Most embarassing, had a prospective buyer for the Gladesmen. Seemed to like what he saw. After 30 minutes or so I mentioned the ramp not 10 minutes from the house. Hooked up, went to the ramp. Did all the usual checks, pumped the line opened the tank vent, and on the second pull the 9.9 honda motor fired with the choke on. Usually it's a one pull, run for a minute, choke off and go for it. The motor acted like it was starving for fuel and wouldn't run above idle. Could this be an air leak in the fuel line? Do fuel pumps go bad and can they be home checked? Hoping it's something I can do but will take to the shop if no one can offer suggestions. Needless to say, the boat wasn't sold today, mostly because of my lazyness.
The gas is probably a couple months old and it's E9, E10, whatever it takes. Just kidding, The pump sticker said up to 10% ethanol. Guessing it may be the fuel, how would I dispose of about 3 gallons properly?
I had a motor that set for a couple of months, had the same symptom, turned out to be a fouled spark plug. Try a new plug, see if it makes a difference before getting expensive.
Say it ain't so! I started to laugh like hell, then it just kinda fizzled out into sadness... Time to turn in the man card.
Bump. I'm having the exact same problem (early 90's Johnson 6 horse). Fuel could be old, I bought the boat a month ago with the current fuel. But I did go from 8 ft fuel line to 14ft (moved the tank up under the forward deck). Wondering if the fuel pump is strong enough in that motor. I will try new spark plugs but does anyone else have an easy solution?
Took awhile! It was the gas. Hard to beleive that a 6 gal tank could have enough fuel to go bad. Looks like a 10 micron water separator will be installed this weekend. Got a local job and probably won't sell the Gladesmen until I can afford a Caiman
I think I might have figured out my own problem. I'm a new boat owner and forgot the starting procedure I was told by the previous owner. I had the tank vent closed. I'll bet that as my motor was trying to suck fuel out, the negative pressure created in the tank kept more fuel from making it down the line, thus starving the engine. Now that I am redfaced, I'll ask one more question. Am I supposed to close the vent when I'm not running the engine (on the way home?)
http://books.google.com/books?id=DxjizdHH5CwC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=portable+fuel+tank+vent&source=web&ots=OHmKgYM6kY&sig=p9VW5cKx3Xyfo3QhPh53DEUzVuc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result Looks like the vent is supposed to be closed when transporting by hand, to prevent spillage.
It might also need to be closed to keep the fuel from evaporating when it is just sitting around. Thanks for the tip. That's a nice resource for people like me.
You asked the question, I found the answer. Now we both know, works out well that way. I wonder if closing it too tightly, when storing, might be a problem. Excess pressure might build up inside and cause gas to leak past the seals in the connectors. http://www.sceptermarine.com/marine_fuel_tanks/safe_use_english/ Apparently vent cap is just for use when transporting from gas station to boat.
Be careful having the vent closed all the time though. If you close the vent at night while it is cool out side and then the next day the tank is sitting in the sun the gas will actually expand the tank (if it is plastic). I have forgot to open my vent while storing the tank and found my tank looking more like a large red football then a rectangular tank. It was so over pressurized I am really surprised the tank did not crack or blow open
