Engine descaling / flushing

James Slatter · 06 August 2012, 21:02

Anyone got any advice on descaling and removing salt deposits from cooling system on evinrude 175 ? I appreciate that modern engines have multiple alloys and metals present in their make up and acidic cleaners could cause harm to some components. Is there something that can be used at the end of the season to give a cooling system a really good clean out without causing any damage.

Also with regards to the evinrude 175 flushing system does this flush all parts of the cooling system or just the power head and is it best to do it with the engine running or off.

spartacus · 06 August 2012, 22:33

This has been covered a few times before, not specifically for Evinrude 175, but other outboards and inboards. There are various products on the market including Salt Away, vineger dilluted in water, etc. I'm planning to use Star Brite Salt Off which can be diluted. Run the engine in a tank rather than muffs. I haven't tried it myself but I've used other Star Brite products and can't fault them. It's also biodegradable so no issues with water-courses when disposing of the water. The main thing is to get the engine up to temperature so the thermostat opens and cooling passages are coated, etc. I'm going to use this at the end of the season prior to winterising.

Star brite Salt Off Protector - 946ml - Only £17.95 - The Good Boat Chandlers

Boats&Outboards · 07 August 2012, 13:06

None of these products have ever really "taken off" mass market like they have in the USA for example. I've never really considered why ?

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007

jyasaki · 07 August 2012, 16:54

Can't really say they've taken off in the US either. They're certainly available, but the only people I know who use them are the ones awed by the marketing claims, and they don't use them for very long (at least as far as I know.)

jky

James Slatter · 10 August 2012, 22:04

Thanks for your advice and comments. Will have a go with salt away this winter and give the engine a real good flush in a barrel of fresh water at the end of the season

jyasaki · 11 August 2012, 06:20

As far as I know, most of the salt dissolving products are weak acids. Acid help the salt get back into solution. Cheap start would be a barrel of water and a couple of gallons of white vinegar,, and if that doesn't work, try the more expensive commercial offerings.

Least that's how I'd do it.

jky

clydeoutboards · 11 August 2012, 07:35

Hi

From what we have heard salt x/ salt away are great for reducing build up i.e. flushing out, but are useless if waterway is blocked or very nearly blocked. So as long as your expectations are a good preventative step and not a blockage remover then you will be v happy with the results.

Dave

Festinghouse · 11 August 2012, 09:12

a friend was having trouble with his yamaha 30, the tell tale was only dripping water out of it. it was suggested to him that the powerhead be taken off so it could all be cleaned out - costing £200/£300.
after searching ribnet and youtube etc for ideas, i decided to have a go at flushing it for him. we took the gearbox off, and pushed a rubber hose onto the water pipe in the leg. then using a drill powered pump we left it circulating fernox descaler around the engine from a large plastic tub for around an hour and a half.
the result? - it actually worked!
£17 fernox, £3 drill pump, £5 rubber pipe, a plastic tub and an old knackered cordless drill wired up to a car battery (so we didnt burn out a decent drill) and saved him a fortune!

steve66 · 22 August 2012, 15:55

As Festinghouse correctly states a rubber hose connected to the water inlet is a very efficient way af unblocking partially blocked waterways. I use starbrite salt away in my flushing tub and have found it works well on partial blockages. If you have a complete blockage, forget it. Strip and clean is the only way to unblock

IanH · 25 November 2012, 20:07

I'm getting a new Mercury 6hp in the new year. Most of my use of the boat will be when I am away for up to 2 weeks. However at the location, I do not have any access to fresh water suitable for flushing the engine, nor any container to fill and run it in.

I asked at the RNLI Station close by what advice they would give, hoping for them to say that I could use their 'car washing' hose

but was surprised when hey said that as it was a Mariner, flushing it through when I got home would suffice and if I had it annually serviced, which intend to do, just a couple of times a year would do.

Is this sound advice? I would like to think so.

steve66 · 25 November 2012, 20:17

Flushing it through a couple of times a year isnt sound advice, but if you flush it through comprehensively when you get back from your break you will be perfectly fine.

clydeoutboards · 26 November 2012, 22:10

the more often the better as it is a v dull job cleaning them out. oh and why are you not buying the tohatsu. same engine, same warranty but cheaper.

IanH · 27 November 2012, 07:47

I bought the Mariner because for the real world £25 extra it cost me I supported my local boat shop who gave me loads of their time in advice and I will more than make up the difference in good will in the future.
Based on online price of Tohatsu at £900.

Also, I just paid deposit to secure engine at this years price and offers which I was interested in. I have not fully committed to the exact make and model yet. But Tohatsu is not an option. If prices go up in Jan, the difference may well swing in favour of the Mariner that I have fixed the price of.

Price comparisons are never as simple as x is cheaper than y.

clydeoutboards · 27 November 2012, 08:21

Hi

Fair point about your local dealer but just so you know the tohatsu prices are not going up over the new year and if the same discount was applied to both engines there would also be more than £25.00 for 100% identical engine.

IanH · 27 November 2012, 09:26

After the monetary discount, I also got a Mariner freebie worth £50-80 (depending on where you buy) and a discount on another Mariner product worth £25 thrown in to the Mariner deal. Both of these sweeteners i would have been buying anyway. Add postage that I didn't have to pay as they were local and I'm happy with the deal.

Most importantly, as a British Leyland fan, the name is important

oops, not quite.

HughN · 27 November 2012, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanH

I asked at the RNLI Station close by...

If that is an RNLI station next to a certain fast-moving river, there are a couple of thousand tonnes of freshwater coming down the river on every tide.

IanH · 27 November 2012, 17:16

It might be.

I hadn't thought about it like that. I don't know, but doesn't all the salt water then come back in?

captnjack · 27 November 2012, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanH

It might be.

I hadn't thought about it like that. I don't know, but doesn't all the salt water then come back in?

The freshwater sits on top of the denser salt.

HughN · 27 November 2012, 19:00

The salt water is generally blue/green. The freshwater is generally brown.

The saltwater seems to go quite a way up every tide.

The freshwater will flush away the salt but fill the engine with silt instead! ;-)

The marina always offers me the use of a hose as a matter if course.

IanH · 27 November 2012, 20:44

I would be launching from the slip by RNLI.

The only reason I use the Marina at moment is Thursdays curry special and I don't think they would believe me if I said I wanted to use the hose to flush that down