Is my accu-mix system producing too rich of a mixture?

I picked up a very well maintained Striper last year. The 8HP Merc kicker uses an accu-mix system. I have no way to tell if the system is a 50:1 or 100:1 model and I am curious if there is a way to distingush the two. There are no visible markings on the tank that I can see. I also have my doubts about the mixture I am getting. While the motor runs great it does smoke a little more than a typical 2-stroke. The big issue for me is the amount of sludge that drains from the prop exhaust and waterpump weep hole after each use. No other 2-stoke I have owned did this (but then they were pre-mix tanks). It's as if the mixture is way too rich.

I have inspected the plugs and they do not appear "overly" fouled and my compression is fine. Engine starts up easily, runs fine and does not appear to load up.

My question is...has anybody experienced the same issue using the accu-mix system (i.e. is it the nature of accu-mix to do this)?

Re: Is my accu-mix system producing too rich of a mixture?

The one I had was 50:1 and weren't variable as engine oilers that vary from 80:1 at idle to 50:1 at WOT. Never heard of 100:1 which is really lean on oil.

Mark

Re: Is my accu-mix system producing too rich of a mixture?

Thanks Mark for your input.

I tried my best to search through a lot of posts regarding accu-mix and have not found any posts/replies to my situation. Some replies advise against accu-mix and others whom actually use one are happy with it. Overall, I am happy with mine. If it is in fact generating too rich of a mixture, that is far better than too lean.

From what I have read, the original accu-mix systems were 100:1 and later re-engineered to 50:1. My old Johnson 25HP outboard had a factory 100:1 sticker on it.

I would still like to understand why I am getting sludge out of the exaust after each use. Perhaps I will post some pics later this week and see if that might be of some help.

It would also be useful if somebody has cleaned out their tank. I would like to know if the mixture system could somehow be allowing more oil than a 50:1 ratio. My guess is that the internal workings of the tank is based on a fixed orifice size and there are no other working parts other than the safety float. Has anybody seen an OMC design diagram?

Re: Is my accu-mix system producing too rich of a mixture?

I took the boat out last week and noticed that the kicker had very little exhaust smoke. After returning home and getting ready to take some pics to post, there was no residual sludge run-off. Well, this is a good thing but it leaves me with no pics to post and baffled on the immediate cure. Did I finally run through some bad oil in the tank? Did the accu-mix tank budge something loose? Who knows...
I will continue to monitor and post pics if the problem surfaces again.

Re: Is my accu-mix system producing too rich of a mixture?

I was into Mercs when Johnson tried the 100:1 effort so I know nothing about it other than it happened. Scott-Attwater successor, McCullough had a 100:1 oil back in the '60's along with the normal 50:1. Scuttlebutt on here indicates that in high humidity environments the 100:1 ratios didn't leave enough oil residue to keep the innerds lubricated and prevent corrosion. Nothing was said about engine's ability to run with it......but one can only surmise that a special lubricating engine oil was necessary.

Mine was back on an 88-89 115 Merc and was OK. Never had a problem with it other than the low oil alarm going off one day when I got low on oil. Didn't know of it and never heard it before and took me awhile to realize that the funny noise I was hearing was an alarm of some kind and a while longer to figure.....alarm for what.

Mark