Water in Gas

I’ve got a ’97 Johnson 115. Last night on my way back to the landing, I felt the boat losing power. I stopped to check if weeds were on the prop but it was clean. Couldn’t get it to start up again. Turns over but doesn’t run – almost like it was out of gas.

Took the cover off today, checked for sparks and all that was fine. Pulled the front cap off the carburator and out of one of the tubes there was a milky water substance that came out of it. Did not smell like gas. Started up again in the driveway just fine. Has anyone experienced something like that? I just can’t figure out how water would get into the carbs. Half tank of premium gas left not sure how water could get into there either.

Could be water but a lot of times it is the inside of your fuel line dissolving from the ethanol or your own additives.

does your motor still have the VRO hooked up and in use??
if so,the main reservoir oil tank most likely has gotten water in it,rain,condensation,loose fill cap letting water in,etc.

if it in fact is coming from the gas tank,rain through the vent,condensation,bad fuel from the station,water in gas can if used,many ways it can get in there.

I only put in premium so hopefully there wasn’t ethanol in there. Previous owner, can’t speak for however.

The VRO is still hooked up. I was out in the rain on Sunday so it’s possible something got through the vents. I have been out in the rain before with no issues. I’m planning to pump the fuel out and hopefully that solves the issue.

if you can,remove the main oil tank if it has one in the bottom of the boat,drain it completely and make sure there is no water in it,do the same with the reservoir if it has that type of set up.
if it has or had water in it,it will pump it to the reservoir tank at the engine.
water being heavier than oil will settle to the bottom of the tank and be the first thing pumped into the engine,water does not make a good lubricant and it will seize an engine.

I recommend draining/syphoning the oil tanks,if that is too big of a deal to do,you can run a mix of 50:1 for a tankful of gas or two until you are 100 percent sure the water is gone.
the extra oil wont hurt anything and the engine will burn it just fine,however,remember that by running the extra oil in the mix you will now be lean on fuel,so no wide open running until you get it ran out.
and yes,you can burn a piston by using too much oil and being lean on fuel.

hope I havent confused you.

All gas can have water in it and condensation in the tank is also a possibility. When I worked at a marina and rigged boats we’d always put a water separator filter on them. It goes in the gas line between the tank and motor and has a filter like an oil filter that you change out every year or two. Could save a trip especially in nasty conditions. It was one of they first things I added when I got my ‘new used’ boat with a 115 Honda. One of those things that you might never know helped you out when it did its job.