dislodged some gas varnish from somewhere in your fuel system and it's clogged in those tiny little holes in the carb. Then it's time for a carb rebuild.

Premo · 04-08-2010, 07:26 AM

If you do find water in the fuel try and find out the causes. Check the filler cap and also the seal around your sending unit or gas guage on the tank. Always keep a full tank. Space in the tank will cause the ethanol to draw water.

lentz · 04-08-2010, 04:32 PM

Thanks for the replies guys. The tank was about 3/4 full last fall when i stopped running the boat. I never did put any fuel treatment in...rookie mistake that will never happen again. I never thought about draining the carbs but i will do that forsure. Thanks again.

lentz · 04-09-2010, 08:03 PM

Well i spent some time this afternoon and got the boat up and running again. I dumped the trolling motor fuel and started fresh and then i dumped enough fuel out of the main tank untill it ran pure fuel. I had about 90% water in the water fuel separator so i drained that and all the lines and the carbs. It wasn't too bad but i definatly learned some valuable lessons. Thanks again for the help.