250cc Hydro Fuel Tank Optimum Size

[Al Peffley]

Twice last racing season I came close to running totally out of fuel for my 250cc pro motor due to added "milling about" maneuvers before the flying start, waiting for slower boats to finish, and a technical clock malfunction delay before the race start.

My current fuel cell holds 2.5 gallons (about 9.5 liters) of methanol/synthetic oil mix. What size cell are some of you other 250cc hydro and runabout owners using for long-course events? Would a .5- or 1-gallon increase in volume be enough?

What are the pro's & con's about using rectangular-shaped (what I now have in my hydro) vs. cylindrical-shaped fuel cells? If you have two carbs on your 250cc pro motor, do you prefer two fuel line pickups from the fuel cell with filters for each line, or just one tank pickup with a Y connector to feed the two carbs?

Al Peffley
R-25

[DeanFHobart]

How Many Gallons?

Al,

Call Lee Tietze, he would know 503-263-2508. My guess would be 3.5 - 4.0 gallons.

[Al Peffley]

Tank Size Question & First Feedback Answer

Dean,

Lee suggested that I ask the racing community about fuel cell size preferences through this website. Thanks for your input on the size of tank that you would install.

Al Peffley
R-25

[pro350hydro]

Al, Some guys back east are running the 3 gallon oil tanks used for oil injected outboards in the 250 class. So 3 gallons must be enough. I use to run one of these tanks when I ran my 350 Konig, but needed a larger tank when I switched to my 350 VRP. Hope this helps.

Mike

[David Weaver]

Maybe a little bit more

I prefer about 3.5 gallons. 3 gallons can get too close to gone on a big course with 4 laps.

You can always poor the extra fuel back into the can!!

[diamondprohydro]

Al,

Mike is right. Chris H. ran the 3 gal . oil reserve tanks for a long time. The problem is courses like Lake Lawrence and big course races like that. You don't want to get yourself in a position of having to wait for the last second to go out. I would call and ask Chis what his present preference in size and type.

Bill

[T Chance]

Good thread. I just bought a new 3 gal oil injection tank off e-bay for my 250 Pro. I also bought a 1.8 tank ($9.00 too cheap to pass up) that I hope will be big enough for gasoline for the OMC 3.

[m58rr50hydro]

C.g Weight

Al
You Know I Run A 4.2 Gal Machined Components Tank And The Best Thing Is I Have Enought For A 1 2/3 Mi Corse I Can Change My C.g Of The Weight In The Boat Buy Moving The Tank Forward And Back Due To The Machined Components Custom Mounting Brackets. If You Run A Shorter Race = Less Fuel And Or Change Your C.g!! Two Fuel Outlets Is A Must.!! With The 15 Offset Of The Outlets Your Covered. No Leaning Out Or Loss Of Pressure To The Carbs If You Install A Machined Components Foot Throttle And Pipe Pull It's Like Driving A Race Boat!!!!!
Marc

[Mike Schmidt]

Tanks..

The modern motors use more fuel. I run a full 4 gallon tank with the 250 and a 2 gallon tank for the 125's. Over the years, I have built bigger tanks for the 6-8 lap UIM races we have had, only to find out we did not need them. You use up a ton of fuel milling.....

Good luck

Michael D-1

[benf27]

I use the 3 gal tank in my 250, and have never had a problem. I also only have 1 pick up line that Y's into 2 and it works fine.

[Al Peffley]

Thank You

Hi Guys,

I appreciate your thoughtful advice. I am going to buy the 3.5-gallon size tank, as my motor really draws fuel and I also want to be able to move the tank to improve my CG (I can't do that with my current tank setup) as Mark has stated. I like the two line feeds instead of one so I can track content and filter the fuel flows to each carb separately. I tried some new Redline synthetic oil at the AOF Nats, and I will keep you posted here on whether it will be available this season after I talk to the Redline R&D folks next week.

Best Regards,
Al Peffley
R-25

[Al Peffley]

Redline Alcohol Premix Update

I talked with the Redline Tech Rep this week and they are sending me a couple of gallons of the special two-stroke #3290 formula oil for this season. It is a little over $50 a gallon. Call 1-800-624-7958 and ask for Dave Granquist. This special oil will not be sold at your local retail outlets. It is also available in 5-gallon, 16-gallon, and 55-gallon drum containers only through the Redline Technical Support Office.

Al Peffley
R-25