1976 6hp Johnson fuel consumption.

gsh

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Messages
104
I have a 1976 6hp Johnson Seahorse (6R76) and was wondering if anyone knew what sort of fuel consumption it was supposed to have at wide open throttle. I have it on a 14' aluminum boat with a max capacity of 600 lbs. The boat itself weighs about 150 lbs or so. With the boat fully loaded I can get about 7.5 mph out of it.

It's not like I plan to run it at WOT for hours on end, I'd just like to know so I can be sure not to accidentally run it out while out on the lake.
 

RCO

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 15, 2016
Messages
350
The old rule of thumb for 2 stroke outboards is 10% of hp in gallons per hour at WOT. .6 gallons per hour sounds about right for that motor. I don't know how many hours I put on our old 6 Johnson as a kid, but I ran it a lot, and it seems like I could run pretty much all weekend on a 6 gal tank.
 

Chinewalker

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Aug 19, 2001
Messages
8,902
If you're planning a longer cruise, bring an extra fuel tank, or at the very least a small gallon sized Jerry can with some extra mixed fuel as a get me home backup plan.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
It's around 10 to 12 % depending on OB fabricator provided that OB runs at max wot rpm range factory stated. You could be lugging the OB and not knowing anything about it, a induction tach will tell, revving at full wot towards the min or lugging side is bad, a less pitch prop will cure it..

Happy Boating
 

gsh

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Messages
104
Thanks for the input, guys.
The motor is completely stock, so I have no plans on changing the prop. I also run the boat on smaller lakes and it would never take more than 30 minutes or so to go from end to end at WOT.

With the info you guys provided even if I was getting lousy economy and burning almost double the gas I should be, I could run a 3 gallon tank for about 3 hours. That means I should almost never have to worry about it as long as I start the day with the tank full.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
Factory delivered props are medium pitched, probably not the best one OB needs to run inside safe wot rpm range specially if powering a large combo at wot. Can't possibly know without installing an induction tach...

Happy Boating
 
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