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How do I run my engine while not on a lake


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So I know to get a bucket and fill it with water and to have a hose running to keep the bucket full. My question though, and I've searched for a description or picture, is where to I drop a hose from the boat to the bucket? I assume to the water pump, but can't find a good discussion.

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The guy at the bottom of this thread is using a bucket. I just don't know where the hose comes from. Also, if you watch the how-to video on this site for winterization, the guy is sucking antifreeze into his engine from a bucket. Again, I don't know where the hose comes from. The thread says "drop the hose from the water pump".

In theory I don't know why this wouldn't work?

http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=38251

The Indmar instructions say if using a hose and adapter avoid overcooling the engine at low RPM (presumably be forcing cold water through faster then the engine wants it). Using a bucket would seem to allow the engine to take what it needs.

Edited by gobble
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The guy at the bottom of this thread is using a bucket. I just don't know where the hose comes from. Also, if you watch the how-to video on this site for winterization, the guy is sucking antifreeze into his engine from a bucket. Again, I don't know where the hose comes from.

In theory I don't know why this wouldn't work?

http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/showthread.php?t=38251

The Indmar instructions say if using a hose and adapter avoid overcooling the engine at low RPM (presumably be forcing cold water through faster then the engine wants it). Using a bucket would seem to allow the engine to take what it needs.

I'd sure be curious to see how they are attaching that hose to the boat unless they have a flush system. Looks like they have the bucket sitting inside the boat, so maybe they pulled the line that connects to the strainer/water inlet. Also not sure why over cooling the engine would be an issue unless you were actually trying to tune something on the hose.

Edited by oldjeep
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I don't use a bucket or fake-a-lake to run mine in the driveway.

Equipment needed:

1) Flat head screw driver

2) Water hose

3) Extra person is helpful but can be done with one person

Steps:

1) Loosen clamp on raw water intake on bottom of hull with a flat head screw driver

2) Run water hose up hose until it can't be pushed in anymore, then pull it out about 1"

On Vdrives, this hose is long, on d-drives it is short and needs to be pulled to where the hose end is facing up towards the sky as much as possible

3) Turn on water hose (around 1/3 of way to fully on - once doing it a couple times you will get a feel of how high of a flow is needed)

4) Crank boat

5) Monitor water to make a little is coming out of the hose end so that there is plenty getting to the impeller, if nothing is coming out of the hose then turn up the faucet more (this is why on a direct drive you want the hose facing up acting like a cup)

6) Let boat run

7) If you are going to run the idle up, make sure the knob is pulled out into neutral, and also turn the water up more at the faucet before reeving up the motor to make sure plenty of water is getting to the impeller

  • Like 1
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Some things to consider:

1. On the lake, your boat is putting downward pressure on the water below it. So, that water is trying to force itself into your raw water intake. If you are pulling from a bucket, you are PULLING, no pressure pushing. You risk starving your pump of water and wrecking the impeller, maybe even overheating the engine. In Levi's post, with the bucket, that is for winterization. He is lifting the bucket up in the air above the engine, then running the engine until all of the antifreeze is gone, I think he does 5 gallons. I've never done it, but I think it takes a matter of seconds for it to empty.

2. It's easy with direct drives like your boat to just hook it up to a garden hose. There is a hose going from the water intake to the raw water pump. Disconnect the hose at the water intake, leaving it connected to the pump. Shove a garden hose up inside that hose that you disconnected a few inches. Turn on water. Excess water will pour out and into your bilge until you start the engine. You will likely find that once you start your engine it will use every drop of water that your household tap can supply - at idle. Revving the engine will starve it of water.

3. Lot's of people use the fake-a-lake (FAL) plunger. If you go that route, be careful when getting on and off the trailer, because if you bounce it around too much the FAL can fall off. Similar to above, you will find that your engine will take all of the water that comes thru the FAL, so don't rev it.

  • Like 2
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3. Lot's of people use the fake-a-lake (FAL) plunger. If you go that route, be careful when getting on and off the trailer, because if you bounce it around too much the FAL can fall off. Similar to above, you will find that your engine will take all of the water that comes thru the FAL, so don't rev it.

Good point - always have a helper watching the fake a lake for you.

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Sorry, my first year with a boat.

Actually my apologies. I wasn't directing it at you, but a thread like this starts a long debate about winterizing; using the bucket, whether or not antifreeze is necessary above and beyond just draining all water. It's funny because it happens every fall. Yours is a legitimate question!

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I won't ask about antifreeze. I've seen some of the threads. My Indmar book is silent on it but my dealer says they use it. It's seems to have been covered many many times so I'll just read and decide.

The hardest part of winterization will be finding all the parts they say to drain. There aren't pictures in the book to help find things like the "seawater section of the cooling system". Once the first year is done it should be easy.

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When I did my first winterization I took a pic of each side and the front of the engine. I then photoshopped in a red circle around each point that I disconnected and drained. I then posted those on here for review by the crew, asking "Are these the right spots to drain? Am I missing anything?". I saved those pics so I could show the kids/wife/next owner of the boat.

Not sure what exhaust you have, but mine has a drain in that too, that I discovered when poking around for another purpose after a couple of years. No damage done, but it surprised me.

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How I do it, Large bucket/ horse trough under exhaust at the back of the boat, fill bucket with A/F (12 L), drop sub pump into bucket c/w hose to Flush valve on raw water intake, remove T/Stat, start motor and cycle for about 15 mins to ensure A/F is in every nook and cranny, run shower, heater and shut it down. Then drain everything via drain ports and disconnect hoses to drain.

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I like that better than fake a lake. Where does the black hose connect to though?

Follow your raw water intake hose from the thru hull to where it connects to your V drive unit. That is where you need to feed the water.

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With your boat, and the easy access to the inlet of the impellar housing, it is not hard to rig a device to hook your hose up to the impeller itself. I did this with my boat.

Basically, go to your hardware store and buy a female hose end adapter. Then buy a couple feet of 1-1/2" (I think, maybe 1-1/4") hose. Then buy the stuff to connect them together. I put a ball valve in mine, so I could turn the hose on before I got the device hooked to my impeller. Cost about $20.

Then, turn hose on, hook device to inlet of impeller, start engine, then turn ball valve. A big advantage to this if you use clear hose is that you can see the water running into your engine. And you don't have to fret about the fak-a-lake falling off the hull and starving the impeller for water.

I suppose this could also be used to suck anti freeze into the engine from a bucket, but I never had to winterize.

post-58-0-27441500-1410463871_thumb.jpg

Edited by RTS
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