Boat gas

[CaptObvious]

Shellkat, I have a Johnson 90 on my 1990 tracker deep v and same thing. Gas hog! I believe it's a 1989 model. Love it.

[adam7456]

A general rule on 2 stroke boat engines is you will burn 10% of the engine HP size every hour at wide open throttle. Your 85hp engine should use approximately 8.5 gallons per hour giving you just over 2 hours of run time.

I have a 1998 90hp engine with a 24 gallon tank and that's about right. One way to get better gas mileage is not to run wide open. The most efficient RPM range will be somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 the max RPMs of the motor. You would have to try different RPMs and see what works better for your specific boat. Of course it isn't as fun to drive slower.

[Moveon]

A general rule on 2 stroke boat engines is you will burn 10% of the engine HP size every hour at wide open throttle. Your 85hp engine should use approximately 8.5 gallons per hour giving you just over 2 hours of run time.

I have a 1998 90hp engine with a 24 gallon tank and that's about right. One way to get better gas mileage is not to run wide open. The most efficient RPM range will be somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 the max RPMs of the motor. You would have to try different RPMs and see what works better for your specific boat. Of course it isn't as fun to drive slower.

What type of propeller do you run. 3 blade or four blade and what is the pitch of the blades. And like was said above running at 3/4 full rpm will save money on gas. It takes much more energy to go full throttle than 1/2 or 3/4 throttle.

Reducing drag helps if you can find a way to do that. Clean the bottom of the boat and keep it clean and streamlined. Anything that can reduce the friction between the water and the boat helps too.

Of course the tilt of the motor can make a big difference too.

I've got an older Johnson 35 HP which is a 1978 model. It still runs good to this day and I bought it back in the late 1970's. I run some sea foam though it from time to time and change out the spark plugs once in a while. I use good premium oil in the gas and mix it correctly. I'll add some stabile to the gas to prevent it from going bad if I have to store the gas in the tank for the winter.

Summer gas has a lower vapor pressure due to USEPA regulations that require the Refineries to reformulate the gasoline in certain areas of the country to help lower evaporative emissions of hydrocarbons that help form "Ozone". So the gas may not give you as much "KICK" in the summer time as in the winter months. It's more volatile in the winter months. This can effect your gas mileage and power I would guess.

[GeoFisher]

What type of propeller do you run. 3 blade or four blade and what is the pitch of the blades. And like was said above running at 3/4 full rpm will save money on gas. It takes much more energy to go full throttle than 1/2 or 3/4 throttle.

Reducing drag helps if you can find a way to do that. Clean the bottom of the boat and keep it clean and streamlined. Anything that can reduce the friction between the water and the boat helps too.

Of course the tilt of the motor can make a big difference too.

I've got an older Johnson 35 HP which is a 1978 model. It still runs good to this day and I bought it back in the late 1970's. I run some sea foam though it from time to time and change out the spark plugs once in a while. I use good premium oil in the gas and mix it correctly. I'll add some stabile to the gas to prevent it from going bad if I have to store the gas in the tank for the winter.

Summer gas has a lower vapor pressure due to USEPA regulations that require the Refineries to reformulate the gasoline in certain areas of the country to help lower evaporative emissions of hydrocarbons that help form "Ozone". So the gas may not give you as much "KICK" in the summer time as in the winter months. It's more volatile in the winter months. This can effect your gas mileage and power I would guess.

Hey, is reformulated fuel used everywhere. I know Lou area requires it, but what about other areas.....I honestly don't know.