starting an EFI engine that's not been run in ages (fuel concern)..

duggie12 · 07 May 2022, 21:19

hi all
due to other hobbies i have not used my mercury EFI 20hp for ages....i think it was October 2020, which seems a terrible waste! so i am hoping to do a trip or 2 this year.

the last time the engine was run was when it was serviced by the main dealer and it has been left untouched since. the fuel was drained from the tank at the time. there is of course still fuel in the fuel filter/ fuel lines and maybe residual fuel elsewhere in the engine - i really don't know how they work exactly. the dealer said he ran fuel stabiliser through it but this would only be good for about 6 months.

am i okay to just add fresh fuel to the tank and start the engine as normal do you think? i would be worried that the old fuel still hanging about would be contaminated or something. i seem to remember fenlander having a problem with contaminated fuel and it giving him a lot of bother. should i be trying to drain any residual fuel out of the system or is this not necessary?

thanks
duggie

Steve509926 · 07 May 2022, 22:25

Think you'll find the advice I got from Fenlander in this post helpful:-

https://www.rib.net/forum/f36/starti...ard-87893.html

Fenlander · 07 May 2022, 23:13

My DF20A failing to start... not even a splutter... on about the second day of a holiday remains a slight mystery. The dealers finally concluded fuel contamination as far as I could tell because they couldn't find any other fault and after flushing the fuel lines backwards if then ran OK. I remained slightly puzzled as I settled out a couple of samples of the fuel in clear jars and it was perfect.

So I'd not be too worried because of my experience.

I'd just fill the tank with fresh and give it a go. But if you wanted to go belt and braces there is a (pinky clear) drain hose that is for draining the system (I never bothered) when travelling etc. It terminates on a "keeper" just above the saddle. You could drain this down so you got fresh fuel further into the system.

duggie12 · 08 May 2022, 07:04

okay great thanks guys
glad to see the forum still as helpful as ever!
i'll let you know if i have any problems

technically i should be changing the oil i believe even though the outboard hasn't been used, but i am not going to. i've let the warranty lapse now anyway.

TmMorris · 08 May 2022, 08:13

I think that it'll be fine, especially if the engine has been stored in pretty benign conditions. If it's been stored in an environment where the temperature rises and falls quite extremely then that tends to be more likely to lead to stronger changes in the residual fuel.

I think that if it were me I'd just disconnect the fuel pipe from the filter, collect some fuel and have a look at it and give it a small just to check and have a look at the engine oil and if all seems normal just fire it up in a bucket and run some fresh fuel through it.

duggie12 · 08 May 2022, 20:34

cheers - engine has been kept in spare room
i was just worried the fuel may have become so dodgy it would mess with the electronics and i would start getting faults or whatever
but i'll follow the advice here and it should be fine
thanks

TmMorris · 08 May 2022, 20:39

It's never bad to be cautious so no harm in flushing what's in there out but I imagine it's a pretty air tight system so the chances are the small amount of fuel will be fine.

duggie12 · 09 May 2022, 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

My DF20A failing to start... not even a splutter... on about the second day of a holiday remains a slight mystery. The dealers finally concluded fuel contamination as far as I could tell because they couldn't find any other fault and after flushing the fuel lines backwards if then ran OK. I remained slightly puzzled as I settled out a couple of samples of the fuel in clear jars and it was perfect.

So I'd not be too worried because of my experience.

I'd just fill the tank with fresh and give it a go. But if you wanted to go belt and braces there is a (pinky clear) drain hose that is for draining the system (I never bothered) when travelling etc. It terminates on a "keeper" just above the saddle. You could drain this down so you got fresh fuel further into the system.

Fenlander just out of curiosity - when you mention the pink drain hose that terminates before the saddle - were you talking about your Suzuki ?

Thanks

Brinormeg · 09 May 2022, 22:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by duggie12

Fenlander just out of curiosity - when you mention the pink drain hose that terminates before the saddle - were you talking about your Suzuki ?

Thanks

The Suzuki does have a drain pipe and drain screw from the fuel vapour seperator which the book says you should drain before laying OB on its side, but as far as I read on here, nobody bothers.

Fenlander · 09 May 2022, 23:21

Yep that's the one on the Suzuki. Pinkish on mine.

Max... · 10 May 2022, 10:30

Just started my Merc 2 stroke for first time in nearly two years - it's been 'winterised' in a dry garage all this time, so had the usual - oil squirted in bores, all greased and insides covered in Dinitrol, fuel drained before last run. Spotless under the cowl.

New fuel - second pull, braapppp!

duggie12 · 10 May 2022, 13:51

Thanks
The Mercury i see you can attach a pipe to the filter to drain it, or you can just sort of unmount the filter and hang it over the side of the engine and drain it into a container