How much water required for muffs

[R055]

Hey guys, I've been turning on the boat with muffs just to see that it's still running every 2 weeks or so for a minute or two when it's warm.
How much water do you use for the muffs? I use about 40% of full because at around 60-70% water the muffs would slip off because of too much water pressure, is 40% too little?

 

[shrew]

Without knowing the flow rate of the hose, it's tough to know what the differences in percentages translate too. 40% of what? 10 gph or 50 gph?

1) Are you seeing sufficient and constant discharge of water?

2) Are you seeing the engine temp remain at normal operating temperatures?

If so, then you are using sufficient water.

 

[Captain Caveman]

First of all, what is wrong with your motor/setup that you need to test it every two weeks? When you do this, are you allowing it to get up to full operating temp before shutting it down? Otherwise you could be gumming up spark plugs or creating other unintentional issues.

I would run the water as high as possible without the muffs coming off. I'd rather waste some water than have my motor overheat.

 

[R055]

Yes water is constant, don't know about the engine temp because haven't ran it long enough for the engine temp to go up.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... I run the hose water at 100%, 'n allow the excess to bleed away,.....

If ya ramp up the throttle, the motor will have plenty of water,.....

I also don't understand test startin' a boat motor in the off season,....
Winterize it, 'n put it to bed til Spring,....
Then pull it out, 'n Service it for the new season,....

 

[R055]

First of all, what is wrong with your motor/setup that you need to test it every two weeks? When you do this, are you allowing it to get up to full operating temp before shutting it down? Otherwise you could be gumming up spark plugs or creating other unintentional issues.

I would run the water as high as possible without the muffs coming off. I'd rather waste some water than have my motor overheat.

I run it for about 3-5 minutes and technically don't need to, I just sleep better at night knowing the engine still works

The engine is your standard mercruiser 4.3 with alpha gen ii.

 

[Alumarine]

I run it for about 3-5 minutes and technically don't need to, I just sleep better at night knowing the engine still works

The engine is your standard mercruiser 4.3 with alpha gen ii.

You're doing more harm than good. Actually I don't think there's any good.

 

[R055]

Ayuh,..... I run the hose water at 100%, 'n allow the excess to bleed away,.....

If ya ramp up the throttle, the motor will have plenty of water,.....

I also don't understand test startin' a boat motor in the off season,....
Winterize it, 'n put it to bed til Spring,....
Then pull it out, 'n Service it for the new season,....

Not really off season anymore, today the high is 72 and low 45, auctally thinking about going out this Sunday.

 

[R055]

You're doing more harm than good. Actually I don't think there's any good.

Do you really think any harm is done? I know probably doesn't do any good but wouldn't want to do it if it causes any harm, I guess it's just satisfying running the engine for me and making sure everything's good.

 

[R055]

Also I haven't been doing this the whole winter just did it twice in the last month while warm while cleaning the boat, just got the boat a month ago and it was dewintiriEd when we test drove it anyways and too warm ti winterize again

 

[GA_Boater]

This reminds me of Mrs. Chambers cherry 1955 Chevy post sedan. She only drove it twice a week; church on Sunday and shopping once a week. Two mile round trips each time. When she finally had to hand over the keys for safety, a buddy bought it because it still looked and smelled brand new after 10 or 11 years. It had less than 10.000 miles on it

Long story short, in short order driving it as a normal person would, the exhaust system fell of because it was rotted from the combustion acids that never burned off. Fixed that and not long after the motor blew up. Being a teenager that knew they could fix anything, popped off the valve cover. The motor was so sludged and gunked up, all the oil passages were plugged. That's when it was hot rodded.

Anyway, the point is that running your motor on muffs and not allowing it to fully warm up is not good for it. Do a quick driveway check for starting and head for the water and run the boat the way it should run. You will have less problems in the long run. You haven't hurt it yet.

 

[R055]

This reminds me of Mrs. Chambers cherry 1955 Chevy post sedan. She only drove it twice a week; church on Sunday and shopping once a week. Two mile round trips each time. When she finally had to hand over the keys for safety, a buddy bought it because it still looked and smelled brand new after 10 or 11 years. It had less than 10.000 miles on it

Long story short, in short order driving it as a normal person would, the exhaust system fell of because it was rotted from the combustion acids that never burned off. Fixed that and not long after the motor blew up. Being a teenager that knew they could fix anything, popped off the valve cover. The motor was so sludged and gunked up, all the oil passages were plugged. That's when it was hot rodded.

Anyway, the point is that running your motor on muffs and not allowing it to fully warm up is not good for it. Do a quick driveway check for starting and head for the water and run the boat the way it should run. You will have less problems in the long run. You haven't hurt it yet.

Alright thank you, won't be running it on muffs anymore other than driveway check before going on water.

 

[SkaterRace]

This reminds me of Mrs. Chambers cherry 1955 Chevy post sedan. She only drove it twice a week; church on Sunday and shopping once a week. Two mile round trips each time. When she finally had to hand over the keys for safety, a buddy bought it because it still looked and smelled brand new after 10 or 11 years. It had less than 10.000 miles on it

Long story short, in short order driving it as a normal person would, the exhaust system fell of because it was rotted from the combustion acids that never burned off. Fixed that and not long after the motor blew up. Being a teenager that knew they could fix anything, popped off the valve cover. The motor was so sludged and gunked up, all the oil passages were plugged. That's when it was hot rodded.

Anyway, the point is that running your motor on muffs and not allowing it to fully warm up is not good for it. Do a quick driveway check for starting and head for the water and run the boat the way it should run. You will have less problems in the long run. You haven't hurt it yet.

Very interesting story I have heard things like that can happen but never actually had some mention that they knew someone who had such issues.

 

[R055]

Also how long do you guys run the muffs for when doing our trip check

 

[JASinIL2006]

I run them until my engine warms up to normal operating temperature - 160 degrees. I try to do it every time before heading to the ramp; eliminates lots of starting problems! It probably takes about 10 minutes.

 

[GA_Boater]

Also how long do you guys run the muffs for when doing our trip check

Long enough to see that you have oil pressure and that's about it. I don't like muffs because they fall off and you can't tell unless you go to the back of the boat. If you don't catch it quick, the impeller can be wiped out leading to a trouble topic. :smile:

 

[KD4UPL]

Muff's falling off form too much water pressure? My water system tops out at 60 psi. I run it wide open and I've never had the muffs pop off, slip, or even move.
I typically run my boat long enough to get it up to operating temperature and sit there for a while. Usually 15 minutes or so. I do that in the evening before heading to the lake the next morning.
I agree, if you're only running it for 1 minute you're better off not running it.

 

[JimS123]

Very interesting story I have heard things like that can happen but never actually had some mention that they knew someone who had such issues.

Mrs Chambers must have gotten her instructions from my Grandpa. He would never drive in Winter, but he would start the car up at least once a week in the garage, just because "it made him feel better". In fact, he didn't drive much in the Summer either and followed the same routine.

It was 11 years old when I inherited it and had 14,000 miles. It couldn't be told from new. In the first month I had to replace the muffler, battery and carb. It nickled and dimed me to death for a year until I sold it. In contrast, at the time I owned another 11 year old car with 100,000+ miles on it and sold it to a friend. In that same year he put virtually nothing into it.

My boats are run on muffs twice a year - once in the Fall to winterize it and once in the Spring to dewinterize. In 50 years of owning a boat i have never been stranded at the launch ramp because the engine wouldn't start. The key is PM maintenance by the book, not testing.

As far as water pressure is concerned, my thoughts are somewhat influenced by running a PWC out of the water. Excess pressure can back up the exhaust manifold and hydrolock the engine. Not a pretty sight. I'm not saying that can happen on an I/O or an OB, but nevertheless i only run enough water so that the exhaust stream looks visibly adequate. For me, thats about a turn and a half on the faucet handle. Based on the temp gauge that must be OK.

 

[Captain Caveman]

I ran my snowmobile this past fall on my final cabin trip before ice-up. I was short on time so basically started it, pinched the throttle to get the track moving, and then shut it down after about a minute. Fast forward to my first winter trip around New Years. I pulled and pulled until my starting rope literally snapped. I then realized that the spark plugs had ice bridging the gap. Basically, condensation started to build at that fall startup but did not burn off, so it froze. Luckily I had a spare set and was able to thaw out the other ones with a lighter.

Lesson learned

 

[bruceb58]

I use the muffs that feed water from both sides and turn it on full. My water pressure is at 90 PSI after a high pressure regulator that I use for my landscaping.

Muffs never come close to falling off but bleed off the excess water.

I always run the engine until at least15 minutes after operating temperature has been reached.

As far as water pressure is concerned, my thoughts are somewhat influenced by running a PWC out of the water. Excess pressure can back up the exhaust manifold and hydrolock the engine. Not a pretty sight. I'm not saying that can happen on an I/O or an OB,

It can not happen to an I/O or an O/B since the impeller pumps the amount of water based on its RPM. Water can not be forced past the impeller with normal city water pressure.