How long before rinsing a engine after running.????

[Ian MacAulay]

Evening,


How long should i wait before rinsing down my mercruiser inboard after its been running at temperature? I know some might say why rinse ...but it gets a bit of salt spray at times so when putting boat away i hose down and spray the engine up with a anti rust spray. Last time i run the boat up to temp and allowed it to flush then done a little hosing down of the deck and so on and about after 5mins i hosed down the engine... is this too soon?

Ian

 

[kennyh]

Hosing down your inboard sounds like a good recipe to be needing a new alternator, starting motor as well as other electrical / electronic components.

I can understand wiping it down and putting on corrosion protection spray, but not hosing it down.

Certainly it was never recommended in the operator manuals I've had for the various Mercruisers (and others) I've owned.

....or are you referring to washing down a stern drive leg, which a completely different question (and answer)?

 

[Beamishken]

The best idea is keep it dry but if your getting salt spray on it then hosing the salt off is better than leaving it on. If left the salt will attract moisture constantly with inevitable corrosion occurring.
If it's hosed down while warm then the water will evaporate with the residual heat you can then spray with wd40 or similar.
Presumably you will keep the hose to a minimum & avoid totally drenching the electrics
As for how long to wait it's hard to say but I guess as long as it's not steaming hot then you should be ok
Is there anyway to avoid salt water in the bilges? I mop mine out with a sponge to avoid water slopping about but we're twin engines so it's easy to get between the engines

 

[AndieMac]

Evening,


How long should i wait before rinsing down my mercruiser inboard after its been running at temperature? I know some might say why rinse ...but it gets a bit of salt spray at times so when putting boat away i hose down and spray the engine up with a anti rust spray. Last time i run the boat up to temp and allowed it to flush then done a little hosing down of the deck and so on and about after 5mins i hosed down the engine... is this too soon?

Ian

Hi Ian

Start getting a few layers of a good lanolin based product like Lanox all over the engine ASAP, just as is done with outboard motor engines that ingest plenty of salt spray. You don't need to use fresh water. I re-coat my Mercruiser at the beginning and end of each season, with on sign of corrosion what so ever.