Question for the 2 stroke guru's

[TheRealAndy]

Sorry, but only ever had 4 strokes, and the 2 strokes I had when I was a yougen were only small (2-4hp) and did not hold lots of fuel.

So now I have the 9.9hp 2 banger Johnno strapped to the yacht. It came with a 20l tank. I filled this up last weekend, all 20 litres with the correct ratio of oil. It just then occured to me that it will probably take me some time to chew through this.

I have the tank stored in a locker in the boat. Do i store it breather open or closed? Locker is not airtight, but its not going to circulate a lot of air.

Also, does the oil settle out? I always shake my whipper snipper and chainsaw fuel before use. Is this actually needed?

Now I also run the carbie dry, good or bad?

[oldboot]

som of this is a matter of opinion.

but the vent should be closed for staorage..... but unless you are carrying the tank arround it will probaly make very little difference.

Lots of people do run the carbies dry for storage......the idea being no fuel is better than stale fuel in the float chamber....and the 2 stroke will leave a little oil in the carbies which isn;t a bad thing.
If it was a post mix motor, as the engine runs out of fuel, the oil keeps pumping..so next start up will be a little smokey.....

Modern oils should not settle out... but a but of a slop around is no great imposition.

If you want to test this for yourself, put a sample of freshly mixed fuel in a jar and leave it undisturbed on a shelf for a while.

As far as the fuel going stale......I wont go out with fuel over 2 weeks old.

If you are topping up with fresh say 30%, this can be considered keeping the fuel fresh.
A good sealed container , in cool dry conditions you should get at least a month out of fuel..... but if it is open to air, has a little moisture in it or it is hot...yeh well.

if its older than 2 weeks, i put it thru the mower or in the car.

cheers

[cormorant]

Fuel with 2 stroke oil is really only good for4- 6 weeks tops. You can use stabiliser. Mate do yourself a favour and run a newer 2 stroke oils like quality quicksilver or XD50.

Breather always closed for storage.. We put a knee on the tank as we close it so it has "room" if the fuel and tank get hot got expansion without stressing the tank. If you are racing and you don't have a proper fuel cabinet ( ie drains overboard and doesn't vent so heavy fumes co into cabin) you in theory need tank in cokpit otherwise some smarty who knows the rules will protest you.

Yes to shake tank

We use a very small tank about 5l as we only use it on still days and to and from the mooring when running late so we always have fresh fuel and carry a 2nd 5l. IThey will run o stale fuel we just don't like the thought of damage and especially with such variable fuel quality to start with. The older bulbs and hoses don't cope with ethanol well.

When running dry pull hose off at tank end and let it run and that way you don't have stale fuel in hose for next start . You may need to press in the ball in on the hose or pump bulb. There is 5 min run time so we do it coming in. Can always restart fast by just reconnecting and or do it dry on flush. Do not run high revs when running dry as it leans out - we just choke on on the last drops of fuel.


Make sure it has the "sail" high thrust prop on it so it will actually rev out and not be overloaded. They never really rev out so can carbon up so good oil and annual mist of cleaner through the carby will keep it free of carbon and sticly rings. Props weld to the shafts unless you annually pull em off and grease them. If the motor is layed down and not flushed the thermostat used to salt up so pull it off and check for salt build up.

The leg on the extra longs had a spacer in it. Make sure it is removed annually when you do the waterpump otherwise the extra long bolts seize up in the housing and are a real bitch

Brilliant motor that and the 6 and 8hp ones and a high theft item as they never stopped. Put a lock on the toggle bolts if it stays on the boat and a cover so they can't see what it is easily..

[TheRealAndy]

Cheers. Cormorant, it is an extra long leg sail drive. I am going to get Garry to give it a good service next time he does the yammie.

I think I might also buy a small 5 l tank, since I only use the motor to leave and enter cabbage tree creek.

[finga]

Honda make a small 9l tank if you have trouble getting a small one Andy.
It's metal though.

[cormorant]

Get Gary to have a close look where the copper tube goes into the top of the water pump gromet. If they have been layed down and not flushed they always seem to corrode through the copper pipe there. You can pick it up early as the copper goes brittle. Make sure it is long enough to seal on the waterpump as people ( mechanics) trim em . Get him to show you the thremostat as it and the pump are 10 minute jobs that if done regularly will keep it going for years trouble free.

Make sure the bracket and pivot points are greased and if teh grease has gone solid pull it down and put the propper stuff back in. Once seazed they are a disaster .

Only complaint - they are heavy an not balanced right to carry.

[cuzzamundi]

G;day Cormorant,

Just wondering if you have any idea how difficult it is to fix a seized two stroke. mine's 4hp, and was seized a year ago. stripped her down and re-greased etc, got everything in order, but she only revs for twents\y secs or so and dies. am gonna take it to mechanic. any idea how much that may be? the motor's only worth 500 at best, so i'm hoping not more than a couple hundred?

thanks mate.

cuzza

[cormorant]

That just sounds like a probable carby/ fuel issue/ fuel pump issue.

They are very simple and you can't do a lot of damage checking a few simple things on that motor. How mechanical are you? Was it running right prevously ?

[cuzzamundi]

Thanks for getting back to me, Cormorant. Yeah, mate, she was running well prior to the seizure. I'm average mechanically, but have a basic knowledge. What you reckon I do? Thanks a million mate, I really appreciate the help!

Cuza

[finga]

G;day Cormorant,

Just wondering if you have any idea how difficult it is to fix a seized two stroke. mine's 4hp, and was seized a year ago. stripped her down and re-greased etc, got everything in order, but she only revs for twents\y secs or so and dies.
thanks mate.

cuzza
Can you pull the cord straight after it stops?
If so then something fairly minor.
If not then something fairly major.