Honda BF60A Fuel and Carb Cleaning Question

[krizm200]

Hi everyone,
I purchased a Honda BF60A outboard 2 months ago after my Merc Thunderbolt 800 blew the head gasket. I have 2 questions on maintenance for the Honda. I have always burned out all the fuel at the end of the day due to the ethanol and gum problems in the carbs. I was told this is bad for the fuel pump. Is this true? I don't have access to non-ethanol gas, so I would rather clear the carbs of gas since I don't know when I may take the boat out again. Any other options?

Also, I want to keep the carbs clean. Can I use the auto carb cleaning solutions added to the gas? I have used Sea Foam for the 2 strokes, but not in a four stroke. Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!

Mark

 

[racerone]

There is no head gasket on a Merc 800 motor !!-----And does your manual have a " warning " about this Honda running out of fuel ??

 

[ahicks]

Do as you like, but it would seem to me it would be a lot simpler, with no worry about pumps, to just get in the habit of running fuel conditioner in your gasoline.

 

[krizm200]

I did read through the information in the manual, but didn't see anything about the Honda running out of fuel. I'll check again in case there is. I do add stablizer to the fuel. Is there anything else I should add?

All I can tell you on the Merc is that there was water in the cylinders. It gave me the excuse to purchase a new motor!

Mark

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

I was told this is bad for the fuel pump. Is this true? No, it is not.

Any other options? Also, I want to keep the carbs clean. Can I use the auto carb cleaning solutions added to the gas? I have used Sea Foam for the 2 strokes, but not in a four stroke. Any suggestions?

Run the gas out. You have two possible problems with leaving fuel in the engines fuel system. Rotting fuel, which stabilizer can help with....And evaporation, which stabilizer can do nothing about. Over time the lighter elements of the fuel will evaporate out leaving an ever thicker residue which will eventually harden and keep the fuel from flowing. Also, the Honda carbs have a tube inside them that will crack if they become impacted from the dried fuel.

Once the engine is run dry open the drain screws on the bottom of the carbs and let the tablespoon of fuel that is left drain out.

 

[krizm200]

Elvin (Tohatsu Guru), I think you are right. My concern with leaving fuel in the engine is with evaporation and leaving deposits of ethanol and stabilizer. It's the reason I have always burned out the fuel in my 9.8 Tohatsu so the carbs were kept clean. My Honda does have a high and low fuel feed, and others are saying it is bad for the high speed to run with no fuel, but the time would be minimal. I wouldn't think it was an issue.

I did some research online, and I get about a 50/50 split on burning out the fuel or not. I think I will keep burning it out, and check the drain screws at the bottom of the carbs.

Thanks for the reply!

Mark

 

[ahicks]

First, we're speaking of an injected engine, no? The thin brass tube isn't going to be there, nor are many other CARB related parts. What IS going to be present are some very expensive pumps and injectors! There's a HUGE distinction between the two types of systems here! Second, stabilizer can keep fuel stable (with no worry of gumming anything up) for several months. That's the reason for using it! If the engine isn't going to be used for longer periods, then you need to look into pickling the engine where special care is taken not just the fuel system, but also the valve stems, cylinder walls, etc. Do as you like, but I would suggest you look into the prices of some of those injection parts as part of your decision making process......

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

"First, we're speaking of an injected engine, no?"

Apparently not since he says his model has carbs.

And, all outboard engine manufacturer's recommend the draining of their fuel injected model engines if they are going to be sitting for an extended period of time... over a few months.Stabilizer is at worse harmless so using it is not a bad thing. However, its use is an unnecessary expense for many. Running an engine dry of fuel does no harm of any kind. It does not negatively effect any of the metal mechanical parts and does not effect any of the rubber parts. The reason we do not run the fuel injected engines out of fuel at the end of the day is because its a PITA to re-prime the systems.

 

[ahicks]

He also mentioned it's a BF60A, which is an injected engine, and the fact it has a high pressure pump - which carbed engines don't use.

Maybe we'll be further ahead agreeing to disagree here, on the running the engine dry plan. The idea of running a high pressure pump, or even the injectors dry routinely, sounds expensive here.

 

[krizm200]

OK, so to level set, the outboard is a 2018 BF60A. I'm sure my terminology is inaccurate on the injectors/carb. I live in the Seattle WA area, which means a fair amount of rain for the next 7 months. I take the boat out any Saturday with little to no rain, which means the boat can sit for 3 weeks or more before the next trip (this is all year around, except summer months when I go out once or twice a week). I do use stablizer in the fuel. I can experiment with leaving fuel in the engine, but I have read issues on other forums when this was done. So here are my next questions:

Would it make a difference to use non-ethanol fuel; it would have to be 92 octane, as that is all that is available. Would that high of an octane be an issue? At least then, if I did leave fuel in the engine, I would not have to worry about ethanol.

I don't yet understand how the fuel pump operates on this engine. I believe there is a high and low pressure on the system. If the fuel is in the process of being burned out at idle, would the high pressure engage, or would it only be the low pressure? My assumption (probably wrong) is that lower RPM's would only have the lower pressure pump, not the high.

I have to say, restarting the engine from dry is not an issue, I pump the ball hard, and then it takes maybe 2 seconds to start.

Thanks everyone for the discussion and help!

 

[ahicks]

Find some seasoned mechanics in your area and ask them about storing an engine that's not going to be used for a few weeks. Or other owners of similar engines (4 stroke). They're the ones fixing the mistakes. Ask what's working. This must to be a nearly new engine. Are you on good terms with the people you got it from? What do they say?

Here in Florida, we definitely see engines that have fuel systems all buggered up, but it's not the engines that sit for a few weeks. It's the engines that sit for an entire season. Those, if they haven't been taken care of ahead of tome properly, will need their entire fuel systems gone through - and it's not just the carbed engines. Injected engines can have the same issues, They can even make the buggered up carbed engines seem easy to fix.....

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

So the engine is EFI and the only thing you need to worry about is long term... Do you don't you. So, stabilizer for two months or less of non use. Drain the fuel and start from scratch if you are not going to use it for two or more months. Not because of rotting, only because of evaporation.

 

[krizm200]

So I wrote Honda and asked about running the fuel out, and here is what the tech said in an email: There is no benefit to running the engine dry since there are no carbs. The engine is essentially an automotive engine turned vertically. Fuel will remain in the motor even if it is run dry, in the VST (I don't know what the VST is). The engine will die, but fuel is still in the VST.

There was no mention of harm to the engine either, and I did ask specifically if it would cause harm.

I at least want to burn out some of the fuel in the hose line (I don't like the little drips off the connector). I still think it might be a good idea to drain the fuel completely if the engine is to sit idle for 2 or more months, though I will say it is very unlikely to happen ;-)