Was ready to get the motor broken in so I can see wht it will do. 2 Minutes from the dock I get water in fuel alarm. Throw it back on the trailer and took it home. Dumped the spin on filter and drained the motor mounted filter and this is what I get:
There’s also gas in the bilge from where they installed the external water seperator. It didn’t have one from the factory so I had them install one. The fitting on the primer bulb was leaking. The mechanic didn’t even check for leaks. I was steaming at this point and called the owner South Lake Marine. He was extremely apologetic and is sending someone down Monday to pick it up, take care of the problem and bring it back to me. This boat had never had gas or oil in it so I can only assume that there was a lot of condensation and mold growing in the tank. That crap floating looks like a Biology experiment. I can’t believe they would send the boat out like that. The owner seems like a straight up guy but you’re only as good as your people.
Well hopefully there was no long term damage done to the motor.
Well this incident will be well documented and the motor is under warranty. I know bad fuel is not covered but at least it will be documented that that is how I took delivery of it. The good news is the external filter did it’s thing, plus I understand the motor mounted filter is 2 micron so I believe everything is ok. We’ll see if they make good on their promise. I believe he will.
Of course they had to put gas and oil in it to tune and test the motor, which we can only HOPE they did. Therefore, looks like the boat has been sitting for quite a while, and unless they have the tank mechanically cleaned, not just flushed, you may continue to have problems. Check the posts in boat and motor forum on ethanol gas, and look at the gas filter with 38 hrs. running; you’ll decide to definitely NOT use any ethanol gas. Russell’s Exxon, 17, nex to Costco, and all marinas have non-ethanol gas; also heard Oakbrook Exxon on dorchester has non-ethanol gas too.
the boat had never had gas or oil in it, but it had been sitting there for quite a while. They either siphoned old gas for a boat sitting on their lot (doubtful but highly posible) or there was a bunch of condensation, mold and other goodies living in the empty tank. It definitely sucks but we’ll see how they deal with the problem.
Wow! That is almost unbelievable. It should be mandatory for anyone who owns a powerboat to see those pictures. Maybe I should install TWO external water separators on my boat?
they did put 40 gallons of gas and 3 gallons of Opti Oil in it. Where the gas came from is questionable. I really believe the tank had crap growing in it from never being filled.
Those are some shocking photos for sure given the fact that it’s a brand new boat.
Yeah, they appeared to do their job and the alarm did as well. The onboard filter must do a great job because when I was running it it never missed a beat. It ran great. The alarm was the only indication that there was a problem. They’re going to pick it up tomorrow and clean everything up.
SLM had a driver come pick it up Monday Morning as promised. They drained and cleaned the tank today plus took care of a couple of other punch items. They were going to bring it back down today but I told them tomorrow would be best. I’m sure it’s good to go.
We all screw up. It’s how you respond to an issue like this that tells who you are and based on that I give South Lake Marine in Lexington, SC (uhh, Red Bank)a thumbs up.
