Propane outboards

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Why in the world would you want a propane engine? The only advantage is propane doesn't go bad but you can treat gas to last 2 years so that is easily solved. I don't think I'd take one if they were giving them away.

They are extremely reliable and largely immune to fuel issues. I know quite few people who use outboards intermittently that have switched and been extremely happy. Even if you treat fuel ethanol is an issue over the long term whether it's 2 stroke or four stroke, if you're not using the engine often enough.

If you live somewhere that ethanol free gasoline is hard to find and are not a daily user of outboards, they are a good solution.

[CaptTom]

Since we've already strayed off topic...

You can buy "engineered fuel" at the big-box home supply stores, and even WalMart in summer, that supposedly avoids the problem of gumming up during storage. It's not cheap, but I'm hoping it'll make all those pesky small engines start up at the start of whatever season they're used in.

Even so, there's no excuse for a gummed-up carburetor. Use good fuel, use stabilizer, store the fuel correctly, and run the fuel out (or run engineered fuel) before storing. In the past week I've helped two friends get two small engines started. Both had fuel in them that smelled like varnish. Both friends admitted they'd done nothing at lay-up and left them in storage for a year or two. Then couldn't figure out why they wouldn't start!

Small two-strokes are the worst, in my experience. Fortunately if you mess up you can often buy a whole carburetor pretty cheaply. Don't ask how I know

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Only if you leave the vent open. Close it when not in use. If you are getting phase separation you are either leaving the bent open or the lid leaks.

Was the vent open or closed on the aged fuel? What was the stabilizer (many are snake oil)? If it was truly sealed, air tight, that is very unusual. The sun does not help (there is no reason to do that). I know that samples stored air-tight in the dark are generally stable for at least several years. The military has specs on this and I have done the tests.

So something is not right.

In our case, vent closed and seemingly air tight (the whole tank would expand -- seriously -- in heat/sunlight).

Most brands; Stabil (both formulations), Sea something, several others, etc., etc etc.

-Chris

[J Clark H356]

I had a Yamaha 4 stroke 4HP that ran fine for number of years,and then the composition of gas changed. I DID NOT use ethanol fuel, but for 3years running around had carb problems even though I ran it out of fuel each time. Bought a 5 HP Lehr 4 years,ago and it has been fine, starts on the second pull and runs great. I bragged on it too much and somebody stole it. I’m getting another one to replace it. I carry 3 cans of the propane in a 4 inch PVC pipe. Mine runs my Avon 280 at 4 knots, half throttle, for a little over an hour. I agree the cover is cheap. I also drilled a hole in mine where the regulator on the carb resides and take a paper clip and bleed it before starting the first time. Starts and runs great. I highly recommend it for intermittent dinghy use.

[HopCar]

Gasoline fueled engines always have a little fuel left in them even if you run it until it stops. If the engine isn’t run again pretty soon that gasoline evaporates and leaves a small amount of residue. Do this enough times and the residue builds up enough to cause a problem. The smaller the engine the quicker this happens.

I discovered that my Honda 2000i generator has a drain to empty the last few drops of gasoline from the carb and fuel line.