Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

[themonkey]

Hello,
I have a 1993 Mercury Black Max 175HP with a brand new rebuilt powerhead. It is the carbureted model.
I am considering selling it online and buying a used Honda 150HP four stroke, but I might keep the Black Max if I can get some more information on it regarding the fuel economy.

Does anyone know what the fuel economy is for these motors? If you have one on your boat, can you please describe your boat and what fuel economy you are getting?

Thank you.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

Hello,
I have a 1993 Mercury Black Max 175HP with a brand new rebuilt powerhead. It is the carbureted model.
I am considering selling it online and buying a used Honda 150HP four stroke, but I might keep the Black Max if I can get some more information on it regarding the fuel economy.

Does anyone know what the fuel economy is for these motors? If you have one on your boat, can you please describe your boat and what fuel economy you are getting?

Thank you.

At WOT it'll burn 17 or 18 GPH. On a bass bote going 70, that's about 4 MPG.

Normally the words economy and Black Max are not used in the same sentence.

Speed, hole shot, performance and Black Max go into the same sentence well.

Hope it helps
John

 

[Neil74]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

I had a Black Max 175 on a 17 foot Cajun Bass boat, John is right about gas at wot, If you ran her between 1/2 to 3/4's open gas consumption was much better. But there was nothing like the feeling of launching that boat at wide open throttle, she would jump up an fly like nothing I have ever owned since. Just thinking about it allways brings a smile, man that boat could fly)

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

I have a 1993 Mercury Black Max 175HP with a brand new rebuilt powerhead. It is the carbureted model.
I am considering selling it

Are you anywhere near St Louis?

 

[themonkey]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

Are you anywhere near St Louis?

Sorry, no. Delaware.
Btw, the engine has zero hours on the new rebuilt powerhead, and 150 psi on each cylinder last time it was compression tested.
It also has a racing lower unit.

I am really curious to see how it performs, but I really cannot afford to use it at gas and oil prices. That is why I'm considering selling it and getting the Honda four stroke, which will be much slower but at least I can afford to use it.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

You may want to do a LOT more research before committing to buying the 4 stroke.

There is only so much power to be had from a gallon of gas.

Fuel consumption is a product of HP, granted the 4 stroke MAY BE slightly more fuel efficient than the 2 stroke, BUT........

You may be trading @17 1/2 GPH WOT for @ 15 GPH WOT

Neither engine will use as much at lower throttle settings.

The power to weight ratio of the 2 stroke is greater than the 4, so any real GPH fuel savings may be LOST as you may have to open the throttle more on the 4 stroke to compensate for the additional weight.

If you had a pontooon and just putted around I 'd handily recommend the 4 stroke, but a planing hull really should consider any additional weight.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

Any 4 stroke or DFI engine is going to be quite a bit more efficient than a 2 cycle carb'd engine, for the simple reason that most of the fuel is burned in a closed combustion chamber. The oldies had to flush out the exhaust with fuel/air mix, and quite a bit of the fuel gets out the exhaust port unburned.

If you consider maintenance cost, and original cost, a rebuilt old-timer is a bargain. It's reliable, requires little maintenance, and there's a pretty good supply of used parts like ignition parts and stators.

I think you'd be hard put to justify dumping a good old-timer for a new or almost new 4 cycle on fuel economy alone unless you are running the engine several hundred hours a season at a good clip.

For all out neck snapping performance, they're hard to beat.

my 02
John

 

[themonkey]

Re: Mercury Black Max fuel economy? MPG?

Thanks, maybe I'll keep the Black Max.