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Another approach to carb channel cleaning??

C

ChrisHarding

Member
Saw this on the Facebook Sailing and Cruising Group ..
"After 3 months on the hard, our rib with Yamaha 15hp would not idle.
Everything pointed to the carburettor and we were at anchor off an island in Thailand.
Used a butane gas lighter refill can to blow through all the channels in dismantled carburettor and voila - outboard runs like a dream." I might just try this on my carb that I gave up on ..sounds like the butane us a powerful fuel resin solvent. The guy said he uses the can upside down ..not sure why??
 
Hi Chris,

I honestly don't know why that would or would not work.
To my knowledge though, butane is just one of many gas components that are trapped underground mixed in with what we call "natural gas". Propane and methane are others in that mix.
I use butane all the time to power portable soldering irons. I know of no solvent like properties in that fuel. But, then, I don't know many things.
It's cheap and readily available though so I see no harm in trying some.
The guy probably held the can upside down to get all liquid to flow from the container.
If you try doing that, let us know what happens.
Just be very careful! That might be a job done best outdoors.
Good luck.
 
Thanks again .. I don't use a lighter so don't actually have any of the product .. that carb primary jet tube is still rock solid so anything "new" I see to clean carb channels My ears prick up! Yeah if I do find someone with a refill can I'll certainly give it a whirl! Your other idea about drilling out the blockage is unlikely to be economical by the time I have bought a tiny drill (we have sets here that run from .08mm to 1.6mm but just the bits alone are $20) and then need something like a PCB drill that has a tiny enough chuck to hold the drill bit! I will keep on exploring avenues nevertheless. The new carb of course is running sweetly and despite it being nearly AUS$500 .. but saved a lot of heartache and wasted time!!
 
Yeah, as far as drilling that orifice, you're up against a couple of things....
...obtaining and affording the drills is one for sure but...
...getting the correct size drill for that orifice is the most important issue.

It would probably do you no good to drill it out oversize.

But I can't find the size for that orifice or I would already have a drill or two for doing that.

Starting smaller would be good because, once you have a passage to work with, you can probably get it cleared without having the exact size drill.
But I don't know.

As far as driving the drill, I wouldn't use power at all. I have a little set of pin vices that I use to chuck up small drills and turn them by hand for delicate work like this. You just need to avoid the impulse to twist them back and forth between your thumb and index finger. Doing that will dull a tiny drill almost instantly.

Question: who did you buy your new carb from?
 
He used the can upside down in order to force liquid through whatever he was cleaning. If used right side up, it’s just like a propane tank, both turn gaseous almost instantly when exposed to only atmospheric pressure.
 
Oops ..forgot to answer the question ..We have local guys who are Honda Agents in Mandurah Western Australia but they didn't have stock so got me one from the main Honda Marine Agents in Victoria and They flew it over as they are on the East Coast and 4000kms away from us!! Pretty good actually as it arrived within 2 days!!
 
Bbq lighters that are refillable use butane and the can of butane I buy to refill them has different size nozzles to fit different lighters. It is liquid while stored under pressure.

The butane is pressurized in a spray can, it would put pressure on a blockage as well as pass solvent/butane through an orifice. It completely evaporates quickly but is liquid for a short time. Could work good because it would act like using an air compressor to blow out a passage while at the same time spraying a cleaner that 100% gasses off, no residue.
 
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