• Re: Primer bulb primer.

    From mathuranatha das@21:1/5 to Silver Fox on Thu Aug 25 04:07:05 2022
    On Wednesday, 19 July 2000 at 17:00:00 UTC+10, Silver Fox wrote:
    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    OptiMax are DFI not EFI .........
    I think you have been a bit quick when reading what I wrote. I said Opti
    or EFI not Opti is an EFI. Prior to Opti EFI engines were produced by
    Merc.
    Bulbs can be sitting at the dealer with gas in um or from the factory as they all test run the stuff
    as time goes by...........
    Mine was new also but had been sitting on the show floor and had some gas in the line.........
    so gummy fix ....bulb change worked......
    Merc said get the yellow stripe bulbs in every case ......as sooner or later you will
    have the problem if you do not change um.
    Not in my case. My motor arrived on back order still in its original
    packing case from the factory. I can assure you there was no petrol
    sitting in this baby when it arrived. The bulb fitted had never had
    petrol through it unless they have a way of using the bulbs while still sealed in its plastic bag.
    guess it may also be how far away and how low the gas tank maybe from the engine.......
    pulling fuel back down the line.

    Mine runs to a 92 gallon tank center of the boat laying across the bilge ....so the run and drop
    both were working against me.

    anyway it fixed the issue ......so far ......Jim
    Thats the bottom line. Who really cares the details of the problem if
    its now fixed.
    Silver Fox

    "Silver Fox" <f...@voyager.co.nz> wrote in message news:397333...@voyager.co.nz...
    This seems to be a common failure of Merc for many years. The valves
    Dave talks about require a little bit of pressure to open and close and at Idle Merc fuel pumps sometimes don't have enough suck to keep the valve open and consequently the symptoms you describe. ie I don't buy
    the gummy thing as we are talking brand new.

    I to have had the bulb replaced on my Merc 135 (carb model) under warranty for the same reason. It was a pain when water sking. Actually for a while here in NZ the Merc people were advising dealers to use a
    OMC bulb because they needed less pressure to work.

    I was surprised an Opti had this problem as I thought they and EFI engines did not need bulbs because they have electric fuel pumps or am I wrong.

    Silver Fox

    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    Have a 98 - 225 Merc Opti here........ which had a dry bulb problem after trolling slow for a while.
    Caused the engine to quit while running slow trolling. I called the factory as the dealer had no good clue.

    Merc warranty replaced the bulb with one that now has a yellow ring on the upward end........
    all runs fine now.......

    They said they had many many bad bulbs where the valves were getting gummy and sticking
    shut when the engine was run slow for a period of time.

    One Merc dealer said they have been replacing them as standard procedure on ALL
    engines that have bulbs with out the yellow ring on the Up arrow end.

    anyway the comment is the bulb was not only soft but dry as no fuel was able to pass through it.

    .........Jim

    "Dave Brown" <da...@brownsmarina.on.ca> wrote in message news:39712973...@brownsmarina.on.ca...
    I'm getting a bit tired of customers phoning to complain their primer bulb
    doesn't stay hard even thought their next door neighbor says it should so here's
    my attempt at turning the tide:

    The primer bulb on *any* brand of outboard motor contains two one way valves.
    When you squeeze the bulb, the inlet valve closes and the outlet valve opens
    forcing the gas that's in the bulb to be pushed towards the engine (there's
    usually an arrow on the bulb showing flow direction). When the bulb is released,
    a low pressure is created inside the bulb thus closing the outlet valve and
    opening the inlet valve which draws fuel from the tank to replenish the bulb.
    Repeat this process and eventually, the engine will be full of fuel and will
    resist any further attempts to continue. At this point, pressure rises in the
    bulb and it gets hard (sound familiar? <g>). When the engine is started and
    begins to consume fuel, the engine fuel pump will create a low pressure inside
    the fuel line and primer bulb causing *both* valves to open thus allow fuel to
    free flow through the bulb. The result? A soft bulb after every use of the
    motor. Are we clear on this?

    Hands up, how many thought otherwise?

    Got a bulb that won't get hard? Point the arrow skywards as gravity will greatly
    improve the efficiency of the valves.

    Everyone go squeeze their bulbs and let me know how you made out...... ;-)

    --
    Regards,

    Dave Brown
    Brown's Marina
    http://www.brownsmarina.on.ca/
    : -) how much psi can a primer bulb produce ? :-)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From wayne.beardsley@gmail.com@21:1/5 to mathuranatha das on Thu Aug 25 12:11:26 2022
    On Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 7:07:07 AM UTC-4, mathuranatha das wrote:
    On Wednesday, 19 July 2000 at 17:00:00 UTC+10, Silver Fox wrote:
    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    OptiMax are DFI not EFI .........
    I think you have been a bit quick when reading what I wrote. I said Opti or EFI not Opti is an EFI. Prior to Opti EFI engines were produced by Merc.
    Bulbs can be sitting at the dealer with gas in um or from the factory as they all test run the stuff
    as time goes by...........
    Mine was new also but had been sitting on the show floor and had some gas in the line.........
    so gummy fix ....bulb change worked......
    Merc said get the yellow stripe bulbs in every case ......as sooner or later you will
    have the problem if you do not change um.
    Not in my case. My motor arrived on back order still in its original packing case from the factory. I can assure you there was no petrol sitting in this baby when it arrived. The bulb fitted had never had
    petrol through it unless they have a way of using the bulbs while still sealed in its plastic bag.
    guess it may also be how far away and how low the gas tank maybe from the engine.......
    pulling fuel back down the line.

    Mine runs to a 92 gallon tank center of the boat laying across the bilge ....so the run and drop
    both were working against me.

    anyway it fixed the issue ......so far ......Jim
    Thats the bottom line. Who really cares the details of the problem if
    its now fixed.
    Silver Fox

    "Silver Fox" <f...@voyager.co.nz> wrote in message news:397333...@voyager.co.nz...
    This seems to be a common failure of Merc for many years. The valves Dave talks about require a little bit of pressure to open and close and
    at Idle Merc fuel pumps sometimes don't have enough suck to keep the valve open and consequently the symptoms you describe. ie I don't buy the gummy thing as we are talking brand new.

    I to have had the bulb replaced on my Merc 135 (carb model) under warranty for the same reason. It was a pain when water sking. Actually for a while here in NZ the Merc people were advising dealers to use a OMC bulb because they needed less pressure to work.

    I was surprised an Opti had this problem as I thought they and EFI engines did not need bulbs because they have electric fuel pumps or am I
    wrong.

    Silver Fox

    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    Have a 98 - 225 Merc Opti here........ which had a dry bulb problem after trolling slow for a while.
    Caused the engine to quit while running slow trolling. I called the factory as the dealer had no good clue.

    Merc warranty replaced the bulb with one that now has a yellow ring on the upward end........
    all runs fine now.......

    They said they had many many bad bulbs where the valves were getting gummy and sticking
    shut when the engine was run slow for a period of time.

    One Merc dealer said they have been replacing them as standard procedure on ALL
    engines that have bulbs with out the yellow ring on the Up arrow end.

    anyway the comment is the bulb was not only soft but dry as no fuel was able to pass through it.

    .........Jim

    "Dave Brown" <da...@brownsmarina.on.ca> wrote in message news:39712973...@brownsmarina.on.ca...
    I'm getting a bit tired of customers phoning to complain their primer bulb
    doesn't stay hard even thought their next door neighbor says it should so here's
    my attempt at turning the tide:

    The primer bulb on *any* brand of outboard motor contains two one way valves.
    When you squeeze the bulb, the inlet valve closes and the outlet valve opens
    forcing the gas that's in the bulb to be pushed towards the engine (there's
    usually an arrow on the bulb showing flow direction). When the bulb is released,
    a low pressure is created inside the bulb thus closing the outlet valve and
    opening the inlet valve which draws fuel from the tank to replenish the bulb.
    Repeat this process and eventually, the engine will be full of fuel and will
    resist any further attempts to continue. At this point, pressure rises in the
    bulb and it gets hard (sound familiar? <g>). When the engine is started and
    begins to consume fuel, the engine fuel pump will create a low pressure inside
    the fuel line and primer bulb causing *both* valves to open thus allow fuel to
    free flow through the bulb. The result? A soft bulb after every use of the
    motor. Are we clear on this?

    Hands up, how many thought otherwise?

    Got a bulb that won't get hard? Point the arrow skywards as gravity will greatly
    improve the efficiency of the valves.

    Everyone go squeeze their bulbs and let me know how you made out...... ;-)

    --
    Regards,

    Dave Brown
    Brown's Marina
    http://www.brownsmarina.on.ca/
    : -) how much psi can a primer bulb produce ? :-)

    ===

    Wow, a couple of names here from the Way Back machine - Dave Brown and Larry W4CSC, both prolific posters here 20+ years ago. We had the pleasure of meeting Dave in the summer of 2000 when we stayed overnight at his marina on the Rideau Canal in Canada.
    Larry W4CSC is/was a ham radio operator in Charleston, South Carolina, and was the rec.boats guru of all things electronic, as well as being a prolific Harry Krause protagonist.

    https://www.brownsmarina.com/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Keyser Soze@21:1/5 to waynebatrecdotboats@hotmail.com on Fri Aug 26 01:08:19 2022
    waynebatrecdotboats@hotmail.com <wayne.beardsley@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 7:07:07 AM UTC-4, mathuranatha das wrote:
    On Wednesday, 19 July 2000 at 17:00:00 UTC+10, Silver Fox wrote:
    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    OptiMax are DFI not EFI .........
    I think you have been a bit quick when reading what I wrote. I said Opti >>> or EFI not Opti is an EFI. Prior to Opti EFI engines were produced by
    Merc.
    Bulbs can be sitting at the dealer with gas in um or from the factory
    as they all test run the stuff
    as time goes by...........
    Mine was new also but had been sitting on the show floor and had some
    gas in the line.........
    so gummy fix ....bulb change worked......
    Merc said get the yellow stripe bulbs in every case ......as sooner or later you will
    have the problem if you do not change um.
    Not in my case. My motor arrived on back order still in its original
    packing case from the factory. I can assure you there was no petrol
    sitting in this baby when it arrived. The bulb fitted had never had
    petrol through it unless they have a way of using the bulbs while still
    sealed in its plastic bag.
    guess it may also be how far away and how low the gas tank maybe from the engine.......
    pulling fuel back down the line.

    Mine runs to a 92 gallon tank center of the boat laying across the
    bilge ....so the run and drop
    both were working against me.

    anyway it fixed the issue ......so far ......Jim
    Thats the bottom line. Who really cares the details of the problem if
    its now fixed.
    Silver Fox

    "Silver Fox" <f...@voyager.co.nz> wrote in message news:397333...@voyager.co.nz...
    This seems to be a common failure of Merc for many years. The valves >>>>> Dave talks about require a little bit of pressure to open and close and >>>>> at Idle Merc fuel pumps sometimes don't have enough suck to keep the >>>>> valve open and consequently the symptoms you describe. ie I don't buy >>>>> the gummy thing as we are talking brand new.

    I to have had the bulb replaced on my Merc 135 (carb model) under
    warranty for the same reason. It was a pain when water sking. Actually >>>>> for a while here in NZ the Merc people were advising dealers to use a >>>>> OMC bulb because they needed less pressure to work.

    I was surprised an Opti had this problem as I thought they and EFI
    engines did not need bulbs because they have electric fuel pumps or am I >>>>> wrong.

    Silver Fox

    Jim Burmeister wrote:

    Have a 98 - 225 Merc Opti here........ which had a dry bulb problem >>>>>> after trolling slow for a while.
    Caused the engine to quit while running slow trolling. I called the >>>>>> factory as the dealer had no good clue.

    Merc warranty replaced the bulb with one that now has a yellow ring >>>>>> on the upward end........
    all runs fine now.......

    They said they had many many bad bulbs where the valves were getting >>>>>> gummy and sticking
    shut when the engine was run slow for a period of time.

    One Merc dealer said they have been replacing them as standard procedure on ALL
    engines that have bulbs with out the yellow ring on the Up arrow end. >>>>>>
    anyway the comment is the bulb was not only soft but dry as no fuel >>>>>> was able to pass through it.

    .........Jim

    "Dave Brown" <da...@brownsmarina.on.ca> wrote in message
    news:39712973...@brownsmarina.on.ca...
    I'm getting a bit tired of customers phoning to complain their primer bulb
    doesn't stay hard even thought their next door neighbor says it should so here's
    my attempt at turning the tide:

    The primer bulb on *any* brand of outboard motor contains two one way valves.
    When you squeeze the bulb, the inlet valve closes and the outlet valve opens
    forcing the gas that's in the bulb to be pushed towards the engine (there's
    usually an arrow on the bulb showing flow direction). When the bulb is released,
    a low pressure is created inside the bulb thus closing the outlet valve and
    opening the inlet valve which draws fuel from the tank to replenish the bulb.
    Repeat this process and eventually, the engine will be full of fuel and will
    resist any further attempts to continue. At this point, pressure rises in the
    bulb and it gets hard (sound familiar? <g>). When the engine is started and
    begins to consume fuel, the engine fuel pump will create a low pressure inside
    the fuel line and primer bulb causing *both* valves to open thus allow fuel to
    free flow through the bulb. The result? A soft bulb after every use of the
    motor. Are we clear on this?

    Hands up, how many thought otherwise?

    Got a bulb that won't get hard? Point the arrow skywards as gravity will greatly
    improve the efficiency of the valves.

    Everyone go squeeze their bulbs and let me know how you made out...... ;-)

    --
    Regards,

    Dave Brown
    Brown's Marina
    http://www.brownsmarina.on.ca/
    -) how much psi can a primer bulb produce ? :-)

    ==
    Wow, a couple of names here from the Way Back machine - Dave Brown and
    Larry W4CSC, both prolific posters here 20+ years ago. We had the
    pleasure of meeting Dave in the summer of 2000 when we stayed overnight
    at his marina on the Rideau Canal in Canada. Larry W4CSC is/was a ham
    radio operator in Charleston, South Carolina, and was the rec.boats guru
    of all things electronic, as well as being a prolific Harry Krause protagonist.

    https://www.brownsmarina.com/


    Larry Butler still posts on a handful of Usenet groups.

    --
    Lock Trump Up

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