496 mag, fuel usage question ???

[finsfan4life]

Took out the new Placecraft today for a quick test ride. I put in 15 gallons, cruised around the lake for about 45 to 50 min then it when dead. I cruised between 35 to about 50 mph, and hit 60 a couple times. The boat never completly shut off, just woud not accelerate. Then after A few moments of trying to figure out what was going on it finally died. It would restart for a period, idle rough and just die again.
Is it possible I just ran out of gas ??? People at the lake told me "Sure, with that motor." I am taking to Placecraft in the morning so they could check it out. I tried adding 5 gallons and tried to start it when I got home but had no luck. It turned over for a few seconds then died.
Placecraft tolf me the motor runs rich when its brand new but DAMN !!!! 15 gallons in 45 min's !!!!
What u guys think ??

[AZJD]

There is something that you have to do to that engine if you run it out of fuel. I don't exactly remember what it was, CUZ I WATCH MY FUEL GAUGE!:D :D :D

[AZJD]

And 15 gallons in 45 minutes.....piece of cake. That motoer drinks a bit.

[so cal D]

So You Got Your New Ride!! Congrats, Looking Foward To Seeing It Complete, Are You Taking It To The River Any Time Soon? Let Me Know. About Your Motor, I Have The Same Motor In My 22' And Since It Is My First Boat, Towards The Begining I Ran Out Of Fuel A Few Times, Know I Try To Keep It Above 1/2 Tank At All Times If Not More, It Just Takes A Little Getting Used To. Good Luck!

[DAB]

You'll have to cycle the fuel pump enough times to get fuel to the motor if you ran out.. I know people who will actually take the fuel line off and have someone turn the key on and off (you'll hear the pump) until they get fuel out of the line, hook it back up and you should be good....

[RiverToysJas]

And 15 gallons in 45 minutes.....piece of cake. That motoer drinks a bit.
Sure does!
The one thing I often wish I had in my boat is bigger fuel tanks! 50 is just not enough for a decent weekend of boating.
Never ran out though.....my gauge works! ;)
RTJas :D

[JB in so cal]

I keep track of my fuel usage as follows:
Get boat out of storage unit - go to the pump and fill it up:) Look at visa bill later...

[RiverToysJas]

I keep track of my fuel usage as follows:
Get boat out of storage unit - go to the pump and fill it up:) Look at visa bill later...
Tell me! I was running low Sunday afternoon in Parker and still wanted to play for a couple more hours.....put less than 20 gallons in on the water = $85. :eek:

[IMPATIENT 1]

I keep track of my fuel usage as follows:
Get boat out of storage unit - go to the pump and fill it up:) Look at visa bill later...
you too huh?:D
this past summer i could go thru 15 gallons of fuel in 30 minutes or less of run time. 45 minutes sounds great to me;) and i gots a little bitty boat:D

[willowrat]

Took out the new Placecraft today for a quick test ride. I put in 15 gallons, cruised around the lake for about 45 to 50 min then it when dead. I cruised between 35 to about 50 mph, and hit 60 a couple times. The boat never completly shut off, just woud not accelerate. Then after A few moments of trying to figure out what was going on it finally died. It would restart for a period, idle rough and just die again.
Is it possible I just ran out of gas ??? People at the lake told me "Sure, with that motor." I am taking to Placecraft in the morning so they could check it out. I tried adding 5 gallons and tried to start it when I got home but had no luck. It turned over for a few seconds then died.
Placecraft tolf me the motor runs rich when its brand new but DAMN !!!! 15 gallons in 45 min's !!!!
What u guys think ?? Nice looking boat. I cannot Imagine launching with only 15 gallons in my boat. Heck I will burn that much warming it up. Look at the Mercury web site. It has fuel usage. I think it is 25 gal an hr at WOT. About 12 GPM at 3000 RPM. Good luck and enjoy.

[RiverToysJas]

Figure a GM 496 in a pickup truck gets ~ 8-10mpg. Boat motors are under constant load (no coasting along the waterway), and run at higher RPM's! .......keep the tanks over half if you might have to go somewhere in the boat! ;)
RTJas :D

[finsfan4life]

There is something that you have to do to that engine if you run it out of fuel. I don't exactly remember what it was, CUZ I WATCH MY FUEL GAUGE!:D :D :D
Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, fuel gage was not wrkn yet, I got the new vessel view and it wasnt calibrated yet..I was told not to calibrate it until I filled up the tanks...

[Phat Matt]

Mine holds 150 gallons and no matter what the gauge says I alway put $75 in each tank. I have ran out of gas once ( in my old boat) and it sucks to be stranded at night when nobody is on the lake. :D
15 gallons is not much in these boats these days.

[imnigel]

I hate to ask this but why would you only put 15 gallons in your boat the first time out??? Why wouldn’t you fill it up??? Especially if the fuel gauge does not work…:eek: :D

[98 Vector 21]

I hate to ask this but why would you only put 15 gallons in your boat the first time out??? Why wouldn’t you fill it up??? Especially if the fuel gauge does not work…:eek: :D
duh--faster with a lighter load of fuel :D

[92562]

If you have the SmartCraft gauge, you can really tell how much fuel you are burning in GPH. When cruising, I adjust my trim angle by the GPH reading to use the least amount of fuel for a given speed but, you're right they are thirsty. Put a Whipple on it and watch it really drink!
----Rob

[Not So Fast]

I can run about 60-65 miles on one tank (42gals) and shes running on empty at 50 mph or so. Thats with a HP 500 and my 496HO was very similar, thirsty beasts they are;) The gauge shows full for a long time it seems, then it takes a nosedive !! :( NSF

[ULTRA26 # 1]

I can run about 60-65 miles on one tank (42gals) and shes running on empty at 50 mph or so. Thats with a HP 500 and my 496HO was very similar, thirsty beasts they are;) The gauge shows full for a long time it seems, then it takes a nosedive !! :( NSF
Not sure exactly how far it is from Jack Smith in Needles to the Channel, but I can run this round trip, fairly hard, and use about 30 gallons.
My fuel guages are not very accurate either. I believe that this is due to tank access being at the rear of the tanks which is where the gauges are located.

[RiverToysJas]

Not sure exactly how far it is from Jack Smith in Needles to the Channel, but I can run this round trip, fairly hard, and use about 30 gallons.
~32 miles each way.
RTJas :D

[ULTRA26 # 1]

~32 miles each way.
RTJas :D
Thanks. That's about what I figured based on the time it takes to get there and MPH.
John M

[Riverdog1]

I had the same problem a couple years ago but it wasn't out of gas. I hooked up my spare electric fuel pump and it ran just fine. Lucky that was the first try.

[willowrat]

Not sure exactly how far it is from Jack Smith in Needles to the Channel, but I can run this round trip, fairly hard, and use about 30 gallons.
My fuel guages are not very accurate either. I believe that this is due to tank access being at the rear of the tanks which is where the gauges are located.
I made it from Katherines landing to the dam and back on 63 gallons with 7 adults in the boat. I belive my tank is 65. I have never run out. I did cut it too close.

[finsfan4life]

Thanlks everyone for ur input, I found the problem. I found out that I was running on the other tank which only had about 4 to 5 gallons of fuel left. No, it wasnt all my fault. But the good news is that I actually went 45 min (all throttle variations) with 4 to 5 gal's......nice....