Outboard Motor Question
MR HENRY R DANIELSON (ANWJ93A@prodigy.com)
Sun, 20 Sep 1998 23:30:25, -0500
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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Hi Gang
I always like it when someone throws in another alternative! Here
goes anyway. A while ago when I was in Florida the Suzuki 2hp on my
Potter 15 refused to start. I took it to a mechanic/ Suzuki dealer
who said that the trouble was that I had clogged the carburator with
varnish by shutting off the fuel. The fuel in the carburator had
dried up and the remaining varnish had clogged the system. He told
me not to use foggers or stablizer in the gas, simply to never close
the shut off valve. He said that would assure that there would always
be gas in the carburator and end the problem -- even in Florida heat.
Then he told me that he couldn't fix the motor for a reasonable cost
and it was junk. He offered to "give me a nominal trade on a new
motor."
I took the unit back and bought a can of carburator cleaner and
sprayed it in every opening I could gain access to in the carburator.
I also sprayed a liberal amount in the spark plug hole. I thought
maybe the reed valve had seized. When I replaced the spark plug,
Wala! It started and has run fine ever since.
I have taken his advice and have kept the carburator valve open
and for the past two years the motor has been trouble free. Of
course, I always close the vent on the top of the motor when it is in
storage. I also leave the motor on the trailer in the garage and
would not consider bringing it into the basement near the furnace.
In the old days, O.M.C. used to recommend stopping outboards by
pulling the choke when they were to be stored for an extended time.
That might work for models with separate tanks.
A friend told me recently that emissions from the large two
cycle motors used in PWC's can equal in two hours the hydrocarbon
emissions from a modern automobile driven 130,000 miles. That sounds
incredible, but run your outboard in a bucket of water sometime and
you might be surprised at the film that quickly develops on the water-
not to mention the smoke that bubbles out of it. I am interested in
your responses.
Hank P-15 #1981 "Tinker"