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Flush-pro in Echelon


Michigan boarder

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Just thought I'd post a pic. I put a Flush-pro in my '94 Echelon LX a few weeks ago. Hoping this makes winterizing much easier, and therefore I intend to run later into the season. It seems like 1/2 of my winterizing time was spent trying to get the intake hose off to put a garden hose in it, that hose is stiff and really tough to work with. And I just don't trust a fake-a-lake.

And to head off the comments, yes I did put my purse down, touched up my eyeliner, bit my lower lip and finished a call with my mother before trying to take the hose off each year. :)

post-8942-0-19483300-1345640508_thumb.jp

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Hey MB, don't know if you have seen any of my videos regarding the ballast system I put in my Echelon last year. But anyway instead of drilling a hole in the boat I added a 'T' to the hose you are talking about, yes it is one hell of a tough hose. I was thinking of adding the flush pro to the intake hose this year as well and moving the water intake for the ballast to it's own intake. What is stopping me doing this at the moment is this: Each year I take out the impeller to stop it drying out or becoming brittle due to the cold winters. If I have to do this, which means taking the hose off anyway I will not get any benefit from the flush pro. What I was thinking of doing is putting a 3 way valve in the hose so that when I winterize the boat I can direct antifreeze into the engine and close the fresh water intake at the same time, a manual flush pro if you like. This way I could also fill the boat with enough antifreeze so that the pump remains full and the impellor does not dry out or become brittle. Does the flush pro have this ability? Also online the flush pro states it uses hose pipe pressure to open and close the valve. Well if your filling the engine with antifreeze, there really is no pressure, so have you tested that the flush pro will syphon antifreeze into youre engine or does it need pressure?

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Hey MB, don't know if you have seen any of my videos regarding the ballast system I put in my Echelon last year. But anyway instead of drilling a hole in the boat I added a 'T' to the hose you are talking about, yes it is one hell of a tough hose. I was thinking of adding the flush pro to the intake hose this year as well and moving the water intake for the ballast to it's own intake. What is stopping me doing this at the moment is this: Each year I take out the impeller to stop it drying out or becoming brittle due to the cold winters. If I have to do this, which means taking the hose off anyway I will not get any benefit from the flush pro. What I was thinking of doing is putting a 3 way valve in the hose so that when I winterize the boat I can direct antifreeze into the engine and close the fresh water intake at the same time, a manual flush pro if you like. This way I could also fill the boat with enough antifreeze so that the pump remains full and the impellor does not dry out or become brittle. Does the flush pro have this ability? Also online the flush pro states it uses hose pipe pressure to open and close the valve. Well if your filling the engine with antifreeze, there really is no pressure, so have you tested that the flush pro will syphon antifreeze into youre engine or does it need pressure?

It definitely needs pressure, or at least a shut off valve downstream from the flush-pro. That might not be enough, but someone else on this site I think did that. I had the engine running on the lake and opened the cap on the hose fitting. There is a spring loaded ball that needs to be pressed in (via house water pressure) to bypass the raw water opening. I pushed on it slightly with my index finger and saw a bunch of bubbles go in with the water flow. So just a bucket and hose definitely will not work. However, you may be able to remove the ball and spring from the hose intake portion. That would make it work. Then you would just have to make sure the cap seals tightly. If it doesn't you'll know right away by seeing little bubbles going in. It's negative pressure, so there should not be a concern about leaking, unless the boat is in the water and not running maybe.

When I refer to winterizing, I meant running the engine to temperature in the driveway, fogging, changing fluids, etc. That hose is just that much tougher to get off when it's cold outside, versus twisting a hose onto the flush-pro. On antifreeze - I'm stuck in between the necessary/not necessary schools of thought. My procedure is to drain all water and then disconnnect a few much easier hoses and pour in 4 gallons....but I'm rethinking that, whether or not it's really necessary. This year it will be in a heated building so I will definitely just drain. So really my goal was to have a good water source in the driveway.

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Thanks MB, I appreciate the insight, you've saved me some money. I've always antifreezed my boats and never had any problems so I'll carry on down that path and maybe go the 3 way valve route.

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There is a spring loaded ball that needs to be pressed in (via house water pressure) to bypass the raw water opening. I pushed on it slightly with my index finger and saw a bunch of bubbles go in with the water flow. So just a bucket and hose definitely will not work. However, you may be able to remove the ball and spring from the hose intake portion.

Mine came with a little plastic piece that inserts and depresses the spring loaded ball for just that purpose. I installed it many years ago, so they must have stopped shipping the kits with that piece???

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http://www.perko.com...df/flushpro.pdf

• Adapter supplied with FlushPro™ makes winterizing

your boat easy.

FlushPro_01.jpg

adapter is the black plastic little tube hanging to the right,,,

Well I feel ridiculous.

In my defense, I installed it during a short window at the lake getting things ready for some guests coming to stay for the weekend. I remember looking at that part like "What's this for? No time for that, gotta keep moving here".

Thanks JB for pointing that out for us!

Edit: and you can see that part in my pic. So they do still ship 'em that way.

Edited by Michigan boarder
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in your/our defense....YOU ARE A MALE....

Which means if you/we have a 1/2 tank of gas and a cell phone...."WE AIN'T LOST"

so there is no need to ask for directions no matter how much the wife begs us to do so....

Another benefit of being a male is NEVER HAVING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS....

Lmao...

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in your/our defense....YOU ARE A MALE....

Which means if you/we have a 1/2 tank of gas and a cell phone...."WE AIN'T LOST"

so there is no need to ask for directions no matter how much the wife begs us to do so....

Another benefit of being a male is NEVER HAVING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS....

Lmao...

...and 4 beers.

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Just curious, did you notice the motor temperature running any hotter after the install? I just wondered if the flushpro caused any restriction in the cooling water flow.

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Just curious, did you notice the motor temperature running any hotter after the install? I just wondered if the flushpro caused any restriction in the cooling water flow.

No, zero temperature difference. Ran the boat at a variety of throttle positions/RPM's (idling/cruising, wakeboarding, barefooting, tubing, etc.).

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OK, so I can use the FlushPro for syphoning antifreeze into the boat and keeping the impeller wet so it does not dry out of the winter months. Thanks for the input Sethro. MB, you still helped me decide my direction so no problem.

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