Logo
FULL SITE MENU

water filter question

papyson

papyson

Outstanding Contributor
i have a 60 hp 4cycle merc...new motor and a old boat with a built in 18 gallon aluminum tank...it has a canister type inline water filter....today it started cutting out ....99% sure fuel problem...remove fuel filter...it appeared and smelled like it had very little gas in it...when i dumped it there was very little gas on the water..looked like water at first and then was a white colored liguid and then it turned tan in color...put the same filter back on and motor still would slowly slow down and would die if i left throttle open....finally found a speed where motor would keep running....this was at about 2200 rpm..i was alone and could not reach bulp to pump it but the bulb had about the right amount of pressure when i got back there to feel it..my question is this: are these fuel filters what i call full flow filters?...by that i mean if the filter is junked up does the gas bypass them and just go unfiltered to the engine?....i have not checked the under the cowl filter...the boat is still in the water...
 
i ran the boat in at the 2200 rpm speed.....if i jacked it up to 3000 it would run a little and the the problem occured..if i jacked the rpm higher it just made the failure occur quicker..att 2200 it appered to run good...
 
Install a new filter but prime it w/4-5 ounces of stabil (green) for gasohol and then top off w/fresh fuel. Check the fuel in your tank for contamination; pump it out if necessary. Dump 8 ounces of the stabil into the tank and top it off w/fresh fuel. If there is a drain on the carb open it up. Prime the bulb and see if it will run.
 
Did that white stuff look like this? (See photo.) If so, it's the liquid that forms when ethanol gas and water combine, one that goes right through filters and can not be made to burn. The only solution is getting it out of your tank by attrition (running, stumbling along, cleaning filters, etc.) or pumping out the tank.

Jeff
 

Attachments

  • Gook.JPG
    Gook.JPG
    17.3 KB · Views: 24
Guy and Jeff....thank you both for your response....answer your question first jeff....yes it did.....not any where near that much though....this is the status now....when i removed the filter the first time was right after a failure about 12 or so miles from camp....the first thing i noticed was that the filter was not full up to the top....then i dumped the crap and put it back on...i then had a couple failures so came back to camp at 2200 rpm or so...actually was plowing water....ran ok at that speed...this morning i got a new filter and when i took the old one off it was full to the point of gas running out while i loosened it...this is normal i assume...dumped the old filter and it was pure gas..no water..no white stuff...nothing but gas...replaced that filter with a new one and checked the under cowl filter..it was clean and i could blow thru it...took it out and it failed...i have about a 10 minute idle from camp to where i can get up and run...it ran ok for about 2 miles then failed...but after it fails the the failure is pretty quick if i try to run normal...i think if i had pulled the canister filter the it would have been low on gas...i think it can catch up if i run slow....almost like a vent problem but i know its not because i tried it yesterday with the gas tank fill cracked.. i could not reach the bulp to squeeze it because i was alone...i have the boat on the trailer and the dealer is close to my camp....i am going to get him to have a quick look tomorrow...wife is going out of town later in week and i want to make sure i got a boat to use...thanks again to both of you and i will get back to ya...
 
i have saw video on u tube of a machine that would pump out your gas and filter the crap out of it and if you wanted they could clean a built in tank with the same machine...as far a i know no dealer has that service in south louisiana...i do know this...never will i have another boat with a built in aluminum tank....
 
Is there no way to remove the tank? Remove the carpet and remove the screws to pull up the floor. Install a Moeller plastic tank.
 
this is an all welded aluminum boat and i just recarpeted and looked it over....permanent tank built with boat...
 
filter had about 10 hours on it...bought motor last october but because of illness in family very low hours.... tank was emptied when motor installed and new gas treated with stabil...have added gas about 3 times with stabil each time..total of 13 gallons added in last month so gas age should not be the problem....stabil may not be the right additive?if gas contamination is the problem i will do something about that tank...i removed all the gas in the tank in 2009 because of water after a hurricane and water was the only thing besides gas that came out...will see what the dealer says tomorrow...i have known these people for 30 years and they reliable...
 
...permanent tank built with boat...
Click to expand...
Let's hope the tank never perforates. You are in an area of high humidity so don't stop using a fuel treatment. Are you using the green stabil for gasahol? I would use it. The white slug that was in the filter may have just developed there from the humidity in the tank. Keeping the tank topped off can reduce humidity in the tank. Good luck.
 
i started using the green when i went from a 90 evinrude 2 cycle to this 60 4 cycle...at twice the cost...took boat to dealer this morning and left it....if it turns out to be a gas problem i think i am going with portable tank and a 3 gallon gas can for backup to get me in if i run out...this 4 cycle 60 is really really good on gas so six gallons will do me most trips....you are right on the humidity and the boat spends a lot of time in the weather....thanks again...
 
carl boat flathead.jpgthis is a pic of the boat a few years ago....the gas tank is under the seats....the tank is welded to the boat plus i just re carpeted so it would be a bigger production to replace it than i am willing to undertake.....worse case i am thinking a 6 gallon tank right ahead of the drivers console with the hose run thru a existing channel down the right hand side of the boat... not crazy about doing that but it will solve the problem....also solve the problem of having unused gas in a permanent aluminum tank...
 
i used to catch a few of these every winter....quit fishing them a few years ago because of lack of a regular fishing partner....last one i caught i was 10 miles back in swamp alone on a cold winter day....current going one way and wind going the other and a big one trying to pull me in the water...had not seen another boat all day...after i got fish in and was coming back i said to myself..''idiot you getting too old for this''....so went back to fishing smaller fish....more fun and more fish anyway...
 
Papyson, I live near you in Louisiana and I've never had a water in gas problem. My boat is 24 years old and has an aluminum tank. I can, with a great deal of effort, take mine out, so its been drained once or twice. I suspect from what I read here your camp is in the Belle River area. Do you think perhaps you're getting bad gas? Hope your mechanic finds the problem...BF
 
BF....camp is in Stephenville and i normally buy gas at an exxon in Morgan City....hi volume big exxon...i think the guy owns about 4 or 5 of them down there including the one in pierre part....the only time in 18 years i really got enough water in tank to worry about was in 2008 with Gustave.....as you know the eye came right over that area and the boat was at camp sitting out in it.....i think that was caused by some excessive condensation caused by weather conditions...i am waiting for the shop to call with the problem....if no call by thursday i am going back down...i live in baton rouge...Carl
 
finally got boat back tuesday afternoon.....all new filters and injectors cleaned...they blamed it on bad gas in the tank...installed external tank with all new hoses....ran engine about 4 hours at all speeds with no problem...i am going with external tank(s)....mixed feelings about both the dealer and the motor..the dealer told me he emptied the old gas from the internal tank last october when he sold me the motor.....told me there was about 5 gallons of old gas in it...i topped the tank off and added stabil with it...the non marine stabil...it ran fine....the boat sit and wasnt run for about 3 months....i then topped off again with green stabil added....boat ran fine....next trip same thing...topped off with green stabil...next trip problem occurred...boat ran fine for an hour and then starving for gas at high speed.. changed water filter and remover internal filter and it looked clean and blew thru it easily...i know there is a difference between air and liquid going thru it but that filter appeared in good shape..the boat ran good at 2200 rpm so it was definitely a gas feed problem..no missing etc...i question whether dealer really emptied tank and ran off it when he installed the motor....i think he ran it with shop tank....the motor has two fuel pumps in it and i think the lifter pump is too weak...just my opinion...i am going to run with new tanks is net result tho....i just re carpeted the boat and know how it is built....to tear out the tank and redo is just too big a production...
 
You need to pump that tank out, add fresh gas, then pump it out again. More of that white gook is hiding in there.

Jeff
 
i agree jeff but right now i am so glad to get a boat that runs i am going to use portable tanks...i normally am alone in the boat so no big deal....i would like to find a boat dealer in south louisiana that has the equipment to flush and clean an internal tank...i have saw videos on u tube of the equipment being used....basic it appears to be just a pump that keeps circulating some cleaner or something thru the tank and filtering it on every pass...at the moment i am not a fan of 4 cycle engines...i made a mistake in late 2010 by not buying one of the last of the 2 cycle yammy 2cycle 90hp.....
 
Back
Top