I have a 1974 Pearson 30 that has served me faithfully for 9 years now. Much to the dismay of Captain and crew, I have had two failed outings in the past week that I believe are fuel related. I've been investigating the problem this week- and here is what I know.
Two months ago, I had trouble starting the boat and found that the carburetor was really varnished up. I probably inspect the carb every year or two and had never noticed any varnish in the carb until that time. I cleaned it all out with carb cleaner such that it looked perfect.... minus the rebuild kit. I also inspected the Racor filter and found it was really black in there. I didn't have a replacement element with me so I just rinsed it in clean gas and put it back on. Upon reassembly, it started right up and everything has ran fine until last week.
Last week, I may (or may not) have simply run out of gas at an inopportune time. It wouldn't be the first such occasion. Threw an anchor, spent the night and put 5 gallons of fresh gas into the tank in the morning. It fired right up. Pain in the a-- but no harm.
This week, I am motoring around for July 4 fireworks and the engine fails just as we are anchoring. Luckily a friend was available to tow us back to the slip before we drifted into the boat anchored behind us.
So, I get into it yesterday. First thing I do is stick a dipstick into the tank to see how many inches of fuel are in there. I'm wondering if I ran out of gas the first time or it was something else. Its obviously got gas (right about 5 gallons) but the thing I notice is that it feels like there is a half inch of crud on the bottom of the tank... tactile feel is like sand. I replaced the filter element and tried to turn the engine over. It won't go- but there is gas in the carb. I get ambitious because I've never felt all this grit in the tank before. I drain the tank through the fuel system (excluding the Racor) and the gas comes out reasonably clean but with some black sediment- the same stuff that's being collected in the Racor. I filter this gas back into the tank to remove the particles and notice that fuel is spilling over the tank. Not good. The hose connecting the fuel deck fitting has decayed so much that it leaks. The inside of that hose is.... black.
I cut that hose off and remove the fuel deck fitting in the hopes that I can replace that hose and get a better angle to siphon the crud out of my tank. No real success with the siphoning but it worked momentarily and I did get some black chunks out. I'm going to try again this week with a few more gallons in the tank.
For kicks, I decided to take the carb off and have a look. Its varnished again! Its not as bad as it was two months ago but I was surprised to see how much varnish was on it after just two months. I ordered the rebuild kit today... but I verified that the carb was getting gas... before I started taking everything apart.
I have been reading all the horror stories on E10 fuel and its affect. I've been using 'gas station' gas for years without problems. I'm wondering what this black sediment is in my tank. I believe the tank is Monel and the fuel pick-up line is brass. My guess is that its related to that short, leaking hose between the fuel tank and deck fitting. Is that possible? Does that black stuff matter or is that what the fuel filter is for (stop worrying)? I really don't want to remove the tank if I can avoid it. I also ordered the electric fuel pump kit with the inline filter today.
I'm also wondering why my carb fouled again so quickly. It wasn't black varnish but more of an orange or maroon color.
Any suggestions or words of encouragement? Thanks for either.
David
Two months ago, I had trouble starting the boat and found that the carburetor was really varnished up. I probably inspect the carb every year or two and had never noticed any varnish in the carb until that time. I cleaned it all out with carb cleaner such that it looked perfect.... minus the rebuild kit. I also inspected the Racor filter and found it was really black in there. I didn't have a replacement element with me so I just rinsed it in clean gas and put it back on. Upon reassembly, it started right up and everything has ran fine until last week.
Last week, I may (or may not) have simply run out of gas at an inopportune time. It wouldn't be the first such occasion. Threw an anchor, spent the night and put 5 gallons of fresh gas into the tank in the morning. It fired right up. Pain in the a-- but no harm.
This week, I am motoring around for July 4 fireworks and the engine fails just as we are anchoring. Luckily a friend was available to tow us back to the slip before we drifted into the boat anchored behind us.
So, I get into it yesterday. First thing I do is stick a dipstick into the tank to see how many inches of fuel are in there. I'm wondering if I ran out of gas the first time or it was something else. Its obviously got gas (right about 5 gallons) but the thing I notice is that it feels like there is a half inch of crud on the bottom of the tank... tactile feel is like sand. I replaced the filter element and tried to turn the engine over. It won't go- but there is gas in the carb. I get ambitious because I've never felt all this grit in the tank before. I drain the tank through the fuel system (excluding the Racor) and the gas comes out reasonably clean but with some black sediment- the same stuff that's being collected in the Racor. I filter this gas back into the tank to remove the particles and notice that fuel is spilling over the tank. Not good. The hose connecting the fuel deck fitting has decayed so much that it leaks. The inside of that hose is.... black.
I cut that hose off and remove the fuel deck fitting in the hopes that I can replace that hose and get a better angle to siphon the crud out of my tank. No real success with the siphoning but it worked momentarily and I did get some black chunks out. I'm going to try again this week with a few more gallons in the tank.
For kicks, I decided to take the carb off and have a look. Its varnished again! Its not as bad as it was two months ago but I was surprised to see how much varnish was on it after just two months. I ordered the rebuild kit today... but I verified that the carb was getting gas... before I started taking everything apart.
I have been reading all the horror stories on E10 fuel and its affect. I've been using 'gas station' gas for years without problems. I'm wondering what this black sediment is in my tank. I believe the tank is Monel and the fuel pick-up line is brass. My guess is that its related to that short, leaking hose between the fuel tank and deck fitting. Is that possible? Does that black stuff matter or is that what the fuel filter is for (stop worrying)? I really don't want to remove the tank if I can avoid it. I also ordered the electric fuel pump kit with the inline filter today.
I'm also wondering why my carb fouled again so quickly. It wasn't black varnish but more of an orange or maroon color.
Any suggestions or words of encouragement? Thanks for either.
David
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