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Author Topic:   Out of Gas

Goosedog posted 09-23-2003 11:49 AM ET (US)
Any problem in running down a tank to the sputtering/reduced rpm stage, then switching to secondary? Mercury 90hp 4-stroke. Thanks.
Bigshot posted 09-23-2003 12:40 PM ET (US)
No problem....just make sure you have a fuel filter on it. The last few ounces are where all the crud lays. If you do it all the time, you should never have crud.
I used to run twin tanks on my boats and whenever the one ran dry you changed the tanks, never hurt anything.
waterguy posted 09-23-2003 02:26 PM ET (US)
But it's a good idea to switch tanks before you run dry just if you do run the second one dry, you have some reserve gas to get back to the dock.
Bigshot posted 09-23-2003 03:08 PM ET (US)
With the invention of VRO and 4 strokes, running a tank dry is not necessary like in the old days. We had 6.2 gallon tanks and 6 gallons mixed with 1pt so.....you better be empty or you were running a 45:1 mixture, etc.
jimh posted 09-23-2003 09:35 PM ET (US)
Nick, your comment made me laugh. I recalled the days when was a member of this sailing club and we had 9.9-HP outboard engines for auxiliary power. Just as you mentioned, folks would get the tank down to about a gallon left, then they'd throw in a pint of oil and refill.
People were not sure how to calculated the exact amount of oil to add, so they just threw in a pint every fill up--even if they only took 4 gallons of gas or less!
Over the summer this progressively enrichened the oil mix ratio. About August the engines would not run--the fuel tank was about 1:1 with gas and oil. We'd have to put new plugs in, get some fresh fuel, and mix the proper amount of oil with it.
This happened to me one very warm summer day. We cruised over to Canada. Got some fuel. I did not realize I was getting the fuel in litres! Jeez, how to compute 50:1 with liters (and a little buzz from the beer).
The dock boy saw the my problem--"Just throw in a pint," he said, "that ought to work, eh?"
Bigshot posted 09-24-2003 02:29 PM ET (US)
I worked at a gas station a 1/2 block from a public dock on Barnegat Bay. We had people coming in all the time with tanks, you would be amazed at the way they mixed fuel, I would cringe. I have seen people throw in 10w40.
Remember the old 'Bigmouth" pints? What were they thinking? Was damn near impossible to get the oil in the tank being the holes were about the same size.

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Author	Topic: Out of Gas
Goosedog	posted 09-23-2003 11:49 AM ET (US) Any problem in running down a tank to the sputtering/reduced rpm stage, then switching to secondary? Mercury 90hp 4-stroke. Thanks.
Bigshot	posted 09-23-2003 12:40 PM ET (US) No problem....just make sure you have a fuel filter on it. The last few ounces are where all the crud lays. If you do it all the time, you should never have crud. I used to run twin tanks on my boats and whenever the one ran dry you changed the tanks, never hurt anything.
waterguy	posted 09-23-2003 02:26 PM ET (US) But it's a good idea to switch tanks before you run dry just if you do run the second one dry, you have some reserve gas to get back to the dock.
Bigshot	posted 09-23-2003 03:08 PM ET (US) With the invention of VRO and 4 strokes, running a tank dry is not necessary like in the old days. We had 6.2 gallon tanks and 6 gallons mixed with 1pt so.....you better be empty or you were running a 45:1 mixture, etc.
jimh	posted 09-23-2003 09:35 PM ET (US) Nick, your comment made me laugh. I recalled the days when was a member of this sailing club and we had 9.9-HP outboard engines for auxiliary power. Just as you mentioned, folks would get the tank down to about a gallon left, then they'd throw in a pint of oil and refill. People were not sure how to calculated the exact amount of oil to add, so they just threw in a pint every fill up--even if they only took 4 gallons of gas or less! Over the summer this progressively enrichened the oil mix ratio. About August the engines would not run--the fuel tank was about 1:1 with gas and oil. We'd have to put new plugs in, get some fresh fuel, and mix the proper amount of oil with it. This happened to me one very warm summer day. We cruised over to Canada. Got some fuel. I did not realize I was getting the fuel in litres! Jeez, how to compute 50:1 with liters (and a little buzz from the beer). The dock boy saw the my problem--"Just throw in a pint," he said, "that ought to work, eh?"
Bigshot	posted 09-24-2003 02:29 PM ET (US) I worked at a gas station a 1/2 block from a public dock on Barnegat Bay. We had people coming in all the time with tanks, you would be amazed at the way they mixed fuel, I would cringe. I have seen people throw in 10w40. Remember the old 'Bigmouth" pints? What were they thinking? Was damn near impossible to get the oil in the tank being the holes were about the same size.