Salt Water Operation

[ynnad]

I will be operating an I/O in a river that runs from a fresh water lake to the Gulf. The water is usually brackish to salty. I have heard that I should add a closed cooling system for the engine, but the salt water still exits through the exhausts. I have also heard that I should use a fresh water flush system. Any salt water experts out there? Closed system or flush? Does one do a better job than the other?

Thanks Ynnad

[ynnad]

I will be operating an I/O in a river that runs from a fresh water lake to the Gulf. The water is usually brackish to salty. I have heard that I should add a closed cooling system for the engine, but the salt water still exits through the exhausts. I have also heard that I should use a fresh water flush system. Any salt water experts out there? Closed system or flush? Does one do a better job than the other?

Thanks Ynnad

[Chris]

Installing a closed cooling system isn't cheap.

[vinny p.]

I only boat in salt. I have Merc' closed cooling system on my motor. It works great, but as Chris said it isn't cheap. It cost me about $1k and I did the installation myself. It was an easy install. If you are planning on running in salt water often, I would highly recommend closed cooling. While it does nothing to help your manifolds and risers, it will save the motor. Flushing it out after use is good, but in my opinion, closed cooling is the better way to go.

[ynnad]

Thanks... even if the closed system is $1K, engines are more. Was your price special, or is that the going rate for the parts?

[vinny p.]

No I didn't get a special deal. I got the kit from Bam Marine in Florida. I was guessing at the cost, it may be a bit higher, I don't remember exactly.

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/

[DRILLER]

ynnad,
if your has more than a couple of runs in salt it is more than likely too late.
salt gets into the metal and only goes into the coolant after the insall of the fresh-water system . ,also how many hours on the engine , it may be cheaper to just save the extra bucks to spec-out the new engine.
DRILLER

[bostoncan]

There are engine flush systems to neutralize the salt water one is called Salt-Away. avaiable everywhere here in the northwest. Best to do this, then install closed cooling system , check manifolds and elbows regularly as they are not protected and rust thru the walls. It really does depend on how many hours are already on the motor..Either way you must flush flush flush(all my stren drives at least 20 mins as soon as i got home) after every use in the salt it becomes a pain but it is worth it .and change zincs regularly.

[happy]

If your boat has been running in fresh water, you probably have magnesium annodes on your stern drive.. these need to be changed out.. Fresh water cooling is not reccomended to be added to engines previously run in salt water, or engines which have been run over a season in fresh water.. the reason being sand and mud tend to settle in the engine block. When you install your heat exchanger this "schmegma" tends to clog the passageways in the exchanger resulting in engine over heating.
(note) you can fresh water cool your exhaust manifolds and dump your raw water straight thru your riser. This is just a matter of plumbing.. There are quite a number of boats that our shop maintains run this way.. cmi, stainless, hardin..all these manifolds run successful in this manner.
I would say 90% of engine failures are not directly related to running in salt water.. Its normally lack of maintenance, bad manifolds, water reversion that take out engines.. In these situations, a fresh water cooling system isnt going to have any advantage.

[JUPITER PULSARE]

THOUSANDS OF HI-PERFORMANCE BOATS RUN IN SALT WATER EVERY YEAR IN SOUTH FLORIDA. PREVENTATIVE MAINT. IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. CLOSED WATER SYSTEMS ARE NOT NEEDED. ALWAYS FLUSH YOUR MOTOR AFTER USE. WHEN FLUSHING, LET MOTOR REACH NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE. CHANGE LOWER UNIT AND MOTOR OIL ON A REGULAR BASIS. CRC OR WD-40 EVERYTHING METAL IN YOUR ENGINE BAY OR OUTBOARD COWL. WATCH FOR SIGNS OF RUST, LEAKAGE ON RISERS, MANIFOLDS, ETC. http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/thumb.gif