I added 11 gallons of gas to the tank a few days ago after leaving the lake. Took the boat out this afternoon for the first time since adding the fuel. I did the usual,start it and let it warm up for a few minutes then idled out of the marina. When I passed the no wake zone I hit the throttle and almost got up on plane when she stuttered and died. Tried to start it a couple of times but it would not stay running. After checking a few thing I removed the filter bowl and found the problem,lots of water in the gas. I pumped the bulb a few times and just more water filled gas. I plan to get a 12V fuel pump and empty the tank. I will also try to drain each carb. Is there anything else I should do or is there anything I should add to the tank when refilling. I will also add a water filter. Should I check for any damage to the engine. 2001 Yamaha V-Max 150

Syphone the gas and add a can of seafoam to it when you fill it back up.Sounds like some bad ethinol.Darrell

or you can add a bottle of HEAT you can get at any parts store and what the heat does it will get rid of any sort of moisture in the tank line and carbs.

I would install that water-fuel separator very quickly! The ethanol mixed gas is pretty common right now, and its only going to get worse!! Your gonna need to do a few things to make your engine run smoothly.

DO NOT USE SEAFOAM!! Or any other additives like it for "cleaning" the engine or boosting octane levels. It only adds to the problem... One key ingredient in those products is some form of alcohol. Alcohols are the very thing you�re trying not to get in your gas. Alcohols and Ethanols have a real bad problem of developing water in the gas. The other issue you have is Ethanol is a great cleaner! It will clean your tank very well and all that sludge will get picked up by your fuel lines and sent right into your carbs.

The only thing I would recommend is the new Stabil made for ethanol the blue stuff. Also, use RING FREE from Yamaha. Stabil is ok but eventually the gas will loose its octane levels. If you leave gas in your tank for weeks at a time you need to be using a high octane fuel. The higher octane will help combat the ethanol depleting the octane levels of the gas. The engine is ok running higher octanes because of the oil added in the 2 stroke process.

One more thing, If its possible you need to start the engine once a week for a few minutes. This will keep it all running great and it will keep the gas and oil from gumming up on you. Use the suction cups instead of the water hook-ups on the motor. The water hook-up is really only designed to flush water not for starting the motor. Sometimes the water pump doesn�t get enough water to it and thats not good! So, use the suction cup adapter on your water hose. DO NOT REV UP ENGINE! you will run a risk of messing up the engine if you do not put a load on the prop.

It all depends on if you sucked up any debris when you sucked that water into your carbs. I have a Yamaha Vmax 150 and there are 3 carbs on that engine! Lots of little places on that carb to get junk caught up. So, it�s a carp shoot if its ok or not. After draining the lines(take off the little filter on the engine and hold a funnel under it and pump the bulb) and drain the tank install that water filter, fill it up with good fuel and try to start it. Don't be shocked if you can't get it started. Those carbs are a pain to clean and if your not real good at stuff like that take it in to the shop. Its a pretty big labor time job. A carb job on that motor should be around $800. Sooooo pray it starts!!

SO to sum it up on the things you need to keep up with for Ethanol issues...
1-install fuel/water separator
2-use higher octane fuel if left for longer periods of time
3-use ONLY Stabil ethanol treatments and RingFree
4-use the suction cups to start engine once a week
5-pray we dont get more ethanol in our gas!

DO NOT RUN E85 IN YOUR MOTOR!!! unless your wanting a new motor!!

Pull your fuel sender out and jack the nose of the boat up high. use a piece of ridged tubing to got to the bottom corner of the tank to make sure all the water is out (your pickup MAY NOT go to the bottom of the tank) also get a new sender gasket when you go back together with it.

Man I like Skeeter 151's advise.

your joking right?
seafoam is the same type product as stabil (for storing fuel) but with added benefits.
your gonna need to explain to me how the octane rating "drops" with sitting, sitting for extended periods with ethanol causes the ethanol to seperate from the fuel, the octane rating in gas is achieved with additives and will not drop, old old gas will evaporate to a point that it changes chemically and will do damage to an engine but this takes a coupla months with straight gas, ethanol on the other hand will seperate in about a week to 10 days if not stored with an additive.

as for the water in the tank, drain it, get 2-3 qts of rubbing alcohol and pour in, let it sit for 5 mins. or so then syphon out the alcohol (alcohol will mix with the water so if any is left it will burn with the next tank) what little is left should be run out with a couple of gallons of gas/oil mix and done on the earmuffs.
before you do anything pull the plugs all at once and spray a bunch of wd40 in the cyls. then turn over the engine a few times (kill switch off)the wd will remove the water in the cyls. or burn it out when next started.
make sure the fuel line is purged, and the carbs are "run dry" when turning over the engine with the plugs out. then do the earmuff thing in the drive and run at least one or two gals. of fuel thru before going out on the water just to make sure.

Im a post hyjacker today!!

very interesting facts about ethanol...

Its basically legal moonshine! but dont drink it cause its the bad moonshine your gramps warned you about!

Its made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as potato skins, rice, and yard clippings.

Its been around since 1850's

In 1908, Henry Ford designed his Model T to run on a mixture of gasoline and alcohol, calling it the fuel of the future. In 1919, when Prohibition began, ethanol was banned because it was considered a liquor. It could only be sold when it was mixed with petroleum. With the end of Prohibition in 1933, ethanol was used as a fuel again. Ethanol use increased temporarily during World War II when oil and other resources were scarce.

Biggest reason for Ethanol added to fuel is to slowly ween us off regular gas. Its a green fuel! but they burn LNG to heat the product to get it to boil and steam up in the stihling process???

I heard by 2015 we are going to be E85 at every pump! here-say??

Ethanol aint going away and our 2-strokes are almost done now!

very accurate and whats gonna be funny (in a sick sense) is when all states go to e85 the ethanol will get real expensive due to the fact that you cant grow enough "greens" to sustain the demand.
they tried to convince truck drivers that biodiesel is the fuel of the future then realized that you could grow soybeans on every available acre in the country and not supply enough to keep us running for a month.
politicians and prostitutes are the same in my book, just wanna screw you for the money.

Go to this site and take some time to read....

http://www.fuel-testers.com/gasoline_octane_and_ethanol_E10.html

We are going to see more issues with the Ethanol in our fuel so get educated and you will spend less time and $$$ at the shop and more time with the boat in the water...

Be careful pumping out gasoline with any kind of electric pump. About a year ago we ran a call to a mechanics garage where he got a diesel truck in that someone had put gasoline in the tank. He used an electric pump to pump the gas out. Needless to say he ended up at Parkland in Dallas via Careflite.

In addition to all the above....Go back to the station where you bought the gas. Take a 1 gallon gas can and fill it up...then check it for water. If it's visible to the naked eye....then they will need to refund your money for the 11 gallons. Dont take no for an answer either. If he refuses, just sit in front of his place with a huge poster board saying :

DANGER ! BEWARE !
THIS STATION HAS WATER IN THEIR GAS!

Make two and tape them on each side of your car....and just sit there for a while. Just dont get on his property when you do. He'll pay up. If not...then get the news media on it. Come back every day until he pays.

BUT...If the water only shows up on a test and not visible to the naked eye, then you probably are fighting an uphill battle....at which time you need to cut his face off. See Chicken Man for that service.

Empty the tank; drain carbs; add a water separator; add Stabil; add Seafoam; run engine.

Run some Mercury Power Tune through it. That will clear up most issues.