Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

BonairII

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I emptied out my bow mounted fuel tank last week(had 18 month old stabil treated fuel in it). I looked in the tank with a flashlight and didn't notice any rust etc(but I can't see too far left and right of the opening). I replaced the fuel line and installed a clear fuel filter like this one.
filter.jpg


I just noticed that the fuel in the sediment bowl is amber colored instead of the greenish tint it normally has. I don't know if this color change happened immediately when I reinstalled the bow fueltank earlier this week....or this color change happened in the 24 hours or so.

Is my fuel contaminated or did the yellow filter element somehow change the color of the fuel when it filtered it?

340df886.jpg
 

Sea Rider

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

If the engine runs ok, no problem, in case it's the new filter discoloring, will need to wait for a third filter change to confirm, If you want to blame somebody, blame E10 :D

Happy Boating
 

BonairII

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

That's the problem. I'm in the middle of trying to get my motor running properly. Until I get the motor problems under control...I'm going to use a portable tank and take the fuel quality issue out of the picture.
 

Rocky_Road

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Is your outboard a 2 cycle...and needs the oil mixed in the gas?

The only gas that I have ever seen green colored was pre-mixed with 2 cycle oil...the color tint is intended to prevent you from running straight gas by accident.

Happy boating!
 

Rocky_Road

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Yup. It's a 2-stroke

Then you need 2-cycle oil somehow mixed in your gas before the combustion chamber(s). That would explain the green gas you remembered.

Most modern engines have a seperate oil tank that supplies the correct amount of oil as you run. But...many boaters don't trust this, and disengage the automatic oiler, and add the oil to the gas at the pump. You really need to find out what your engine needs! And don't run straight gas until you have this figured out...just a few minutes without the proper lubrication will destroy your engine.

Happy boating!
 

BonairII

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Ok...you've got this all wrong. The gas was premixed(as always) at 50:1 and was in my portable tank.
A few days ago, I emptied my bow tank(it has been disconnected on sitting in my garage since I bought the boat a month or so ago).

The tank had 6 gallons of 18 month old gas in it when I bought the boat, so I emptied the tank of the old gas.....reinstalled the tank in the bow a couple days ago and poured the gas from the portable tank into the bow tank. I installed new fuel lines and also an inline fuel filter (see pic). Up until a couple days ago, I've been using the portable tank as my motor's fuel supply.

While I was tinkering with the motor today, I noticed that the fuel in the sediment bowl was amber colored...and immediately disconnected the bow tank and am now going to use the portable tank until I find out if the amber gas is contaminated.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Inline filter's like that are NOT good for outboards and will starve the motor :(
 

Sea Rider

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Inline filter's like that are NOT good for outboards and will starve the motor :(

By starving the motor, would you say that filter has thicker middle filtering element making gas pass slower and gas pump having more work ? What type of filter would you recommend ?

Bonair II, what color is the 2 stroke oil being used ?

Happy Boating
 

BonairII

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

\ a Pep Boys fuel filter is not recommended for your outboard.

Happy boating!

I bought the filter from West Marine.

Aside from the fact that my filter is wrong.....anyone know why my gas is discolored now?
 

Sea Rider

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Mix E 10 gasoline with proper 2 stroke oil (50:1) on a transparent plastic bottle, see if changes color, if not, probably yellow element inside filter is discoloring. The link sent applies for bigger engines, in small portable engines some of them not having a fuel pump will not work at all. Assume are for stationary hull tanks, not portable ones. If going for portable 3-6 gal max tanks, best is to consume the most bought for that outing and refill for next one. It's not that you bought the wrong filter, you bought one that does not separates water entering fuel.

Happy Boating
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

Could you have forgotten to mix that bow tank?? 18 month old fuel....... hello lawnmower because I would not feed that to my precious 28 year old V-4
 

Rocky_Road

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Re: Is this fuel contaminated? (see pic)

I bought the filter from West Marine.

Aside from the fact that my filter is wrong.....anyone know why my gas is discolored now?

If I am reading your posts correctly, you definitely had pre-mixed gas (green) in your portable tank and transfered that to your empty bow tank? Now, you are not seeing the green tint at the engine...?

If this is what you did...and the only new item was the plastic fuel filter...then why not remove the gas line where it enters the filter and draw some gas from the bow tank into a glass jar. If it is still 'green' (pre-mixed) then it must be your filter.

Happy boating!
 
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