Use a portable gas can instead of the tank?

Gasoline issues are about to drive me to buying a cane pole and making an earthworm farm out of my jon boat. Last time I had it out she ran great. I knew it was probably going to be awhile before I ran it again, so I disconnected the gas line, ran the motor out of gas, and then drained the carbs for good measure. Several weeks later (today), I found an opportunity to run the boat again. I guessed the gas in the tank would be bad even with the stabilizer I added, so I pumped as much out of the tank as I could and replaced it with fresh gas/oil. I really thought that would be good enough, but on the water, I still experienced the hesitation, stalling, and lack of power that I've come to learn are the indicators of bad gas. Either I bought stale gas at the station, or I still had enough old gas in the system to cause problems. So, here are my questions: 1) Is there anything else I should have done to remove gas when I knew it was going to be sitting up? 2) Do any of you use portable cans instead of the built in tanks? The built in 12 gal tank is difficult to remove, but I was thinking with a smaller portable tank I could just put the leftover gas in my truck at the end of the day. Most of my fishing trips won't use more than a few gallons anyway. And I know using mixed gas in a car or truck is a source of controversy, but it has to be better than letting it go bad and killing weeds with it. Thanks for any advice, guys.

Sounds like the fuel itself is ok. If it were me ,I'd check the pick up line in the tank. it could have a screen on the end that could have some trash that's partially clogging fuel flow. If you have an inline filter,check it. Also you could check the screen on the fuel pump.
I'm sure someone else will chime in.

I am sure some use gas cans and I'm sure there not CG approved . my 2C....cva34

Have you checked your fuel lines. The gas nowdays will eat the older line up and make them soft. Whe the engine call for more gas the line collapse but spring back when you let off the gas. Another thing is check the vent on your gas tank to see if it is working

Are you using 100% gas or ethanol gas? Ethanol is not a good fit with two stroke motors of any kind. It will quickly cause deposits to build up in your carbs.

I have a hard time believing that good gas, even untreated, would go stale in a couple of weeks. So the suggestions above should be helpful. I do have friends who use permanent tanks but don't fish that much. Their problem is that if they never fully drain the old fuel, any new fuel added is wasted.

I never drain the carbs or old gas, and don't beleave in stabelizers. Cuss me if you want but my rig always cranks and runs on 6 month old fuel after sitting all winter.

Ethanol is blamed for a lot of problems that can be avoided with a good inline fuel filter IMO

I think you have a fuel related issue but not the fuel itself.

Do you know if its running rich or lean?

I would bet that it is not the fuel.

There's already a variety of opinions so I guess it won't hurt to add mine.

Tin Yachtsman said:

questions: 1) Is there anything else I should have done to remove gas when I knew it was going to be sitting up?

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It sounds like you did most of what I do with one exception. Does your built in tank have a vent that you open/close manually? If it does, do you close it when you park your boat. If it has one of the automatic vents like the new portable tanks are doing, it might be faulty and keeping the vent open full time. Gas will evaporate if it is vented, and when it evaporates it leaves behind residue that isn't so great for the motor in concentrated form.

Tin Yachtsman said:

2) Do any of you use portable cans instead of the built in tanks?

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TBH I've never been in a jon boat that had a built in tank. None of my friends/family had bass trackers etc, just plain jane bare aluminum hulls. Around here everyone has used portable tanks from the 60's up until now. The only difference is that in the 60's and early 70's most of them were using metal tanks and now they're using plastic.

Tin Yachtsman said:

The built in 12 gal tank is difficult to remove, but I was thinking with a smaller portable tank I could just put the leftover gas in my truck at the end of the day. Most of my fishing trips won't use more than a few gallons anyway. And I know using mixed gas in a car or truck is a source of controversy, but it has to be better than letting it go bad and killing weeds with it. Thanks for any advice, guys.

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I like the portable tank. Like you mentioned, it allows for easier drainage of the gas if it's going to be sitting for prolonged periods. If I know this is going to be the case, I buy the amount of fuel I'll need for my last trip so I don't have 5 gal left over. And what little I do have I use in my 2 cycle weed eater, blower, and chain saw. I wouldn't put it in my truck because the oil is not good for your plugs or your valves when it's burnt in the cylinders. 2 cycle motors don't have valves to get gummy when they burn oil but your vehicle does. Well that's my 2¢ worth but opinions vary. :mrgreen:

Thanks for the many responses. I went to Wally World today and bought a 6 gallon Attwood tank and OMC tank - fuel hose connectors. I didn't replace the existing bulb or fuel hose because mine are less than a year old. I filled/mixed non-ethanol gas and tested the rig out on the trailer on the side of the house. She cranked right up, idled nicely and revved strongly. Thinking I might have the problem resolved, I headed to the nearest boat ramp and dropped her in. Again, easy start, nice idle, smooth sounding. BUT (there's always the "but"), at WOT she was noticeably slower than usual. I was barely able to get on plane and she seemed to be running at about 70% of what she has done in the past. All of this leads me to believe that the original problem was either the gas or the fuel pick up in the aluminum tank, as someone suggested. So I will remove that tank, totally empty it, and replace the fuel pick up if possible. BUT (there's another one), after using the smaller remote tank today, I am really convinced I would like to stick with it long term. It just seems so much easier to work with. Could the smaller gas tank not be supplying the 60hp, three carb outboard enough gas? I wouldn't have guessed that would be a problem. Could having OMC connectors on both ends of the fuel line be restricting gas flow? The reason I ask that is because the pre-built fuel line assemblies at Wally World use a different quick disconnect and advertise "60% more gas flow" but I thought that was just marketing.

To answer the question about venting, my built in aluminum tank has a hose with a cap on it. The cap has mesh covered holes.

Thanks for the input.

cva34 said:

I am sure some use gas cans and I'm sure there not CG approved . my 2C....cva34

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Well, I wasn't really talking about a gas can as much as a smaller portable gas tank. Sorry for the confusion. I've seen some rednecks out there with some crazy jury rigged devices. I even saw a car with a portable can tank in the interior! That may have been on this site, as a matter of fact.

sawmill said:

Have you checked your fuel lines. The gas nowdays will eat the older line up and make them soft. Whe the engine call for more gas the line collapse but spring back when you let off the gas. Another thing is check the vent on your gas tank to see if it is working

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Yeah, you know, I have read about that on this site and believed that to be a problem with my outboard in the past. But after spending a lot of time replacing hoses and not solving my problem, I brought the outboard in to a mechanic. All he did to get the outboard running great was clean out the carbs and run fresh gas. The problem I'm having now is almost identical, except that fresh gas didn't do the trick.

Loggerhead Mike said:

I never drain the carbs or old gas, and don't beleave in stabelizers. Cuss me if you want but my rig always cranks and runs on 6 month old fuel after sitting all winter.

Ethanol is blamed for a lot of problems that can be avoided with a good inline fuel filter IMO

I think you have a fuel related issue but not the fuel itself.

Do you know if its running rich or lean?

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All I can tell you for sure is that it's not running "right". I have the standard inline OMC fuel filter. An inline water remover has been suggested to me, but I was hoping that it wouldn't be necessary if I used fresh gas every time and drained the tank between runs.

I envy the man who can run 6 month old gas with no problems. I'm scared to let my gas sit six days!

Lowe 2070 CC said:

Are you using 100% gas or ethanol gas? Ethanol is not a good fit with two stroke motors of any kind. It will quickly cause deposits to build up in your carbs.

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I think I'm learning the hard way to only use 100% gas.

You have low speed jets and high speed jets in your carbs. sounds like the low speed is opening up fine and giving you power but the high speed may be clogged, thus the lack of top end. A good carb cleaning may be in order.

Other folks may never have a problem, but I've had deposits from ethanol build up in carbs anytime they are allowed to sit for more than a few days.

My advice add an inline fuel filter, clean the carbs, add marine stabil anytime you might let the boat sit for more than a week or two and never use ethanol.

Hey Tin Yachtsman,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. It can be very frustrating trying to pinpoint the problem, and just when you think you've got it licked, it rears its ugly head again. I'll offer up my advice for what it's worth.
1. Don't worry too much about letting your gas sit for awhile. So long as you use the portable tank, and are filling up with non-ethanol fuel you should be fine for weeks if not months. Optionally, you can add Sta-bil or equivalent if you want to. I know some guys drain their tanks after each outing to rid themselves of excess fuel, but I take a different approach. I top off the tank on my way home. A tank full of fuel has less space for air and hence experiences less condensation. After the motor has been flushed, I'll disconnect the fuel line from the motor, and run her until she quits. That should pretty well purge the fuel system.
2. To solve your problem, I would start with the simplest things first and work my way up. A couple guys on here listed the fuel filter as a possible culprit, and I'm inclined to agree with them. It's a $5-10 dollar piece and it's easy to replace, so make sure it's good.
3. From there I would look into spraying some approved carb cleaner directly into the air intake while the motor is running. Sea Foam makes a good one. Just spray small doses at a time. You'll want to "fog" the mixture into the carbs lightly, so as not to stall it. Truthfully, a full disassembly, cleaning and re-build of the carbs is probably in order, but if that is not within your abilities or budget, the spray can sometimes work wonders.
4. Finally, I wanted to share my similar experience with you. I had a motor that did exactly like what you have described, and I tried all of the remedies I listed above. Each to no avail. I finally pulled the spark plugs to have a look, and the number 3 plug was rusty. Not bad, but rusty just the same. After blowing air into the cylinder through the plug port caused water to spray out on my hand, I knew I had real trouble. Probably a head gasket gone bad, which allowed some water to enter the cylinder/combustion chamber. This effectively was quenching the flame front and causing the spark to ground out. The hesitation that I was experiencing was the third cylinder playing hit or miss. I hope that this is not your issue, and that you find a simpler fix. Obviously in my case, a rebuild or new motor were the only two options. I chose new motor.
Sorry to be long winded, but I feel your pain. Good luck

I have a 54 gallon built in tank that i never drain i try to top it off at the end of the season but dont always get around to it.
we dont have a choice up here on whether to use 100% gas unless i want to pay $5 plus a gallon. i fog my motor i have never had a problem with the motor stalling unless my plugs are fouled. happened once. i dont think it is the gas i would suggest changing your plugs. and checking the fuel line

After all the fiddling around the front of the outboard last week, today I noticed a "minor" issue on the back side: One of the **** spark plug wires had popped off and was hanging loose! Popped it back on and put the boat on the water, and guess what! It ran like a champ with the portable tank and non-ethanol gas. In fact, it ran so good I ran it out of gas about 200 yards from the dock and had to use the trolling motor to get back. It was a pretty day and I ran it several miles before I looked back at the tank and realized it was time to turn around. I still need to figure out the issue with the aluminum tank, but I'm leaning towards giving it one more try after a good cleaning. I will keep the portable tank on hand for a reserve. Once again, thanks for the input guys!