Fresh water flush??

As far as i know there are no aluminum engine pencil anodes available. Also there are no Vetus bow thruster aluminum anodes either. Vetus tells me, and my experience over 3 seasons confirms that a zinc anode on the bow thruster does not seem to have any effect on the aluminum hull and shaft anodes and vice versa. Cummins tells me that the zinc pencil anodes are essentially in a separate electrolyte solution and are not affected by the hull annodes

tadhana said:

As far as i know there are no aluminum engine pencil anodes available. Also there are no Vetus bow thruster aluminum anodes either. Vetus tells me, and my experience over 3 seasons confirms that a zinc anode on the bow thruster does not seem to have any effect on the aluminum hull and shaft anodes and vice versa. Cummins tells me that the zinc pencil anodes are essentially in a separate electrolyte solution and are not affected by the hull annodes

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Pretty sure there are aluminum pencil zincs

Pencil Zinc replacement Aluminum Pencil Anodes, Navalloy, Secure Core,

Engine PencilZincs

LarryM has been using them for a while I think....

While true they are in a different solution doesn't mean that going to aluminum isn't better depending on your cruising waters...just that mixing them isn't too big of a deal.

As I've say ,with being at the dock for months,in salt water here in marathon,i will flush with city water and hope that I can extend the life of the raw water components and accessories as they are the most important and are harder the access without a lot of research and money. This is my best practice and hopefully it will be be the best I could of done for my 30 years old Perkins. I've done the repairs and upkeep . Maybe the best thing I've done .!!

And then you call a broker asking about a boat and find out 1 engine is fresh water cooled and the other is RAW water cooled. What?? These are gas engines but it's kept in saltwater. What was the owner thinking? Don't think flushing will help.

Freshwater side failed. Cost to much for the owner and his top shelf mechanic said I can get you going again for $$$$.

Actually the older engine is raw and the new one is fresh water cooled. But you're probably right, he replaced one that went bad and did that one right. But the other one? Time bomb just ticking....

tadhana said:

Most of these flush systems are set up for a 5/8 inch garden hose. I don't think a 5/8 hose could pass enough water Most sea water intake hoses are wire reinforced so that it won't collapse under suction. Do you think a 5/8 hose would stay open under suction?

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No. Technically it would collapse if you pulled vacuum - aka - more gpm than the hose could provide. However, since I flush at idle (Yanmar 4LHA-STE), I find that my 1/2" hose keeps up just fine - and my static pressure isn't that high at the spigot. The hose just starts to get soft... so just above minimum. I keep my hand on the hose to monitor. I'll up size garden hoses if need be.

Wouldn't a simpler way to control the flow be to just observe the water level/flow in the raw water strainer under normal operations and try to duplicate it while flushing? I haven't actually tried this, but wonder if others have.

The strainer is full of water when the engine is running. To flush the engine you take the cap off the strainer and run a hose into the strainer. The engine will pick up a mixture of air and water but there is adequate water to keep the impeller wet and lubricated and more than enough to keep the engine cool for the minute or two that you are flushing it. On smaller engines you can take the hose off the sea strainer and but it into a bucket of water and run it off that,with a garden hose of fresh water running into the bucket.

tadhana said:

The strainer is full of water when the engine is running. To flush the engine you take the cap off the strainer and run a hose into the strainer. The engine will pick up a mixture of air and water but there is adequate water to keep the impeller wet and lubricated and more than enough to keep the engine cool for the minute or two that you are flushing it. On smaller engines you can take the hose off the sea strainer and but it into a bucket of water and run it off that,with a garden hose of fresh water running into the bucket.

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Thanks, but I have flush fittings (see post 11); just haven't used them yet.

Since the strainers are full when the engine is running I guess your point is that you would keep them full when flushing with a hose? That is fine to try and do it, but the pumps on those engines may pull more water that the hose can supply. If they suck the hose flat you will probably toast the impeller. If you supply water through the open top of the strainer, you won't risk running the hose flat.

I've been fresh water flushing my TAMD41A's for about 18mnths now. Prior to buying WineDown ~3yrs ago, I was a 40year outboard powered rec boater and as such, flushing motors after use was just 'what you do'. I always felt kind of weird and 'not finished' when packing up the 'big boat' before I installed the flushing hardware (quickflushvalve.com).

A few teething problems initially - my SB motor wouldn;t draw from the bucket at idle but the port side would. Both were recently fully rebuilt raw water pumps. I'd have to give the SB motor ~1100rpm to get the water pumping. Absolutely no 'quirks' like this at idle when running normally with raw water. I solved this issue by moving the bucket up from the bilge to the cockpit - thereby using the help of siphon to keep the flow up - works great and now draws at idle.

I let each motor draw fresh for about 10mins (or a cigarette and bit of a chat, or an odd job if no-one else helping) each. I'm convinced it's beneficial - how could it not be? Certainly makes me feel better (after a lifetime of religiously flushing outboards post-use) anyhow.

Hopcar - your 'use flush system as a bilge pump' idea is not new FWIW - the quickflush system i purchased came with filters that I can attach to the hose for exactly that purpose - emergency bilge pump - without introducing unnoticed flotsam from the bilge into the raw water system.

And finally - the one piece of advise I received from everyone I spoke to about fresh water flushing (both the pro-flush and the 'makes no difference' crowds) was to draw from a bucket, NOT the garden hose plugged strait into the system - for safety.