Float Bowl Question

[deano]

Hi all,
I recently acquired a Featherweight 1527B0 which had not been started for some years. After the spinning up with a drill trick, she burst into life on the second pull. Wow what a rush ! Sounded great, but the only thing that was wrong was that the float bowl was leaking from the two little holes. After inspecting I ordered some kit including a 25:1 needle and a new fuel needle and sleeve.
I fitted these and also ensured that the float was set at the correct height. This was successful in stopping the leak and the little motor sounded even better than before.

So I ran the Carb dry by switching off the fuel tap, but upon tilting the motor up, fuel leaked out of the float bowl. I'd say it was about 1/4 of the bowl capacity. When "Running Dry" does that mean what it says or is there always a bit of fuel left in the bowl? And if not why isn't the fuel being used up?
I am reluctant to move to the next stage of sea trialing it on my concourse grade varnished Mirror if fuel is going to spill everywhere

Thanks
Deano

[Charles uk]

The residue in the float bowl after "running dry" is there to trap any water & contaminants that get past all the filters, sorry but you'll have to learn to live with it.

And I thought Mirrors were sailing dinghy's, it will leave a mark on the transom as well!

[Oyster 49]

A mirror with a seagull. Classic combination

[Charles uk]

I heard Oyster that if you polish them & tart them up too much, all they want to do is stand next to the mirror!

[deano]

Thanks for the reply, but am a bit worried about having to live with it. I mean a little drip of fuel from tickling the carb pans into insignificance with the amount that spills out when tilted. The only plus point I can see is that hopefully 'most' of it will end up in the boat.

I have tried tying an old sock around the float chamber which helped a bit, but honestly, I can't see me using it if this is as good as it gets

Any Ideas ?

[Silver Surfer]

Same as I did with my old Mirror. Stick an old bucket underneath the 'dribbles', and put it back into the tank. Bit of a pain in the bum, but it worked for three years.

[deano]

Been thinking about it and came up with this:

Haven't tried it yet as too late and have !*%*? the neighbors off enough today! But think it'll work and doesn't look too bad either in my opinion.
It's held together with a linchpin and I can just pour the fuel back into the tank at the end of the day.

I'm going to sail the Mirror for long days out and going to use the Gull to troll back at the end of the day if the wind dies. The Mirror is from 1978 and if I'm correct the Gull is a 1970 model so a perfect marriage! Now I just need a pair of brown flairs and a knitted tank top and I'll be sorted

[fleetingcontact]

I would suggest substituting a Bing carb. One clear advantage it has is that removing and replacing the float bowl while out on the water would be a piece of cake - no tools required. Also, it suffers much less from the leakage issue you speak of. In my humble opnion (I do ask for it don't I) the Bing carb is superior in just about every way to its Villiers counterpart. Those damn krauts. They think of everyting you know.

[Hugz]

Do you have a photo of a bing carb? They are known for being delicate. Is the bowl a screwed on plastic affair? If so I wouldn't think the thread will survive many removals.

[Charles uk]

Spares for the Bing are scarce & expensive, the Amal 416 parts are more available & a little cheaper & the Amal isn't as delicate as the Bing.

Give John Williams a ring & see what he recommends. 01621 778859.

[fleetingcontact]

An Amal 416 wont fit to a 40 series block... Sheridan marine has an extensive catalogue of Bing spares most of which are modestly priced. Carefull and patient monitoring of Ebay yields fine results. The 416 is a nice item, I agree. Big improvenent on the twin-jet.

[fleetingcontact]

An Amal 416 wont fit to a 40 series block... Sheridan marine has an extensive catalogue of Bing spares most of which are modestly priced. Carefull and patient monitoring of Ebay yields fine results. The 416 is a nice item, I agree. Big improvenent on the twin-jet.

Also the Bing carb is no more delicate than any Jap carb I've ever encountered but the ham-fisted amongst us need not bother, I guess.

[tambikeboy]

Thanks for the reply, but am a bit worried about having to live with it. I mean a little drip of fuel from tickling the carb pans into insignificance with the amount that spills out when tilted. The only plus point I can see is that hopefully 'most' of it will end up in the boat.

I have tried tying an old sock around the float chamber which helped a bit, but honestly, I can't see me using it if this is as good as it gets

Any Ideas ?

Why not just block up the hole with chewing gum china.... after all what are we talking mybe a spoonful. ..

[Charles uk]

So your telling me Fleetingcontact, that between 1979 & 1994 the 40 series were sold without carbs, must have saved British Seagull a fortune.

Ask them for a Bing air intake, or perhaps a carb body.

Seagull only used the Bing carb for about 1 year, 78 to 79.

[headdownarseup]

First things first before things get out of hand,

A 416 Amal carb WILL FIT onto your 40 series block provided there is the plastic spacer fitted into the carb inlet to allow this to happen. 40 and century inlet stubs are different diameters, so by using a plastic spacer one carb could be fitted to 2 different engine types. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if anyone has tried fitting a 46n 2 jet carb onto a 40 series motor using spacers inside the carb? It could work i reckon.

Bing carbs are much less messier than a villiers, but somehow a bit more delicate in places.They still leak a little bit though. There are spares about for these, but watch out for the air compensator (the square bit at the front) which can sometimes suddenly drop off. Float bowls are about again. Nice carb overall, and they do pop up from time to time.

Villiers carbs, although being the more popular carb that's fitted to 40 series motors have some flaws. Namely holes in the float bowl. As you've now experienced this first hand, and going by your pictures have come up with a reasonable solution to the problem. They are what they are.
If the fuel dribbling problem is your only concern, have you considered blocking off the holes in the float bowl? There should be some provision to allow the fuel to vent from somewhere else and not just from the bowl. Sometimes there is enough of a vent through the priming plunger(similar to the Bing and later Amals), so perhaps having the holes blocked off in the bowl would still allow the engine to run adequately. Might be worth some further investigation.


Jon