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I have a 1985 18 Outrage with a 150 Yamaha 2 stroke....She seems to be running very rough even when warm and at some points seems to almost want to cut out....Often times I have loss of power and acceleration to the point where the boat cant even make it up on plane. I thought plugs may be fouled, but then realized if they were, this problem would be happening all the time and not just every now and then....My next conclusion would be moisture in the fuel.....My local Yamaha dealer cant say enough about the importance of a fuel/water seperator...What is your guys opinon? Is a fuel/water seperator as important as my local mechanic says?....Does my brief description of how my motor is running sound conclusive with having moisture in the fuel?....
Not sure about why your engine is running rough sometimes but yes, you should have a fuel/water separator.
These are fairly inexpensive and do 2 jobs. Filter the fuel and capture water at the bottom of the filter as water is heavier than fuel. The filter should be changed at least every season.
I have a Sierra brand fuel/water separator in my Outrage 18' that filters the fuel for both my main engine and my kicker.
The "new" fuel, with 10% ethanol, is prone to absorbing water, especially if left for any length of time. So yes, a water separator is important. Is this your motor's problem? Can't tell from the info, I'm afraid. But it won't hurt to get that water separator put on.
They are important, more so with injected engines, carbs/reed engines will burn the water (small amounts) it will steam and decarbonizes the engine also. all though I don't recommend water in fuel. look at the fuel filter under the bonnet if it has one. When this happens it will miss a beat or stumble a bit and resume, kind of a sputter.
Run the engine at night in the dark to see if there is a short in the plug wires(maybe moving them around while running) At night or in the dark it is easy to see if there is a problem if something is grounding out. Others will have other ideas also.
