# Cant flush engine after late night fishing trip



## nbk65bo (Sep 11, 2008)

get a section of hose set up to your flush, mix salt away and water in hose. start motor for 3 seconds to intake solution. Then flush when you can thoroughly clean it.


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## Sheremeta (Nov 29, 2010)

I hold a wet rag up to the prop exhaust. Even with a two stroke you can hardly hear it.


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

Drop in freshwater lake if available on the way home. Waiting 12 hours won't make or break either.


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## Godzuki86 (Nov 30, 2013)

Stop at a car wash on the way home. Preferably one with marine flush.


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## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

If your engine has a hose connection on the powerhead you don't need to run the engine. Everything gets flushed except for whats trapped in the water pump impeller.

If it doesn't I would look at ways to add it.

Worst case is you put a tee in the water pump tattletail hose and backflush through it.

There are lots of engines that never get flushed, but they are used daily. So there's another option.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Dont worry about it. If you were fishing that same amount of time the motor would be in salt water, whats the difference?


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Just park it on the pad and flush in the morning and then put her up.


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

I go down to the Everglades and Little Gasparilla Island for 3 days at a time and sometimes a whole week..  I'll keep my skiff in the water the whole time..  While I try to rinse the deck, exterior of my outboard and reels at the end of every day, there is no way to flush the outboard until I pull the boat from the water as the end of the trip..

I just flush my motor at the end of the trip for 10-15 minutes, sometimes using Salt A Way, sometimes a tablespoon of dawn in the hose and sometimes just plain fresh water at a local lake..

I do not think you're going the harm your outboard by not flushing it within 12 hours after use, just flush it before your store it for long periods of time and you'll be alright..

This is my opinion only.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

You better find a way ! This motor was a little over 3 years old and was treated with *"Salt Terminator" *

Motor is getting a new head the rest of the motor is like new  the dealer and manufacturer can't figure out what went wrong !!!


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

i fill a cooler or tub with water lower it in and crank it up.
dont forget the bubbles......


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

If they cant figure what went wrong in the pic above, i doubt a garden hose would have prevenred it. Plenty of outboards spend years on the water.


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## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

> If they cant figure what went wrong in the pic above, i doubt a garden hose would have prevenred it. Plenty of outboards spend years on the water.


My thoughts exactly.. 

Noettica, Give us the specifics, not just a shot of a crapped out case and a few words..

Make?
Model?
hours?
how often it was run?
flushed religiously?

Need way more info to give any cred to your statement..

Just the facts man!


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## KeepingItSimple (Mar 20, 2011)

I've got the same problem. Can't crank the motor once the kids (mine and the neighbor's) go to bed. It's a problem because I do a fair amount of fishing at night especially during the summertime. I usually just wind up rinsing it the next afternoon or so. If I have gone a few days in a row then I will run it in a bucket at night. It is remarkable how much quieter the motor is when running in a bucket versus running on the muffs - try it. During the daytime, I have also fashioned a piece of pants leg to strap around the propeller exhaust with a bungee cord to help dampen the exhaust note. It helps. It's a bit overkill but sometimes those HOAs can get a little extreme. I think there is even a commercial version of something like this.










Obligatory fishing pic from this weekend:









Alex V


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Install a fresh water wash down system like I have on my boat. I can flush anywhere I want


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

> Install a fresh water wash down system like I have on my boat. I can flush anywhere I want


How do you do this? Sounds like it could be the way to go.


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Find a spot in the boat for a tank (preferably 6 gallons, anything less is kinda worthless), mount a wash down pump, some hose and wire up a switch. That's the permanent way. Another way that my friend did his skiff, and is great for camping too.
Get a 5 gallon water container (blue), a wash down pump ($80-100), and drill a hole into the tank, install the correct size hose barb into the tank, hook the hose between the tank and the pump, and put alligator clips on the pump wires so you can just hook it to a battery as needed. That way you can shower with it while camping, use it to flush the motor at the ramp, anything.. it serves alot of uses


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

I had thought of carrying something in my truck bed. Sounds like, something like this could be setup to function in my truck bed. I have a small skiff so I'd prefer not to add a tank to it. Having it in the truck would also make it usable for other things (as you stated).

So I have a Merc 90 2 stroke. How long do you think I could run the engine on 5 gallons of water, before the water runs out?


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## fatalbert43 (Dec 13, 2006)

I knew a guy who took a old air compressor and mounted it in his truck bed. He just filled the tank with water and then the air pumped it out for him. He also painted the tank black to get the water hot before it flushed thru the motor.

He would flush the motor in the lot after pulling his boat out. And he had enough water to rise the boat and trailer down too.

It was a pretty slick system he had going.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I Like this !

You could turn it on and drive down the road water flying everywhere ... LOL




> Find a spot in the boat for a tank (preferably 6 gallons, anything less is kinda worthless), mount a wash down pump, some hose and wire up a switch. That's the permanent way. Another way that my friend did his skiff, and is great for camping too.
> Get a 5 gallon water container (blue), a wash down pump ($80-100), and drill a hole into the tank, install the correct size hose barb into the tank, hook the hose between the tank and the pump, and put alligator clips on the pump wires so you can just hook it to a battery as needed. That way you can shower with it while camping, use it to flush the motor at the ramp, anything.. it serves alot of uses


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

> I had thought of carrying something in my truck bed. Sounds like, something like this could be setup to function in my truck bed. I have a small skiff so I'd prefer not to add a tank to it. Having it in the truck would also make it usable for other things (as you stated).
> 
> So I have a Merc 90 2 stroke. How long do you think I could run the engine on 5 gallons of water, before the water runs out?


Probably a real 3 minutes, which is plenty since the motor will still be warm since you just pulled it out of the ramp


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## PG350 (Jan 19, 2012)

I crank mine up and flush it at any hour of the night with no complaints from neighbors. It is way less noisy than a Harley driving down the road. I have a 25hp 2 stroke, but it is just idling. Does anyone complain????


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

> I crank mine up and flush it at any hour of the night with no complaints from neighbors.   It is way less noisy than a Harley driving down the road.   I have a 25hp 2 stroke, but it is just idling.    Does anyone complain????


I wish that were an option for me but it isn't. My neighbor's bedroom window is situated close to my driveway. I've never done it past 10pm but know that it would be disruptive. Putting myself in her shoes, I'd be ticked off if someone did that to me for 3 to 5 minutes at midnight!


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

> > I had thought of carrying something in my truck bed. Sounds like, something like this could be setup to function in my truck bed. I have a small skiff so I'd prefer not to add a tank to it. Having it in the truck would also make it usable for other things (as you stated).
> >
> > So I have a Merc 90 2 stroke. How long do you think I could run the engine on 5 gallons of water, before the water runs out?
> 
> ...


Thanks. I'm looking into doing something like this. Seems it could be done for a reasonable cost. Thank you very much for the input.


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

For what it's worth there is a company that already makes something of the sort but it's expensive and only 3 gasses if I remember correctly


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

Is it this? 

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Pumps-64736-00-Aqua-Wash/dp/B00EVIJ0UI


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

That's one of them, but a terrible design, and too expensive


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

Anywhere you can find a water hose:










http://www.burgees.com/flushingbag/default.htm


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

> Anywhere you can find a water hose:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's an interesting idea. I could bring water to the ramp. It's also possible that I could flush it at home with the noise level being a lot less. Do you have any experience with these things? Do they work well?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1336177198

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1279237724


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

I just saw those at my local West Marine. I've been using a cheap, plastic garbage can. Probably a 40-gallon size but it's a pain in the ass to drain. I figure these would be easier to manage and portable. 

I may thread a drain into the can as a cheaper option though. 

But the noise level is pretty minimal.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I use Brett's flusher all the time ! 

great Idea Thanks !!!


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

I had a Rubbermaid bin laying around that is just big enough for the bottom of the outboard to fit in. It's tight but the water intake is completely immersed. I tried using it yesterday. The motor would not pee. I then put the muffs and hose on and it pee'd Just fine. The boat had been run extensively earlier that day with no problems. Any idea why it wouldn't pee in the bin?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Any idea why it wouldn't pee in the bin? 

Hadn't consumed enough beer?  :-?


Sounds like a worn impeller or air leak in the housing.
Muffs transfer the hose pressure up into the engine,
running it in a tub will show how the pump is functioning, unassisted,  at low rpms.


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## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

a bin is perfect for your dilema, i always use one with no problems.
did it warm up enough to open T-stat ?


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## rssc (Jul 15, 2013)

Maybe I just didn't run it long enough. It seemed like I did but maybe not. The motor pee'd just fine earlier that day while the boat was in the water. It doesn't sound like there is any other explanation.


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