www.iFourWinns.com

I have recently had an issue when moving from a slow idle speed (in gear, no wake, in the marina) to faster, planning type speed throttle. This typically occurs after the boat has sat for a week and I have let it warm up a bit at idle speeds (5-10 mins). When I "punch it" for the first time the engine either kills or drops off considerably. I can sometimes save it from killing if I really back off the throttle as soon as I feel and hear the lull in power. I can usually walk very slowly up through the throttle range and get planning- just not quickly. Once I have been running at ~3,000 RPMs for 10-15 minutes I don't have any more problems the rest of the session. Am I dealing with a possible clogged fuel filter or is it more directly related to carburetor mix settings? It is the Volvo Penta 3.0L carbureted engine. Thanks for the help.

Sounds like water in the fuel to me. Try a quart of the marine Stabil (the blue stuff) and run it to get it mixed up good. That helps bind and mix the water in the alcohol/gasoline mix. This is a problem with alcohol blended fuel as alcohol absorbes water easily.
If that doesn't work try changing the fuel filter or spark plugs.
Good luck Rob

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Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing
2001 Horizon 180

Thanks for the response. I was thinking about water in the fuel as well, but found it strange that the problem doesn't occur when the engine has been run at speed for awhile. Would I be ok putting the entire quart of Stabil (blue) into a tank that has around 16 gallons in it currently?

If you have a water seperator filter - change it out....along with any additional in line fuel filter you may have. I wouldn't dump that much stabil in there...maynot hurt anything, but don't think it's going to help either. It's 1 ounce per gallon with the blue. If twer me - i would swap the fuel filter, pump out 16 gallons....add fresh fuel and the blue stabil (1oz per gallon) and run it for a while to flush out the lines.

If that ethanol as already broken down and separated i would not risk it personally....injectors and engines will not be happy with you.

FYI - I have gotten into the habit of dropping the stabil in there with every fill up.

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08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

What happens when it sits is that the water separates and falls to the bottom of the tank. Then when you hit the throttle is sucks a big gulp of water and stalls. When you run it for awhile the water and fuel will mix up and you do not have the problem. Luckily water will not do any damage. It will clean out the combustion chamber and steam clean your spark plugs. I use water/alcohol injection on a race car, to reduce detonation, and the plugs always look nice and clean.
The marine grade Stabil says it can't be over applied. Mine must have been real bad as I had to use two quarts to fix my problem. Still that was easier than draining the tank. If it is not a big deal to you it is probably best to drain the tank. As mentioned ...I would also change the fuel filter while at it. That is easy and fairly cheap.
Good luck Rob

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Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing
2001 Horizon 180

Brings up a good point....if you head to the boat after it's been sitting for a while and are able to cyphon off the bottom of the tank you may not need to bother pumping out all 16 gallons....since you will be sucking from the bottom maybe 5 gallons worth will pull the water out of there. Just a thought - would still swap fuel filter though and add the blue stabil.

Cheap insurance from now on - just add some of the stabil with each fill up and you will not have anymore issues.

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08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

Is it just me or do we have a lot of "water in the fuel" threads this year? I have owned my 298 Vista for 10 years and this is the first year I have had water in fuel issues. First year using ethanol too. Coincidence?

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY