Ball loses gas

[bluefish]

Mercury outboard
Squeeze ball till hard.. Boat starts and runs. Idle out of slip and motor stalls.
Go back and Gas ball is soft, squeeze again till hard and boat starts and runs.
It runs ok at speed. After I shut down and drift fish for about 1/2 hour, I have to re-squeeze Gas ball to get engine to run.
Could it be the Gas ball?? Is there a one way valve in there??

Tks

[Monkaroo]

No doubt in my mind . Unless you have a leak in your fuel line somewhere between the bulb and the fuel level in your tank letting it leak back . Changing the bulb is something that has to be done occasionally anyway . They tend to go bad over time . I think I would go to Wal Mart and pick up a new one . As a matter of fact I just changed my bulb and line last week .

[Monkaroo]

Yes there is a one way valve inside the bulb . The only other reason I could see that it would leak down would be your float valve inside one of your carbs not sealing correctly . The bulb would be my first shot . Even if you had more serious problems it never hurts to put on a new one . It can get to where it won't even pump up at all and leave you stranded .

[bluefish]

Monkaroo,,
Thanks for the reply.
Boat is a pontoon boat and the gas tank is above the engine so I doubt that the fuel is leaking back to the tank..
Didn't know wall-Mart carried these,,, never looked..
Thanks again for the response.

[bluefish]

Monkaroo
Is it a big deal to replae the hose or can it be done w/standard tools?

[marshmat]

The primer bulb has a check valve at each end. This does sound like your problem; somehow air is getting into the line and the fuel is siphoning back down to the tank through the not-quite-closed check valves.
The bulb normally goes soft once the motor is running, as fuel is now being sucked through by the motor's fuel pump and is not under pressure in the line.
Replacing the bulb requires a pair of pliers and a screwdriver, at most. If the fuel line itself is looking a bit old you may as well replace the whole thing- line, bulb and fittings- any outboard guy will sell it pre-assembled. Since you may have air leaks too, you may as well replace the whole line.
Once you've ruled out fuel system trouble, the cause of the low-speed stalling can be addressed.