Salt Away , Salty Captain etc

[NAGG]

Sorry guys ..... I'm not questioning the engine flush but more the boat wash

Chris

[Noelm]

I have never used anything other than car wash on the outside, but, as I said before, I have heard good reports of saltaway for washing the boat, not too sure I would spend the money myself, my mate has a Fisher alloy boat and he uses the wash gizmo and salt away at the ramp and his boat is spotless, but, he takes forever to wash it.

[Twosheds]

I mixed up a couple of litres worth and filled a couple of hand spray bottles. Only use it for rods and reels after fishing. Spray the mix on, let stand for a minute or so and hose off gently with fresh water. Works extremely well - no salt residue left on reels when it dries. I reckon it would be a bit expensive to wash down the entire boat with it though, or maybe that is my tightarse tendencies coming to the fore.

Regards
Twosheds

[NAGG]

I mixed up a couple of litres worth and filled a couple of hand spray bottles. Only use it for rods and reels after fishing. Spray the mix on, let stand for a minute or so and hose off gently with fresh water. Works extremely well - no salt residue left on reels when it dries. I reckon it would be a bit expensive to wash down the entire boat with it though, or maybe that is my tightarse tendencies coming to the fore.

Regards
Twosheds

I hear you ....

I dont mind spending money just as long as I know it is money well spent .
If you fished weekly you could be spending $50 / month on the stuff.

I'm not convinced of the efficacy of Salt Away ...... certainly the spay on - leave - rinse approach .
Then again it might be useful on those trips where you fish day in day out for a week or so ....... Currently I would just hit the boat with fresh water at the ramp - that's it. The last thing I want to be doing is spending an hour each trip hand washing the boat ..... specially after a long day on the water.

Chris

[Noelm]

What's the "active ingredient" that dissolves salt?

[inveratta]

Noelm..been a long time since I checked it out..but the active is a weak acid....something like sulfamic acid...obviously has to be safe in contact with aluminium!

A dairy farmer I knew used to stand old tools ....in sour milk...the lactic acid slowly cleaned up the metal took months......I reckon theres also a detergent that breaks the surface tension...and a foaming agent to make you think its working hard!

[ranmar850]

I dont mind spending money just as long as I know it is money well spent .
If you fished weekly you could be spending $50 / month on the stuff.

As I said, I have been using mine a lot, and have, just checked, used a fraction over half of the 4 litre container in a year. Including engine flushing and even hosing under the back of the ute. Due to the dilution you are meant to use it in, it's probably cost me about $45 in a year. Yes stupidly expensive in small amounts, so don't be stupid and buy in small amounts. Currently retailing for $90-100 for 4 litres.

[NAGG]

As I said, I have been using mine a lot, and have, just checked, used a fraction over half of the 4 litre container in a year. Including engine flushing and even hosing under the back of the ute. Due to the dilution you are meant to use it in, it's probably cost me about $45 in a year. Yes stupidly expensive in small amounts, so don't be stupid and buy in small amounts. Currently retailing for $90-100 for 4 litres.

Thanks Ranmar

Hmmm ...... my experiences are somewhat different - the dispenser is 120ml & being a center console ,I have to use 2 fills to cover my boat inside & out . That's 4 washes for the small 1 lt pack & <16 for the 3.79 lt .

Totally agree that paying $115 for the 3.79lt pack is the way to go ......... if it works ? . My experience with "SALT-AWAY" is it's borderline waste of money (certainly on unpainted aluminium)

That said , I'm still open minded on these products & am interested if anyone has used an alternative ....... continues to do so

Chris

[ranmar850]

Gee, it sounds like you are using it way too concentrated. To do my 6.4m hardtop, all over, I would top the dispenser up twice. I just went out and measured some into the dispenser to give it the colour I would normally start with , and it took 15ml in a 90 ml dispenser. See picture. That is of course constantly diluting as you use it, so, when it gets really pale blue, I add maybe 10ml to it to finish off. So I am using maybe 25ml a time. But less really, as I just look at what is left when I am finished, and add as required next time. Reading Saltaway's product information, they say that in lieu of measuring you just need to be able to see that the dispenser is looking a shade of blue. Even using it as a detergent with a soft brush to clean off baked on dust and salt accumulated over a month of use away from freely-available water, I wouldn't be putting it in that dispenser full strength. Maybe half full.


I bought a dispenser sold with a 4 litre container thinking it was the genuine thing and it would dispense constantly agt the recommended rate. WRONG. It was just the base part of the Sabco type I posted above, moulded in different colours, and branded A-salt. All parts interchangeable. it does have the advantage of having a clear dispenser, vs the smoke coloured one on the Sabco, so its easy to gauge the dilution. So that now lives on my outboard flush attachment, and gets some saltaway when I feel like it. When I am using the boat almost daily, I don't add any, but after a long time away from flushing facilities, I'll give it a run. And saltaway do say not ot leave it running--start with fresh, get a flow, then turn on the saltaway until it starts to foam out the telltale, then stop. So you are using very little in that scenario, too.

[NAGG]

Gee, it sounds like you are using it way too concentrated. To do my 6.4m hardtop, all over, I would top the dispenser up twice. I just went out and measured some into the dispenser to give it the colour I would normally start with , and it took 15ml in a 90 ml dispenser. See picture. That is of course constantly diluting as you use it, so, when it gets really pale blue, I add maybe 10ml to it to finish off. So I am using maybe 25ml a time. But less really, as I just look at what is left when I am finished, and add as required next time. Reading Saltaway's product information, they say that in lieu of measuring you just need to be able to see that the dispenser is looking a shade of blue. Even using it as a detergent with a soft brush to clean off baked on dust and salt accumulated over a month of use away from freely-available water, I wouldn't be putting it in that dispenser full strength. Maybe half full.


I bought a dispenser sold with a 4 litre container thinking it was the genuine thing and it would dispense constantly agt the recommended rate. WRONG. It was just the base part of the Sabco type I posted above, moulded in different colours, and branded A-salt. All parts interchangeable. it does have the advantage of having a clear dispenser, vs the smoke coloured one on the Sabco, so its easy to gauge the dilution. So that now lives on my outboard flush attachment, and gets some saltaway when I feel like it. When I am using the boat almost daily, I don't add any, but after a long time away from flushing facilities, I'll give it a run. And saltaway do say not ot leave it running--start with fresh, get a flow, then turn on the saltaway until it starts to foam out the telltale, then stop. So you are using very little in that scenario, too.

If the dilution rate is correct - then 120ml is going to dilute out to 60lts of water x 2 .... thats 120 lts of mixture (12mins spray time) - The actual time is shorter than that ...... that's what I get using this ..... salt away (2).jpg


Chris

[Dignity]

If the dilution rate is correct - then 120ml is going to dilute out to 60lts of water x 2 .... thats 120 lts of mixture (12mins spray time) - The actual time is shorter than that ...... that's what I get using this ..... salt away (2).jpg


Chris

That gizmo will run you out of any of the products real quick if your hose is set to a normal wash. I have a nozzle that is adjustable to how much it sprays and by turning it down with a wider spray it works much better and a lot less fluid. I've wondered if the one Ranmar posted would be better. I have made other adjustments but just been told dinner is ready so another time.

[Volvo]

Nitric acid n detergent or vinegar n detergent I've read as I've just hopped on the bandwagon researching the stuff with the prospect of purchasing ??.

[Dignity]

Nitric acid, sounds rather aggresive.
I think the mistake a lot of people make is having the hose on full force, I found turning the pressure down and ensuring a fan like delivery worked best.

[Volvo]

Just purchased a Salty Captain kit, mainly to use up Chrisy Voucher LOL. Looks ??, though a tad Sad they don't give one instructions.
Will suss out worthiness of product after next outing .

[Dignity]

Just purchased a Salty Captain kit, mainly to use up Chrisy Voucher LOL. Looks ??, though a tad Sad they don't give one instructions.
Will suss out worthiness of product after next outing .

If you got the gun it's off all the way back, in the middle I think it's just water and full forward sucking up liquid gold. Hopefully got it right. If you use it to flush the motor make sure you give it a decent fresh water flush. Happened once when the motor blew a lot of smoke at low revs but not under way, slow down it would smoke. Cleared after a little while. On return trip after washing the boat I noticed my mate (same as previous trip) leave the Salty in the motor. On checking he said it was supposed to stay in there. That solved that problem as I was wondering what had gone wrong with my motor as I hadn't used any oil.