heater and thermostat

[wsdud]

has anyne have to change out there thermostat to get more heat from there heater

[Malibudoc]

has anyne have to change out there thermostat to get more heat from there heater

that is an interesting question. Our automobiles keep the temp at about 190 degrees and sources state that engines don't run as well at lower temperatures. Why do they keep boats at 160 degrees? After all, it is a car engine???!!!

[mrothwell]

has anyne have to change out there thermostat to get more heat from there heater

that is an interesting question. Our automobiles keep the temp at about 190 degrees and sources state that engines don't run as well at lower temperatures. Why do they keep boats at 160 degrees? After all, it is a car engine???!!!

I haven't done it to either of my Bu's, but my buddy changed the stat on his MC 190 every winter to keep it running at 180, then in summer would put the 160 back in. I gotta say, that the heater worked sooo much better with the 180 stat. Since cars run higher than that, I'm fairly confident that a 180 will not harm the engine.

[vette-ski]

Theoretically it should be fine and should give more heat. But there's a couple of things I'd think about first. I suspect the engine was optimally tuned to run at 160. I would think there would be more adverse affects running colder than normal vs. warmer, but it could be an issue. The other is the idea that the duty cycle for a marine engine is much more severe than in a car. Cooling may play a role in helping the engine survive longer. I'm not going to say that 180 will blow it up, but you don't drive your car all day wot. Oil viscosity was selected for 160 temps. If you want to run hotter, you should think about what is happening to the oil.

[VinRLX]

has anyne have to change out there thermostat to get more heat from there heater

You talking about at all speeds or just when you're idling?

[SAG JUNKY]

has anyne have to change out there thermostat to get more heat from there heater

You talking about at all speeds or just when you're idling?

Have you checked to see that you are getting good flow thru the heater?? It might be restricted to a degree at idle vs at higher rpm. I had the problem at idle and it was some sea weed .... However the higher temp thing as far as oil viscosity breakdown, the motors in our cars and trucks don't run hot enough to worry about it, let alone the 160 our boat motors run at....

[lake texoma]

What I heard is it was to keep the compartments cooler for the v-drives. Take it for what its worth.

[Chuck]

I asked our indmar mechanic whether a warmer thermostat could be used because of all the discussion on low heat - he said no, said the ECM was set up for the 160 and changing it out would cause some issues (can't say I totally understand that).

[vette-ski]

It's all about tuning like I mentioned above.

However the higher temp thing as far as oil viscosity breakdown, the motors in our cars and trucks don't run hot enough to worry about it, let alone the 160 our boat motors run at....

I think you missed my point on the oil. If your car is spec'd for 10W30, and you decide to up your thermostat in your car by 20 degrees, do you feel confident that 10W30 is good enough, or would you want something thicker in there. Indmar already specs a "heavy duty" oil for these engines due to the extreme duty cycle of a marine engine. All I'm saying is you should consider what oil you are running if you up your stat. Also, how often do you get in your car and pull wide open hole shots and run at rpms greater than 4k for hours on end throughout a day. You better have good oil in there. Higher temps will only make it worse. Also consider that oil temp and coolant temp are not the same thing. The oil will be a lot hotter than the coolant in a heavy use applications.

[M3Fan]

I'd have to suspect that it has to do with the engine being enclosed in a fiberglass shell as well. Don't want it to get too hot in there I'd imagine.

[mrothwell]

I asked our indmar mechanic whether a warmer thermostat could be used because of all the discussion on low heat - he said no, said the ECM was set up for the 160 and changing it out would cause some issues (can't say I totally understand that).

This may be true - the MC we changed out every year was a carb.

[68camaro69]

The ECM is set up to run at 160 if it will run hotter then it will go in to a code issue and then the check engine light will light up and will start to run ruff and not idle as good because it senses an over heating stutuation.

[tech360]

The ignition system should be optimized for running with a 160 degree thermostat. By changing to a higher temp thermostat you increase the engines likelyhood of pre-ignition. Automotive engines run at higher temperatures to improve fuel efficency. Running a cooler thermostat alows for a more dense air charge in the combustion chamber as well as increased ignition timing resulting in more power. I imagine Indmar runs a cooler thermostat to improve horsepower as well as reduce thermal loading on the engine.

Edited March 25, 2006 by tech360