Water saver warm water flushing rig

[Hagar]

With the current restrictions on flushing and seeing some of our guys going on away trips to Fraser where there may not be any taps I thought I would share this you all . It's the result of me wanting to get a good flush on my motor by making sure the thermostats open - something that may or may not happen with cold water from the tap thru muffs . An experienced dealer I knew - thanks Graeme - made the comment the best way to flush is to run it in a tank so the water gets warm thru recirculation . That gave me the idea for this . One of the Yammie tech guys I have spoken with also static flushes his with hot water from the laundry tap . A flush bag will do it but takes more water to fill up and mine had a foil making it hard to fit in the bag .. There was only one prototype needed . I use the screw on connector ( the one for flushing without running engine ) to quickly rinse any residual salt water out of the powerhead or a quick run on the normal muffs first then do an extended run on this rig . Basically you can flush anywhere there is fresh water available .

Basic components are a set of muffs ( the good flat soft ones that fit closely ) converted to twin feed , a RULE 1100 gph bilge pump with extended power cable , some bilge pump hose , a plastic tub and some hose / irrigation fittings . The two surplus muff halves were made into a blanking muff to cover some of the water exit holes at the front of the gearbox to slow down the rate of water loss . Mine has a connector to go into the cigarette outlet on my switch panel . It's hard to find a good one so if your battery is accessable you can use battery clamps instead . All up cost was about $ 120 with half of that for just the bilge pump .

To flush just fit as in the picture , fill up the tub and turn on the pump . THe 1100 gph Rule supplies more water than the 115 engine will suck . The water goes down a bit as the powerhead fills up after start and can be topped up again . I leave mine running until the discharge water from the outlet grilles above the cav plate is really warm on your hand . About 7 - 8 minutes or until the bilge pump is getting low on water in the tub . The warm water has had no effect on the impeller which was good as new at scheduled replacement .

COUPLE OF MAJOR CAUTIONS with using something like this though .

1. #Never walk away from the engine while it's running . Crack a beer and watch the tell - tale #. If the bilge pump stops your motor will not get any water .

2. #It is possible to recirculate the water for so long it will get too hot . Keep checking the outlet temp with your hand .

DISCLAIMER - not all of us are mechanically minded . Don't even think of doing something along these lines if you are not comfortable with it for your engine .

Chris

[Hagar]

Looking down into the tub .

[Hagar]

Running away merrily . The bucket is catching the water from the telltale for tipping back in if required . The white board helps catch the runoff from the back of the cav plate .

[Hagar]

From the side .

[emuparkpete]

I would love to find a tank that would fit over my foil ( wizbin too skinny darn it ! )
Great idea , I always flush my engine till the tell tale is nice and warm. This takes up a fair bit of water. Be good to recycle it.

[Hagar]

It is possible to run it from a bucket if you really had to .

[iank]

Top idea there Hagar Now I will have to go and copy it
Cheers Ian

[longtail]

Good idea Chris may have to try that myself


Jason.

[freedom]

I think this is a start in the right direction. However, noise pollution is an issue in America and is fast becoming an issue here. You are not allowed to flush your motor with the ear muffs in America. You must either immerse the leg completely which truely is the preferred way of flushing an engine because of normal operating back pressure which allows the motor to idle correctly for which it was tuned for. You can then run the motor until the thermostat opens as well as getting rid of ALL the sand thru the impellor, prop, exhaust etc. The other way is thru the motors own flush input, without starting, but this is will only flush the head, but is good to do at the boat ramp to clean it out for the trip home and then flush submersed. You can reuse the submersed water for about 4 flushes, then have a look in the bottom of the vessel for all the sand. I guess in times of water restrictions, 4 flushes with ear muffs would probably use more water than the contained water vessel for submersed flushes which is best for the motor and for the neighbours ears. This is how I do it anyway.... and this is my 2 cents worth

[Bundy_Burp]

Your idea makes perfect sence to me I am surprised someone hadnt thought of it before . Although I suspect it will be stolen and on the shelves before the end of the year might be time to put copy right forms in now so you can make a buck or two .

[MAD-MIC]

Well done Hagar, that's very innovative and clever. Bundy Bear is right, you should claim the rights to the idea by way of a patent, because with a simple idea like that comes a very cheap and very marketable business proposition for someone with $$ to invest in something.

I have a Tohatsu 50hp with a hydrofoil and it hates muffs because the (new) impeller doesn't draw water up to the motor but it works fine in a drum or bin.

I guess I still have no choice other than to back the trailer into the Brissy river for a few minutes at Goodna on the way home as the water is "fresh" there and my only legal option at this stage to flush my motor out.

[Murks]

nice idea , thanks for sharing

[familyman]

Hagar I've done a similar thing with a tank that sits in the back of the carport .It holds about 170litres and each top up from the spray and telltale jet is only about 5 litres.The leg is completely under and the motor is run until the water in the tank is warm.The water has a small amount of detergent and a dash of olive oil added to it to coat the inside of the water passages,hopefully slow down the conversion from motor to black anchor
I got the tank made at my local sheet metal shop for $60 and stiffened the sides with some alloy square tube as the water pressure distorted the shape of the tank.
Hagar yours is a top idea as is portable and most boats have some kind of tub in them for other purposes.You could even pop in some detergent and your dirty clothes then drop the donk into gear for an instant camp washing machine joke people ,dont try this
cheers jon

[capt]

Well said WHITE SNAKE ! I have a Honda 4 stroke quiet as.....That`s one of the reasons why the yanks don`t want to know about 2 strokes

[Hagar]

White snake .
Only in America would that happen . How else are you gonna get square with the guy across the road who mows the lawn at 7.00 on Sunday if you can't run your outboard on muffs . > >

Other repliers.
All that takes $$$ . Besides - unless you made a rig with an el-cheapo bilge pump and fittings it's still gonna be over 100 bucks and unfortunately a lot of us boaties and fisho's are a cheap lot when it comes to routine maintenance . Ausfishers excluded of course

Chris