I have a 20 yo 2 stroke Nissan 3.5b (3.5hp) outboard that probably has less than 20 hours on it totally. in 2017 ran a few half hours without problem. in 2018 ran about a half hour then stopped and wouldnt restart. I took it to local outboard shop that rebuilt the carb and the engine was put away dry (no fuel in tank or float) in my basement for a year. then in 2019 ran for about 10 minutes then stopped and would not restart in frustration put in basement again dry with no fuel in tank or float chamber. this year i bought another rebuild kit and took it apart and it all looked clean .. i sprayed carb cleaner anyway and made sure the little filter in the tank line was working and saw that i had good fuel gravity flow from built in tank to carb with fresh canned fuel with no ethanol and added requisite 1/50 oil. i did not change any parts from the rebuild kit it started right up and i put it on the back of the dink and about 5 minutes into the channel it quit again and would not restart. I have become more philosophically and scientifically involved in this than is probably healthy. My son tells me to put it into the crusher and buy a Torquedo electric motor. I ordered a new carb yesterday and cant wait to put it on and see if that cures the problem. Why would it start right up and run for 5 minutes before stopping. It seems to say that the float chamber is full but not getting enough fuel subsequently. Maybe i should remove the little filter in the tank makes gravity fuel flow slower than is required? If it were dirty jets, it shouldnt run at all. Any similar experiences out there?? -- bruce adornato san francisco

Hi Bruce We have a 1997 two-cycle evinrude, though only a two hp. When our engine gives us starting or, less sedlom, running problems, we drain the float bowl. If that doesn't do it, we pull the spark plug and clean it. It will always start and run after this. This seems to occur when we top up the integral tank, or after sitting for a couple of days. We strongly suspect moisture,not necessarily water drops. We seldom ever see 'water' in the drained fuel, but occasionally do see moisture on the spark plug. Very occasionally we have to drain the float bowl twice, most likely because all of the moisture didn't filter down to the bottom at the time of the first draining. Also, we are not picky whether we use ethanol or not, nor do we use any additives. If my float bowl drain screw wasn't so easy to access, I'd make it so. Keep us posted. *Rudy & Jill Sechez * *BRINEY BUG-a 34' Sail-Assisted Trawler * *850-832-7748 * *Cambridge MD Chesapeake* > >