On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 21:43:30 -0800, -rick- wrote:

wrote:

That's run time though. The gummy part happens, even to a new motor,
when any fuel is left sitting in the carb for a few weeks. Three weeks
in this case.

I think you would be better off not running it dry. Mine hasn't gummed
up in 5 years and has gone several periods of a month or so without use.

I do much the same with most of my outdoor equipment and my small
Johnson 25. The difference is that I always use Sta-bil or a couple
of ounces per gallon of Marvel Mystery Oil for over winter use.

Ain't failed me yet.

Later,

Tom

On 2/19/05, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
I always use Sta-bil or a couple
of ounces per gallon of Marvel Mystery Oil for over winter use.

Sounds reasonable but how do you do that? Just dump the stuff in your
fuel tank? Or use a small separate tank just for that purpose?
I guess I could do that but I never know when my last trip of the
season is (cuz it's a 12 month season). but still, there are times
when I might not use a particular motor for several months. I never
know in advance so I'd have to do it after every trip I suppose.....
.... which wouldn't be bad if I had an easy way to do it.
Complications = three different motors, 2 of 'em 2 cycle one of 'em 4,
three different fuel line fittings, etc.
Might give it a go though. If it works it'd be worth it.

Rick

On 2/18/05 -rick- nobody wrote:
I think you would be better off not running it dry. Mine hasn't gummed
up in 5 years and has gone several periods of a month or so without use.

Yours is a small Honda?
I don't recall having a prob with my 6hp evinrude but in the case of
my 200hp Mariner, my floats have stuck like glue to the bottom ot the
bowls after the gasoline evaporated over time. Nothing would unstick
them except opening the bowl, reaching in with a finger, and pulling
them loose. After that, I give the bowl and jets a good spraying with
carb cleaner, put it all back together, and I'm good to go.

My Honda dealer also sells Mercury. The tech gave me the impression
that my 20hp Honda is more prone to carb clogging than Mercury because
of the extremely small jet. Personally, I dunno. Sounds reasonable but
that's why I'm asking for opinions from the group.

Thanks for yours
Cheers,
Rick

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:35:40 -0600, lid
wrote:

On 2/18/05 -rick- nobody wrote:
I think you would be better off not running it dry. Mine hasn't gummed
up in 5 years and has gone several periods of a month or so without use.

Yours is a small Honda?
I don't recall having a prob with my 6hp evinrude but in the case of
my 200hp Mariner, my floats have stuck like glue to the bottom ot the
bowls after the gasoline evaporated over time. Nothing would unstick
them except opening the bowl, reaching in with a finger, and pulling
them loose. After that, I give the bowl and jets a good spraying with
carb cleaner, put it all back together, and I'm good to go.

My Honda dealer also sells Mercury. The tech gave me the impression
that my 20hp Honda is more prone to carb clogging than Mercury because
of the extremely small jet. Personally, I dunno. Sounds reasonable but
that's why I'm asking for opinions from the group.

Personally, I'd ask him to prove that - doesn't make a lot of sense.

Later,

Tom

lid wrote:
On 2/18/05 -rick- nobody wrote:

I think you would be better off not running it dry. Mine hasn't gummed
up in 5 years and has gone several periods of a month or so without use.


Yours is a small Honda?
I don't recall having a prob with my 6hp evinrude but in the case of
my 200hp Mariner, my floats have stuck like glue to the bottom ot the
bowls after the gasoline evaporated over time. Nothing would unstick
them except opening the bowl, reaching in with a finger, and pulling
them loose. After that, I give the bowl and jets a good spraying with
carb cleaner, put it all back together, and I'm good to go.

My Honda dealer also sells Mercury. The tech gave me the impression
that my 20hp Honda is more prone to carb clogging than Mercury because
of the extremely small jet. Personally, I dunno. Sounds reasonable but
that's why I'm asking for opinions from the group.

Thanks for yours
Cheers,
Rick



Sorry I wasn't clear, it is a 2000 15hp Honda. I use it as a
kicker/trolling motor. As Tom (short-wave) noted it's also good to treat
the tank with Sta-bil for storage.

Regards,
-rick-

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 21:57:14 -0600, lid
wrote:

Bought this motor last summer and have about 10-12 hours on it. Guess
I didn't get all the fuel out last time I used it so now the carb jet
is clogged (so says the dealer technician). The tech tells me it's the
only real prob with these motors for some reason or other, even when
you *think* you've run the carb dry, it's not really all outta there
(funny the salesman didn't mention it last summer), and it'll take him
a couple of hours at $75 per hour to remove the carb and clean it.

Honda hired my services to address this very problem, which I am happy
to say, has been fixed. I am not allowed to share my work done with
Honda, due to cofidentallity agreements, so simply contact your Honda
dealer for the recall info.

The Honda carbs are even easier to do than the others you mentioned.

BTW, 2 hours to remove and clean a Honda carb on a 20 HP? Find a new
tech. That should only take one hour, in my experience.

Do you have an air compressor? How about carb cleaner, "Gunk".
Dismantle it, soak it in GUNK, wash it clean in gas or varsol, clean
all your circuits (idle, off idle) using a thin wire to snake through
the circuits. Blow it all clean with compressed air. A new kit, I am
guessing, should be about $20.00. Yeah, and a service manual will save
you hours of guess work. I'd get one.

Also, I am not sure what your tech is talking about, but if you
stabilize the fuel in the winter, spring start up and run should be a
breeze and this should not be occurring yearly.

On 7 Mar 2005, nevermore2005 wrote:
BTW, 2 hours to remove and clean a Honda carb on a 20 HP? Find a new
tech. That should only take one hour, in my experience.

After looking at the shop manual, I was thinking the same thing. Might
take me 2 hours the first time but after that, unless there's
something I'm not seeing in the manual, and hour looks about right.
Problem is, I haven't HAD an hour (much less two) lately.

Do you have an air compressor?

Nope

How about carb cleaner, "Gunk".

Yep. Plenty of it.

Dismantle it, soak it in GUNK, wash it clean in gas or varsol, clean
all your circuits (idle, off idle) using a thin wire to snake through
the circuits. Blow it all clean with compressed air. A new kit, I am
guessing, should be about $20.00.

How's about I just open the bowl, remove the jet, jet nozzle, main
nozzel and spray THEM down with carb cleaner. Then stick it back
together without a kit. I mean the carb is practically brand new. I'm
thinkin' I can save the gaskets unless they're glued in there with
something..

Yeah, and a service manual will save
you hours of guess work. I'd get one.

Got one.

Also, I am not sure what your tech is talking about, but if you
stabilize the fuel in the winter, spring start up and run should be a
breeze and this should not be occurring yearly.

I hope you're right.
Another thing, the tech hasn't seen the engine. He's just guessing
from the symptoms I described. It seemed odd to me because the engine
will crank up and run fine for a couple of minutes, the suddenly try
to shut down, popping on about every 40th revolution until it finally
just quits. But then it will immediately crank right back up and run
fine for another couple of minutes. Over and over again like that.
Tech says it's running on a special "start up" circuit for the first
couple of minutes but then switches to the main jet and that's what's
clogged, so it shuts down. One pull though and it starts right back up
on the "start up" cirguit. I guess that makes sense but ... well,
we'll see... when I get a spare hour or so.
Thanks for the response.
Rick

lid wrote

How's about I just open the bowl, remove the jet, jet nozzle, main
nozzel and spray THEM down with carb cleaner. Then stick it back
together without a kit. I mean the carb is practically brand new. I'm
thinkin' I can save the gaskets unless they're glued in there with
something..

Nope, do the entire carb, as I suggested. You need to examine and clean
that carb thoroughly. Otherwise it could be a no go. And old gaskets?
In my opinion, no. And you need to ream out all the circuits with thin
wire. Spraying carb cleaner is not a cure-all. That's like the guy who
figures he can fix everything with WD40. It won't work. But once you
wire clean the circuits, you can spray the carb cleaner or WD40 through
the circuits to make sure they are clear. It's easy to do.

I hope you're right.
Another thing, the tech hasn't seen the engine. He's just guessing
from the symptoms I described.

OK, now you have a whole new set of items to explore. Do the carb
first. Then if that doesn't work, refer to the trouble shooting section
in your service manual. And work through the steps. If you have not got
the correct testing equipment, take it in to see a qualified tech. One
shop hour should properly diagnose that powerhead. And it will cost you
about 75 dollars.

It seemed odd to me because the engine
will crank up and run fine for a couple of minutes, the suddenly try
to shut down, popping on about every 40th revolution until it finally
just quits. But then it will immediately crank right back up and run
fine for another couple of minutes. Over and over again like that.
Tech says it's running on a special "start up" circuit for the first
couple of minutes but then switches to the main jet and that's what's
clogged, so it shuts down. One pull though and it starts right back
up
on the "start up" cirguit. I guess that makes sense but ... well,
we'll see... when I get a spare hour or so.
Thanks for the response.
Rick