Kicker Fuel line

[ahasiec]

Looking to tap into the main fuel line inorder to run the fuel hose to my 15HP kicker, has anyone done this, just want to make sure that I do it correctly..is there an easy way ti tell which is the fuel line, to be honest I have not really looked at the motor yet, I know it is a 350 Mercruiser, the boat is shrinked wrapped so opening the engine compartment is not an option right now, but will be this weekend when the wrap comes off! Any advise would be appreciated!

[Gone Fishing]

I removed the 90 degree fitting on the tank that feeds the main engines and replaced it with a T fitting. For safety, I would put an anti siphon check valve right at the T fitting before attaching your kicker fuel line. Good luck! :)

[WALLEYE MIKE]

I have an outboard and simply tee'd into the the main line. Works great.

[Redeye1]

Like the others said. Tie in at the tank, dont cut into the existing line. My boat (251sportcraft) had two fitting on top of the tank. One for the main engine, one was plugged. I justed unplugged and tied into that. Also, use marine fuel line, not plain automotive.

[kbkrause]

I presume it doesnt, but make sure your kicker doesnt require premix.

[Burksee]

I presume it doesnt, but make sure your kicker doesnt require premix.I was reading the past posts and was going to mention this if no one else did! Your inboard engine I presume runs on regular gas, your kicker would either need to also be a four stroke or have oil injection for this to work. :help:

[WALLEYE MIKE]

OK to clairify, my outboard is oil injection and kicker is 4-stroke.

[ahasiec]

Thanks for the advice guys, once the boat is out of storage I will take a look at everything and give it a try, if I have any questions I will post here..My kicker is a 4 stroke mercury 15HP, runs on plain fuel no mix required

[Ed Michrina]

I saw in your photos you have a sportcraft. When I owned my 24 foot. I also had two fitting at the gas tank one for the engine and one plugged. As said before that would be the easy way to go. you would need an anti siphon valve near the tank as gone fishing said.

[ahasiec]

I am assuming the anit siphon valve goes onto the fuel line for the kicker, correct me if I am wrong please..

[Gone Fishing]

That is correct. I would place it right at the tank fitting and then go with your fuel line to the kicker from there. Also, keep in mind that those valves do experience problems from time to time. If the engine quits or starts running poorly, that's a good place to start your trouble shooting. :)

[ahasiec]

Allrighty, well tieing into the tank is not an option, boat is equipped with a fuel shut off valve which uses the other fitting...

So now I am stuck with tieing into the main line, going to buy a Tee, should i still install a anti siphon valve somewhere or should it be fine with only a tee, thanks again!

[Burksee]

If your tying into the main line I'm thinking you may need two "check" valves. One in the line to each motor.

[ahasiec]

What exactly do you mean by check valves?

[Gone Fishing]

Anti siphon, I'm pretty sure you're good to go if you have one on the main line by the tank before you tee it off. If you get a leak in the line at a low spot, you don't want your tank to empty into the bildge. If I don't have that correct, hopefully someone will correct me. Tonga???? Good luck!

[Ed Michrina]

anti siphon valve. It keeps the gas in the gas hose. Otherwise it would drain back into the tank making starting your engine hard. Its just a little fitting with a spring and steel ball bearing inside. I think. :confused:

[Burksee]

Ed is correct. I was thinking you'll want two, once you "T" the line put one in-line to the main engine and another in-line to the kicker. That way you'll only pull fuel from the tank and wont siphon off fuel from one engine while the other is running. Hope I explained it well enough. :confused:

[Big Bob]

Ok guys I need some help. I want to tie my kicker to the main tank. As Ed stated in a previous post he had two fittings on his main tank, one was plugged. I have the same setup. What do I need to run a second line to my kicker? Once I unplug the second hole do I just need a 90-degree and an anti siphon fitting? And do I need a tube to connect to the fitting that goes to the bottom of the tank? I had it tied into the main line near the motor but in rough water it pulled air from the main motor and stalled from time to time. Not to mention I did not like having a split that close to the engine.



Thanks

[Ed Michrina]

QUOTE: 90-degree and an anti siphon fitting? And do I need a tube to connect to the fitting that goes to the bottom of the tank? I had it

once you get th 90 degree anti siphon fitting and some good gas line you should be all set. both of the openings on the tank have a solid tube built in, that go's to the bottom the tank
.. PS if you ever run into loss of power around 1/2 throttle the anti siphon (ball/spring) may have some type of plastic or obstruction in it. Just something to keep in mind. It took me a day and 1/2 to find that silly problem :rolleyes:

[Big Bob]

Ed,

Thanks for your feed back. I will get it hooked up and keep an extra anti siphon fitting in the boat.

Thanks again

[Big Bob]

Time for an update. Got the new line tapped into the tank, no problem. The problem I am still having is I cannot keep the kicker primed. I have to pump the bulb every now and then or she will stall. I am also using an OMC oil/fuel mixer. I am going to replace the primer bulb today and see what happens. The new anti siphon valve I installed seam to take a lot of pressure to draw (ball was tight against seat, vs. my other line the ball was loose. Is one bad?). I am going to buy a new connector to the motor to try if the new bulb doesn’t work. I have tried to find some info on the OMC oil/fuel mixer and had no luck.
Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.................

[allskater08]

I am not sure if this will help i know you have a different setup as i but its the same principle i suppose. I have a three way valve with a selector switch. The selector switch makes it so i cant suck air into the line or vaccum out of the other engine when one or is running. I have it setup so that the line going into the intake is the one with the primer bulb and then if for instance you wanted to start the big motor you would have to turn the switch to the big motor and prime the bulb as you normally would and start your engine i see a lot of people use 2 separate primer bulbs thats fine and theres nothing wrong with that but this way will look neater save space and serve the same purpose. In this pic on here the "feeder" line is the one on the bottom of the tee and the bulb just happens to be sitting in the splashwell and you can see how the other connections are attatched. Hopefully this helps.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/550/medium/fuel_line_close_up.jpg

[ozzgood2001]

i have a similar setup ...well i need to create a similar setup to yours allskater.. was that valve on your rig or did you add it? whereabouts did you get it if so?

[allskater08]

I got the three way at the place i bought my boat (k&m marine in redford) and then i got some elbows i could screw in and tighten down to make the turns on the valve so they could all face 1 way. I think it cost about 30 dollars with the elbows and tax. The valve alone was like 25 dollars. You could probably pick one up at one of your marine stores like west marine or mikes marine supply but don't quote me on that. I love that kind of setup but make sure when you mount it its out of the way and someplace you arent going to be stepping or you could hit it and youll be fine. The only problem ive had with it is when i go from using my kicker and want to make a move with my big motor i will fire up my big motor and not realize that i never switched the valve back to the big motor and then ill be just getting ready to give it gas and it just dies. I did this twice now, i think i finally learned, but thats not a big deal or anything. But i would definately recommend this setup. I used a piece of stainless steel and fabricated a piece to mount the three way to the transom. If you have any questions feel free to pm me and ill be more than happy to try and answer them.