The reason the outboard fuel line is grey in color is to keep it cooler which helps prevent vapor lock. It should be multi-layered, meaning that it has an inner layer that is resistant to ethanol fuel blends, an outer layer that is U.V. resistant, and a middle reinforcing layer for strength to prevent permeation. Quicksilver sells an excellent outboard fuel line. Silverado 4000 is another excellent quality fuel line. The black fuel line is fine under the deck where it will not be exposed to extreme conditions.
Lots of videos on the deterioration of those gray fuel lines with liners that disintigrate and fould carburators. Only safe way to go is with the more expensive live rubber. I still use a fuel line from a '65 Evinrude. Only the bulb and connectors have been changed out.
Most new gray fuel lines have been upgraded and are ethanol safe. If you're still worried you can always still purchase ethanol-free gas. Multiple filling stations in my area sell ethanol free
I got news for you. I make gasoline and blend gas for a living. Unfortunately with premium fuel we use ethanol to bring the octane up. We as refiners only make gasoline. We don't make premium or mid grade. We "blend" gasoline with alkylates and butane or pentane along with ethenal to reach the desired spark knock rating. So it is a big myth premium has less ethenal. It will have the same or more depending on the refiner and blend stocks available. If the crack spread is getting sketchy as in high prices your getting less true gasoline.
Not all the "Grey" fuel lines have an inner liner, there are also black fuel lines that also have an inner liner that will degrade and fall apart over time. The only way to really tell is to examine your fuel line and see if it has an inner liner or not. If it doesn't have a clear or yellowish inner circle then your fine.
I have to agree as my boat came with a grey fuel line and is a 2003 Legend. So 20 years later, I have yet to have any problems associated with the fuel line.
I thought gray lines are the only ones that are USCG approved to run above the floor in a boat (exposed to UV), as they are UV resistant. The black ones are fine for under the boat/covered, where they are not subject to UV and deteriorating? Or permeation.
Interesting. This is the first time I've heard someone say premium was better for ethanol content and that is a reason to use it in EVERYTHING. Premium is an octane level of gasoline not to mention whatever cocktail of detergents they choose to add. You use Premium because you want a certain octane level for the compression ratio of your engine. Using premium in a low compression engine is just wasteful. I find it kinda reckless to recommend people use premium to avoid ethanol since it has ethanol in it. If your concerned about Ethanol, buy Ethanol free gas which in my area is referred to as rec-gas or "recreational gas" and is only sold at stations that choose to. Rec gas will probably be a minimum of 91 octane so it will be good for your higher compression engines and you can let it sit in your carbs/engine longer without worrying about it absorbing tons of water and gumming up everything which happens after about a month depending on the environment. I use Rec-gas in everything but my daily driver because it eliminates a lot of the problems I've had with gas going bad in machines that sit for periods of time. It's too expensive for a daily driver IMO. But I make sure I fill my motorcycles up with it before I put them to sleep for 6 months every year. They are really killing us with this ethanol crap and I wish they'd find something better or ban it's use. It does more harm than good. Just my two cents.
Different countries and regions have different fuels available. This guy lives in Canada which does not sell rec gas. Stuck buying whatever you or local mechanic think is best for your situation.
where I live we have 10% ethanol in all fuels in Pennsylvania . you can get ethanol free fuel at special gas stations for racing fuel and special motors and small engines not made for ethanol. the premium gas doesn't necessarily have less ethanol you have to test it .i put stabilizer in the fuel and disconnect fuel from motor and run it out so it does not gum up in carburetor
Good lord yall have 15%-85% ethanol in your non premium fuel up in Canada? That just sounds insane. We have no more than %10 in our gas but most of the newer gas/petrol stations have an ethanol free option. ive seen it offered in anywhere from 88-91 octane. They're proud of it, it's super expensive but i figure it's cheaper than rebuilding all my carbs in my outboards, mower, pressure washer etc etc basically anything carbureted! Love your vids!
thanks for the posting , new to boating and finally your video solved the mystery , you are right sir there was flakes clogging my filter and line deteriorated
Your right, I had the same problem with my Merc 4 stroke! I bought a black fuel line & bulb and installed on my fuel tank. I found pieces of the old gray in my filter and in the fuel tank..
use tiny screw driver to open the pinched area on the clamp and open it back up.. then just resmash it.. should have the special tool for those clamps. they close the clamps nice and neat like the factory
Thank you so much. Exact fix for my engine. Tank and hose 20 yrs old. Been out twice all day no problems. I'm subscribed. You save my a lot of money and grief!!
I used a dremel to remove the hose clamps. One of my grey hoses was packed with green crystal like substance. Didn’t look like the hose was deteriorating though.
What's your opinion on Fuel Demand Valves? I have a suspicion that mine is faulty. I want to replace my hose just like you suggest, but I'd like to leave the FDV out of it this time.
Premium or regular gas is not an issue, you just want to get ethanol-free fuel ! As to the grey or black line, color is not a decisive factor, for safety sake, you should just make sure your fuel line is Coast Guard approved !
Ethanol free fuel. Project farm did an entire video on this and since then I run only ethanol free gas in my Merc. Ethanol will cause so many problems In an outboard it just isn't worth the cheaper price. My Trophy made me gulp when I last purchased fuel, I stopped at $200!! 😭
Don't assume that premium fuel has no ethanol, in fact in NY and other states only 91 octane premium fuel is ethanol free. If it's ethanol free it will be plainly marked as such. I personally use the ethanol free in all my small engines (motorcycle, mower, Harley Davidson, boat, etc) and my BMW. I also use StaBil stabilizer in all my gasoline except for my Nissan Xterra...
Thanks for the video. I replaced with hose from autozone. Took test drive of 10 mile.. Ran like a bat out of hell and never a hiccup. I have a 2018 Deep V Proguide. The hose cost me $26 usd but now I'm not afraid of getting stranded.
as a certified Outboard mechanic and a retired Coast Guard boarding officer, I do not recommend using automotive gas lines on any boat. All fuel lines on a boat should be Coast Guard approved fuel lines. Any marine mechanic using automotive fuel lines is asking for a lawsuit. There is a reason the Fuel lines on a boat have to be Coast Guard approved. Boat fires are not good. Think about it.
If you think it makes a mess of Carburated engines , you should see the damage it will cause to all the Fine mesh filters on the fuel pump and presure releaf valve fine mesh returen filter inside the Vapor Seperator tank as well as the extremly fine mesh filter inside the nozzle of an E-tec injectors , this dissolved material will go right through a inline fuel filter in suspension then re-deposit on all the fine mesh filters down stream in the fuel system and is quite resistant to being cleaned by by anything but the strongest solvents. I am told they have redesigned the new lines to be more resistant ,I dont think its just Ethanol. But it is a real issue . the new fuels have a diffrent chemical package that really does a job on attacking the the materials used in all but the most resistant fuel lines , The automotive industry had to find a solution to this issue and thats why there lines can stand up to chemestry of the new fuels .
New boat owner here of used Arima with a 90 hp Merc. Doing the water pump service. I can not get the lower off. Even with rubber mallet helping :). I had heard about chaining out my fuel lines. Where do I purchase a kit? Mercury? Amazon? Local Marine Supply? Not sure what is best. Thank you for great videos. I am learning a lot from them.
I recon you probably mispoke but, regular gasoline has LESS than 10% ethanol as per the United states laws. Premium fuel has the most or highest ethanol content. Ethanol is generally the main ingredient used as an octane booster to bring the straight refined stuff up to the 92/93 octane rating. Higher octane facilities higher compression ratios and higher revs equaling more fuel efficiency and ultimately more power. Grey marine hose is ethanol resistant and required in primer bulbs by the government.
Hello, Great video my problem bogging is with a 1980's model, 90 hp Evinrude. It may be also a gray hose as well as the lenth and fuel pump diaphram.; Hmmm.... I wanted too put the 6gal gas cans under my drivrer and passengers front bk to bk lounge chairs. So I added about eight feet of 3/8 gray fuel line to achive this and that poor little dipharam work itself to death//;// lol I'ma gona try dos things; Uno shorten fuel line to and C if that fixes and or numeral dos: replace fuel line, filter and last but not least the Fuel Pump. Really my only real question is, Will the fuel pump deliver adiquite fuel for my 1980 16ft Ebko 90hp Evinrude wih an eight foot extended fuel line and should the primer bulb be a couple feet from the gas tank or the fuel pump, or does it really even matter:\ Thank you, Shane, Oklahoma Cityy s
Did this yesterday to my bass tracker : ‘) and those good ol oetiker clamps love em things but certainly don’t have to have them on that line with the lower psi running thru.
Replaced my fuel lines with updated gray line w/o linning yesterday and fuel filters. My original line was lined but the issue for my engine is a bad fuel pump.
yes, there is a reason to use Coast Guard approved fuel hoses. They are fire resistant unlike automotive fuel lines. The grey hose is also UV resistant which keeps it from degrading while out in the sun all the time. I am a certified Marine mechanic and retired from the Coast Guard. Just saying.
You weren't lying about the liner coming off and clogging stuff up. I'm very thankful for your video. As soon as I pulled the old hose off you could visibly see the liner wodded up to the fuel bulb. Thanks!
Bingo, i witnessed this the other weekend. I thought it needed fuel treatment. All that did was magnify the problem. It turned loose all the inner lining gunk and ran awful. Bulb got sucked flat because the motor was starved for gas. Thanks for the video. Cut the old hose and bulb to discover all the junk.
next thing that will happen is your water flow will get blocked you have to pull the power head theres a rubber water line connector that swells up and shuts the water flow down then its limp home mode
I had to order a fuel connector kit for an old Evinrude I got second hand. When I squeezed the ball, the fuel leaked out from the end of the hose. I thought I needed a different size hose but I saw this adapter and the tons of comments from people who said it worked. I am going to try replacing it today but I wonder if anyone has heard of these issues with Evinrude or Johnson.
Andy and i really enjoyed this video yesterday.. (kitchen tv) came back for another view and lay our comment lol.. you were very informative Roland.. i'm sure this will help many. 👌
Having the same problem with the liner in the grey fuel line, and I only use non ethanol fuel labeled at the pump. Sometimes I check, but not always. I use whatever octane gasoline that is available in non ethanol. I do use chevron marine additive as a cleanser and stabilizer. Premium gasoline only allows one to run a high compression, high performance engine. There is one advantage to running premium, that is the higher the octane, the more stable the fuel. 87 octane fuel will drop in octane at a faster rate than 94 octane. I would rather buy 87 non ethanol than 94 octane with ethanol.
You lost me at beating a screwdriver with a hammer. I taught all my sons to use the proper tool for the job. A screwdriver is for driving screws period.
For the Europeans watching this. In Europe we have E10 at the pump. A maximum of 10% bio ethanol is added. You can also go for Euro 98 which usually doesn't have those products added. But in the US the standard fuel is a bit worse than in Europe.
@@GettingItDoneRepairs i’m in Vancouver,BC. I think Shell’s 91 says “contains no ethanol” doesn’t it? That’s what i use for my boat ,lawnmower and pressure washer all the time. I’m actually having a bogging issue. I did a carb clean it didn’t fix it, i ordered a fuel filter, looking forward to replacing it
His info for the us ethanol is inaccurate. We do have higher blends than 10% but the standard fuels are all 10% or less by law. the e85 (85%) is on its own pump labeled accordingly, and E15 (15%) is not readily available yet because of vapor restriction laws preventing summer sales in most places, but when available it is also labeled accordingly.
Well instead of looking up mercury fuel lines I will be looking up black automotive and replace them the same. Thank you. Hidden fuel filter and now lines before doing anything else since I got home from the bay.
Very smart advice - question I find my reservoir too close to my feet in the boat. I would prefer if it was further up towards the front of my 14’ boat. Is it acceptable to extent the long hose to 6 or 7’ instead of 4’. And where do you buy the black flexible hose ?
I know exactly. My boat bogged down . Mechanic changed fuel line to black. A few hundred dollars but he figured out the factory had installed grey line. Now i know. 🇺🇸
Hi Jan, I do as well but maybe the previous owner didn't and I had an issue with the fuel line before this gray line. I shouldn't have to worry as this black rubber fuel line is my insurance. Thanks for watching and have a great week!
When a primer bulb gets hard from age can it be softened or does it have to be tossed? Some bulbs are quite expensive and it would be nice to get a few more years out of them.
One thing I like about Louisiana, we get real gas at most stations. Guess the Cajuns didn’t by into that ethanol crap. Granted it’s all over but no ethanol is at 70% of gas stations. Right now in the small towns it’s 10 cents a gallon more then the 10%ethanol junk. 2.99 vs 2.89 in small towns. Big towns the junk is 2.59 or so with the real gas being 2.89 to 2.99
@@GettingItDoneRepairs I got one from autozone its call Continental 3/8in Fuel Injector Hose it feels soft compared to the gray one that I have on my boat I just want to make sure I got the right brand so i wouldn''t screw up my motor
One good reason why you are running out of fuel is that you need to replace diaphragms in your fuel pump every year. If not, you will have issues like this. My father has been a marine mechanic for over 45 years and he has never had an issue with the grey fuel line causing an engine to run out of fuel. You better check your fuel pump my friend
I just did this same EXACT thing before seeing your video. My motor would run great then suddenly cut out for a second. I fixed some bare wires, checked the spark plugs adjusted cables, ect. When I was cleaning things up on the boat which is new to me I noticed the gray hose collapsing on itself in several places. I took the hose apart and noticed the plastic you mentioned which had broken down and was blocking the hose. I got the highest grade line I could for fuel injection systems and used regular clamps instead of this POS clamps that were on the gray hose. I haven't taken the boat out yet but will later. The bulb already feels 100 percent different. Before when you squeezed it it felt all squishy and half the time wouldn't re inflate. Not it works great with no issues. I'll update after I go for a ride.
@@GettingItDoneRepairs It wasn't that. The engine runs great, it just keeps bumping out of gear just for a second as if I'm trying to move it into neutral. It just a bump for a quick second but it's irritating as hell. I think it has something to do with the cable adjustment.
