How do you flush your tender outboard or not?

[Big Andy]

It's easy enough to do if you're taking it home with you but if you leave it on your boat or are away cruising then how do you mannage? Fresh water being the scarce comodity it is when away from the dock it seems mad to just flush it away. Air cooled is one answer I know but the noise levels and limited choice on size and supply puts me off that option. So is yours left to rot in the cockpit locker when not being used and just except the reduced life span or do you have another solution?
Andy.

 

[RichardS]

You don't need to flush it after every use, just often enough to prevent to build up of salt deposits.

Our procedure at the end of every cruise and upon our return to our marina, which might be after 1 week or 1 month, I stick the Suzuki 2.5 outboard in the galley plastic dustbin on the pontoon with a foot of fresh water in it and run it for a few minutes, both in gear (if you have a helper) and in neutral. I then drain all the fuel out of the tank and carb (using the proper carb drain) and stick it upright in the locker.

Richard

 

[richardabeattie]

What could one add to the dustbin water to assist the flushing process without damaging the innards? I've seen brick cleaner recommended but is that a good idea?

 

[RichardS]

What could one add to the dustbin water to assist the flushing process without damaging the innards? I've seen brick cleaner recommended but is that a good idea?

Vinegar or lemon juice would help but it would need to be undiluted to be of much effect in a few minutes. Brick acid/HCl would be more effective and probably best used diluted as using it at full concentration is best avoided although, of course, it depends upon how concentrated it is to start with and how deep your pockets are.

However, this will probably not be of any benefit if your flushing routine is maintained over the years, but if you do have water circulation problem due to a lack of flushing then I would use brick acid (assuming it's 10% HCl) at say a 1:10 dilution and flush the engine for longer (intermittent running will be fine) rather than use stronger acid and flush for a short time.

There's also another current thread about this subject.

Richard

 

[VicS]

What could one add to the dustbin water to assist the flushing process without damaging the innards? I've seen brick cleaner recommended but is that a good idea?

Use brick cleaner , or other strong acid based cleaners , only to remove scale when necessary, or occasionally to prevent scale build up. Flush out thoroughly afterwards.
There are some products claimed to assist with salt removal and "neutralise" its effects Dont know whats in them , how they are supposed to work or even if they do

Tip for fixed drive outboards is to remove the prop when flushing to avoid ejecting the contents of the bin.

 

[Venus1]

I haven't tried it, but I did read somewhere (PBO?) -- the idea of cutting an old air-filled plastic cylindrical fender in half, making a cylinder (half a fender) that can be suspended with rope, filled with fresh water, and placed around the lower section of your outboard - while it's mounted on the rail. Would use minimal fresh water, and can be done anywhere...

 

[seumask]

I have often thought its the heat in the cylinder head that really causes the salt build up on these little engines which is worst when you stop the engine after running it hard, so let it tick over a bit before you put it away with a relatively cool engine if your not able to flush it.
As this is the PBO forum you may find that it's not that difficult to get the head off these simple engines to check / scrape the salt out of the cylinder jacket if your worried about a build up. I wouldn't worry about brick acid etc. a look will give you a much better idea of what's going on!

 

[RichardS]

I have often thought its the heat in the cylinder head that really causes the salt build up on these little engines which is worst when you stop the engine after running it hard, so let it tick over a bit before you put it away with a relatively cool engine if your not able to flush it.
As this is the PBO forum you may find that it's not that difficult to get the head off these simple engines to check / scrape the salt out of the cylinder jacket if your worried about a build up. I wouldn't worry about brick acid etc. a look will give you a much better idea of what's going on!

The first part may well be true. It's always the case that allowing any engine to thermally stabilise after a power-run is a good idea.

The second part is probably more applicable to small 2-strokes rather than the 4-strokes which are all we can easily buy these days.

Richard

 

[rotrax]

In New Zealand a product called " Salt Away " is available with a hose fitting, canister, hose and muffs or proper connectors for most outboards.

The idea-I have often seen them in use-is to connect all up to a fresh water supply at one end and the engine at the other-the canister dispensing the required amount of "Salt Away" being somewhere convienient in the middle.

The tap is turned on, the engine started and away you go.

The Marina where we keep our Hartley 30 in Wellington has about five boat washing bays big enough for a trailer boats so they can be de-salted both internally and externally.

All in the service-and compared to the UK, almost for nothing.

The Kiwi's vie with the Finns on most boat ownership per capita. Many Kiwi boats are aluminium and have twin outboards of high power. These are expensive and so all the facilities are available at launching sites or nearby, often provided by local authorities.

Really boat friendly compared to here.

PS- I flush our outboard when facilities are available. Sometimes this is only once per season, at the end when I bring it home before its annual service.

 

[dom]

I just leave the engine on the tender, stick a pair of these on in the marine, connect to the water and job done:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boatworld-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6W4YZTD7X6CDYKSZZ7JZ

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Tip for fixed drive outboards is to remove the prop when flushing to avoid ejecting the contents of the bin.

Why didn't I think of that? Just used and flushed my new-to-me Mariner for the first time on Wednesday, and the bin contents were ejecting as fast as the hose could fill it.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I just leave the engine on the tender, stick a pair of these on in the marine, connect to the water and job done:


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boatworld-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6W4YZTD7X6CDYKSZZ7JZ

Not much use at anchor or on a mooring though which is where you tend to use your dinghy.

 

[VicS]

I just leave the engine on the tender, stick a pair of these on in the marine, connect to the water and job done:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boatworld-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6W4YZTD7X6CDYKSZZ7JZ

Not much use at anchor or on a mooring though which is where you tend to use your dinghy.

And no use at all on many small tender sized outboards because they dont have water intakes in the right places

 

[dom]

And no use at all on many small tender sized outboards because they dont have water intakes in the right places

True, the muffs need to fit the engine in question. Re the mooring point: my engine stays fairly clean with the odd good flush either at a pontoon with water, or on the stern/pontoon when alongside.

A always think the simpler is to do, the more likely one is to do it.

 

[geem]

Our 15hp Yam has a threaded connection on the leg for connection of a hose. Simply plug in and flush. We do it at the end of the season as the engine is in daily use until then. The local Yamaha dealer here in Bonaire told us that failure to flush the engine before they are stored for a few months was one of his biggest sources of business

 

[vyv_cox]

I haven't tried it, but I did read somewhere (PBO?) -- the idea of cutting an old air-filled plastic cylindrical fender in half, making a cylinder (half a fender) that can be suspended with rope, filled with fresh water, and placed around the lower section of your outboard - while it's mounted on the rail. Would use minimal fresh water, and can be done anywhere...

I came up with the idea around ten years ago and wrote it up for YM. Someone else wrote it up for PBO maybe two years ago. Here's my page on it https://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/Outboardflush.aspx Even in a marina with a water supply it is a very convenient way to flush the engine, saving a long carry to a tank somewhere ashore (if you are lucky and one is provided).

 

[LadyInBed]

I haven't tried it, but I did read somewhere (PBO?) -- the idea of cutting an old air-filled plastic cylindrical fender in half, making a cylinder (half a fender) that can be suspended with rope, filled with fresh water, and placed around the lower section of your outboard - while it's mounted on the rail. Would use minimal fresh water, and can be done anywhere...

That sounds a lot like a bucket to me

 

[captainboo]

I have done exactly as vyv_cox suggested. A bucket might work but with the outboard on the push pit there is very little room to get the bucket over the prop as it is close to the toerail and support it comfortably. The fender I have used is a snug fit over the leg and is held by the rope over the top of the outboard. A bucket also possibly holds more water before it covers the intake holes.

 

[vyv_cox]

That sounds a lot like a bucket to me

If you have neighbours you wish to annoy! There can be a great deal of exhaust noise if the water level is low and as captainboo says sometimes the water inlet is not covered. Even without the prop rotating there is a lot of turbulence that will quickly empty a bucket.

 

[RichardS]

I haven't tried it, but I did read somewhere (PBO?) -- the idea of cutting an old air-filled plastic cylindrical fender in half, making a cylinder (half a fender) that can be suspended with rope, filled with fresh water, and placed around the lower section of your outboard - while it's mounted on the rail. Would use minimal fresh water, and can be done anywhere...

OK Venus1 .... I've taken you at your word and this is the result, just finished:

The walls are thicker than I expected and not so easy to cut. I started with a Stanley knife but decided that I would probably injure myself so tried a bread knife from the galley which was no good and then tried a wood saw which seemed to work.

Now I need to check whether it fits over the outboard leg but, after all that cutting, I've retreated to the cockpit with a beer.

If this doesn't work, you owe me a fender as that one is not going to be very airtight. :ambivalence:

Richard