Changing petrol outboard for electric on tender?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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BruceK said:
Yes, asking Mike. It's just something I have noted amongst the smaller sailboats who drain because they store their ob in the aft berth lying down. They subsequently all seem to sit for 15 minutes in the tender once the hook is out trying to start it. (this after half an hour trying to inflate the tender on limited deck space. You have to feel sorry for them sometimes :p
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My o/b always sits on the tender which is stored on the bathing platform. It is never stored off the tender
 
Actually you could still run the carb dry, if you close the fuel supply with the engine still running and wait till it turns off alone.
Not saying you do (in fact, IIRC you don't), but some folks seem to believe that it makes sense - hence the initial question from BK, as I understood it.
 
MapisM said:
Actually you could still run the carb dry, if you close the fuel supply with the engine still running and wait till it turns off alone.
Not saying you do (in fact, IIRC you don't), but some folks seem to believe that it makes sense - hence the initial question from BK, as I understood it.
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I always thought it is done because modern fuel additives gum up the carb if left to settle so better to drain it
 
You might have a point there.
All I can say is that I never drained my previous Merc 25 2 stroke in 15 years or so - even when I left it stored and unused for a few years. And it doesn't seem to have suffered such abuse.
I'm not sure about how the smaller 10hp which I found on the new boat was treated in the past, but I suspect it never got a lot of TLC either. It also runs just fine, though.
 
This is my idiot take on it: :p
My point is if you run your carbs dry you haven't actually emptied the float bowl and so it's counter productive, because what's left in still evaporates and gums up the works. There is a dedicated drain screw for that, but good luck getting to it. Also, I suspect but have no hard evidence is that the rubber O-rings etc especially those on the needle and seat once dry after being in fuel tend to dry out and deform by loosing elasticity and so dont seal very well afterward and depending on the float material these can dry out or at least alter float height geometry. I have also noticed that when the carbs are just semi dry that with a bit of moisture ingress that salt develop around the brass emulsion tube(s). I am told it's an aluminium salt but whatever it is it doesn't help. In short the carb was designed to really spend it's life wet and drying out may also present a problem weighed up against the waxing up of evaporated fuel in the float bowl. Also in places like the USA where there is a much higher ethanol content and thus feeds into it's hygroscopic nature which could also be a factor in manufacturers recommending draining the carb on storage. Plenty Mercruiser BBL carbs have half their float bowl oxidised away because of this. Personally I never drain my carbs and also never had a problem, again it's just observation, but those that do always seem to have a problem. Are they just not making it worse for themselves.
 
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