blue water??? Am i colour blind!

[pbarx]

Hi chaps,

i have been draining my new 2014 Mercruiser 350. I have taken out all the plastic blue drain taps which were at the bottom of the engine. On the last tap instead of clear water coming out it was pale blue in colour. I am unsure why this is the case. Any help would be great.

Thanks
PBarx

 

[sarabande]

anti-corrosion additive probably. If you have not run the engine for a while, then it may settle.

 

[prv]

I'm surprised it wasn't all blue. Or green, or purple, or any of the other colours you get in coolant mix.

You don't just put plain water in an engine!

Pete

 

[paultallett]

Is your engine raw water or fresh water cooled and as sarabande said, has it been laid up a while?

 

[prv]

Is your engine raw water or fresh water cooled

You reckon this bad-boy might be running on seawater?

Pete

 

[paultallett]

You reckon this bad-boy might be running on seawater?

Pete

Yep....... Most Mag350 are, you can spec a fresh water cooling upgrade but the bulk of them are raw water cooled.

 

[prv]

Yep....... Most Mag350 are, you can spec a fresh water cooling upgrade but the bulk of them are raw water cooled.

Wow, ok - my apologies. I assumed all modern engines, and especially larger and more powerful ones, were freshwater cooled. The only raw-water engines I've come across have been basic old lumps in yachts, generally in the smaller sizes.

Pete

 

[mlines]

Yep, that's the bad boy in ours and it is raw water cooled (and fully exercised over the weekend!)

 

[paultallett]

Yep, that's the bad boy in ours and it is raw water cooled (and fully exercised over the weekend!)

Haha....... Just how we like it. Sounds lovely as you open up and she gets on the plane, real growl

 

[MapisM]

it is raw water cooled

All well and good, but in this case the blue water doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm afraid...
And anyway, the OEM Merc cooling fluid for closed circuit engines is actually pinkish.

 

[sarabande]

are there by chance any copper pipes in the system ?

 

[paultallett]

All well and good, but in this case the blue water doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm afraid...
And anyway, the OEM Merc cooling fluid for closed circuit engines is actually pinkish.

Thats why I asked about it being laid up. I know when mine is out of the water, Tom runs a green antifreeze through the system to flush and winterize....... As you say doesn't make sense?

 

[MapisM]

Well, it does make a lot of sense to winterize a raw water cooled engine by flushing it with fresh water and glycol/antifreeze.
But you normally don't drain it right after flushing/winterizing: you just put the boat back in the water the next season and run the engine...
So, I assumed that the OP was either draining it after using the boat in the water, or after flushing it with fresh water and muffler.
And in both cases, the water should be clear.
That's why I said that I can't see a reason for blue water... A side effect of some blue pills maybe?

 

[paultallett]

Well, it does make a lot of sense to winterize a raw water cooled engine by flushing it with fresh water and glycol/antifreeze.
But you normally don't drain it right after flushing/winterizing: you just put the boat back in the water the next season and run the engine...
So, I assumed that the OP was either draining it after using the boat in the water, or after flushing it with fresh water and muffler.
And in both cases, the water should be clear.
That's why I said that I can't see a reason for blue water... A side effect of some blue pills maybe?

Haha...... can't say I have the need for blue pills