flushing

[Beaches]

I have always had a boat in which I used the ears to flush motor. Many of the post I read state that many are not using ears, but rather just connecting hose to the adapter and and letting it run. Some post say that they let it flush from the hose connection for a 1/2 hour or better. Is there one way that is better then the other? Is there any harm to motor by leaving this run for so long? Is the connection a better way to go? Any other advice?

 

[DaleH]

FWIW there are/were some after-market flushing devices that significantly improved the flushing capability by adding either more pressure or a pulsing action. One of those marketed a product called 'MST Guardian' and the write-ups on it and indpendent testing appeared to bt extremely positive. But the MST company itself now seems to be in a brutal lawsuit regarding the principles of the company and 'who' owns the intellectual property rights.

To your post inquiry - their testing showed that some std flushing on hoses is useless at worst to marginal at best, due to flow and pressure issues. But also for 'time'. If I recall correctly, they are the ones who said a 'good' hose (meaning adequate flow & pressure) had to be put onto a motor for at least 20-minutes to a half hour to get any sign of positive results.

Harm? Even with the higher-pressured aftermarket devices in use, I never heard of any harm every being done.

That said ... I've never flushed a motor in 40-years+ of boating, but I believe my circumstances are unique. As I'm on a tidal river and up-river the water is brackish, which is fresh water flowing to the saltwater estuary. I've never encountered salt build-up leading to a detrimental effect.

Regardless if you flush or not, one should still do a full waterpump service to include the impeller, and thermostats every 2-3 seasons, maybe annually with heavy use. As with anything boating ... your mileage will vary.

 

[BradV]

i flush my motors with the hose attachment on the yamahas. its what the manual says do. i let the water run through it until the water is as cool as if it were coming straight out of the hose and i can not taste any salt getting rinsed out. then i use salt away on occasion. Not sure how well any of it works but it makes me feel better and gives you a chance to drink a beer before scrubbing.

 

[ryanc2]

Don't run the engine on the hose adapter - It will overheat.

Just flush out with a hose for 20-30 minutes.

If you need to run the engine, use the flusher attachment.

 

[Keith FDNY]

I flush my motor with the simple connection on my yam 4 stroke,i raise motor and i do not start it and i flush it out while i am cleaning the rest of boat and when done cleaning i turn my hose off for my flushing and connect line back to motor and thats that!!!

 

[Porkchunker]

I flush for about 5 minutes on each motor. I use the Yamaha hose connector on the F-115.

"Perfect is the enemy of Good Enough"

Dave

aka

 

[Jersey Jim]

I realize this thread is 2 months old, but no better place to ask what I've been meaning to for almost a year.

Is the ear-muff flush with the motor running any more effective once the thermostats open up? I would think that the motor would not get thoroughly cleansed until the t-stat opens. So that raises the question/s, how long should that take on a garden hose, and how does one tell it opened? Is just feeling the water-temp coming out of the pisser enough of an indication? On my small Yamaha 15hp I've intentionally reduced the water-flow during flushing to get a raised temp enough to open the T-stat. Would this be a hazardous practice on the bigger Parker Yammies? I'm particularly interested in the F115. Also, what temp are the stats designed to open at?

Jim