i have 40 hours on a 15 honda.

i have it mounted on a custom built boston whaler in which i built in an epoxy fuel tank. the previous engine was a 15 suzuki, which died last year after having 3300 hours in 10 years, so you can see that this small boat gets a lot of use. then, near the end of the life cycle of the suzuki, with the epoxy tank having gone 10 years with zero problems, i get a load of this ethanol sewage. its eats the tank out and puts gum in the carbs, etc, but this was irrelevant to the eventual engine failure---it was just worn out.

so last winter, i was going to star anew. new honda, fix the integral epoxy tank with vinylester resin which the salesman and manufacturer guaranteed would resist any ethanol problems. did that as to their specs, get new honda, life is great. 40 hours later. honda will not start after runniing great for 40 hours.

look inthe carb and see this gunk. obvious its from the resin in the tank. i clean the carb, and then see all this crap in the intake manifolds leading to the valves. look in with a broscope and decide i need to remove the head and make sure all this is clean before restarting the engine--dont want to chance trying to burn this crap view and take a chance on a sticking valve. of course all this is not warranty work.

so i have ordered the new head gasket. what i need to know is the sequence and torque settings on the head bolts when i reassemble. i would appreciate it if anyone out there knows, and also appreciate any advice on this gum crap in my engine. also, anything tricks i need to know about takingthis head off and putting it back. i am going to make sure the timing is correct!!! the engine ran too well last time to be hurt, and i hope it will be fine when its cleaned up and has good fuel going to it. probably a godsend it wouldnt start and i found this crap going on, after i was assured, after all the fairing and awlgriping, etc, that this wouldnt happen again.

as far as the resisn supplier, i will visit him soon..........

thanks.

Hey,
I don't want to rub it in, but maybe you should use regular plastic tank. If that is physically possible......

And while at it, if you teflon tape any threadss and pipes on the gaz line, use the one made for petroleum distillates. the white regular one may disolve or fail.

yea, i can put in a great looking orange tank to kick around the little teak decks, custom bilge sump and draining ice cooler with dry storage seating, on a yacht tender with mahogany toerails...... this is not flipper's "kick around" tender and was customized for a customer who wants something different and unique. this boat has had so much custom stuff done its rediculous, and it gets used much. one guy in Palm beach wanted to buy it to make it a glass topped coffee table for his house---its a very neat little "yacht" in itself.

a built in tank in otherwise useless space greatly enhances the usability of this vessel, and the resin used in this tank rebuild was "supposed" to be the same as the FB tanks used by the gas stations. its very difficult to get a roto molded tank to fit all the dimensions where this tank is built, and a custom aluminum tank would have so many welds to fail and all the problems showing up with aluminum and ethanol over time.


the good news is that i did find out that acetone eats this crap in the carb pretty good, so i may not have to take the head off to clean the valves. getting a boroscope to check out the intakes tomorrow and hopefully get it running.

then back to the drawing board on the tank---not enuf room to bury a reg 6 gallon tank in the seat area!!! but thats a fall/winter project1!!! run with the life jacket tank for now....... might end up getting a custom plastic to fit--for a specific custom mold we priced it at nearly 1k, but after this crap it would be worth it. then they will come up with something to eat tank plastic!!!

later

I realize the dilemma you are experiencing. I am a mechanic at a boat rental place in the keys and we have had to replace several tanks on our boats due to ethenol problems. Resin or fiberglass tanks will definitely eventually give way to ethenol because of the alcohol in it which is basically a solvent.
the crap you see in your carbs are of course the goop from the tank disolving.
Not to rub it in again like the last guy but...... There are large boat owners here in the keys (500K - up in price) that have had the same problems because they were made with fiberglass tanks before anyone knew what problems ethenol would cause so the only fix was to cut open the decks (yes nice teak also) and install aluminum tanks which will hold up a lot longer than the other. The tanks can be made to any size and configuration to fit whatever space or shape is needed.
I understand you not wanting a portable red gas can because of the decor of your boat but the only other alternative other than the can is to install a custom made aluminum or plastic one where the old one is which I'm guessing means having to open the deck or where ever it might be.
If the boat is that nice then you'll have to spend the money for the custom work to keep it that way. believe me I feel your pain, think of having to rip the deck open on a 26 or 30 ft. boat to instll an aluminum custom tank in it. It ain't cheap. But it's a boat. (B.O.A.T. - Bring On Another Thousand)