Crappy hose

[BrianVT]

My engine wouldn't go full throttle. It would just bog.
I changed the fuel/water filter and noticed a few small chunks of what looked like clear plastic hose. So I changed the fuel hoses and primer bulb.
It still bogged so I figured maybe that crap also got into the carbs. so I spent 6 hours pulling those out and cleaning them. But there was nothing to clean. After putting that all back together I went to connect the fuel line to the engine. Then it hit me. So I took that quick-connector apart. Yup. Full of that hose crap in front of the ball valve. Runs fine now. I wasted all that time on the carburetors. Well, I guess I have piece of mind that they're clean. But I almost lost a float needle on my garage floor in the process. lol
I'd never seen this crap. It's like the fuel hose had a clear inner layer of hose and it just started falling apart. Due to ethanol, I guess? The new hose looks identical but claims to be ok with ethanol.

 

[jimmbo]

How old was the original hose?

 

[BrianVT]

I don't know. I've only had the boat for a year. But the hose and primer bulb didn't look old or dry on the outside.

 

[jimmbo]

Okay, what year is the engine?

 

[BrianVT]

Early 1990s Mercury.

 

[dingbat]

Fuel hose manufacturers

The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) give the life expectancy of fuel hose at 10 years from date of manufacture.

If you're running some cheap, grey "outboard hose" all bets are off.....

 

[BrianVT]

Now we know.

 

[airshot]

Fuel hose manufacturers

The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) give the life expectancy of fuel hose at 10 years from date of manufacture.

If you're running some cheap, grey "outboard hose" all bets are off.....

OK, now you have my attention with this " crappy gray hose" my recently purchased used 1992 Merc 40 hp 4 cylinder 2 stroke has a gray fuel line on it with an inline filter. Looks almost new and is pliable, so should I be concerned?? Been away from OB motors for about 15 years, ( went to I/O motors). But recently downsized back to OB motor. Ifvthis gray hose is not good, what fuel hose is recomended??

 

[jimmbo]

'Crappy Grey Hose'. That certainly was a valid comment about a 3rd Party Brand, 30+ yrs ago. These Days, even Mercury Brand Hoses are Grey, so it is wrong to claim all Grey Hoses are crap

 

[BrianVT]

Here's the crap that was jammed in the quick connector. Like I said, it's like a liner from the inside of the fuel hose that was disintegrating.

 

[dingbat]

'Crappy Grey Hose'. That certainly was a valid comment about a 3rd Party Brand, 30+ yrs ago. These Days, even Mercury Brand Hoses are Grey, so it is wrong to claim all Grey Hoses are crap

Having specified hoses for commercial and industrial applications for over 40 years, I never specify an outsourced third party hose w/o a manufacture's cut sheet.

Unless Mercury went into the hose manufacturing business w/o my knowledge, or can supply a manufacture's cut sheet, Mercury's gray (Shields Silverado?) hose falls into that category until proven otherwise.

FWIW... it's been far less that 30 years ago that problems starting showing up with the Shields "Silverado" hose.

Comments from 2019

 

[dingbat]

Looks almost new and is pliable, so should I be concerned??

The cover stays in pretty good condition...... it's the liner that breaks down

Ifvthis gray hose is not good, what fuel hose is recomended??

I run Trident Barrier Lined A1-15 (#365) to the fuel pump. Trident markets B1-15 hose (#305) as "Outboard Supply Hose" but the bend radius is much larger than the #365 hose which is why I went in that direction

https://tridentmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/365-Low-Perm-FUEL-Hose-Specification-Sheet.pdf

https://tridentmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/305-B1-15-FUEL-HOSE-Specification-Sheet.pdf

 

[JustJason]

Fuel hose manufacturers

The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) give the life expectancy of fuel hose at 10 years from date of manufacture.

If you're running some cheap, grey "outboard hose" all bets are off.....

Any chance you can quote the ABYC standard that cites that?

 

[dingbat]

Any chance you can quote the ABYC standard that cites that?

 

[JustJason]

View attachment 375222

Okay I've seen that before. That is not ABYC, what you are reading is 40 CFR 1060.101, it's a code of federal regulation, not an ABYC standard.

That table was simply created by somebody who had no idea what they were talking about. (Maybe it was Ed Sherman after a couple of scotches, but who knows).

40 CFR 1060 is for fuel line emission permeability. It has nothing to do with how long a fuel line will actually last before it leaks.

Manufacturers of fuel lines, including OEMs, will never publish something stating how long a fuel hose will last before it leaks, that as there are to many variables in that, and it opens up a whole can of legal worms for them if they did.

 

[jbcurt00]

@JustJason avoid opening older inactive

After 90days best left as reference only