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Correct way to flush?

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crabbie73

New member
I have a 130c/270. A previous owner installed a hose hookup with valves to be able to flush the engines. The hookup splits so you can send the water to the strainer and engine or directly to the leg.

When I am running the engine out of the water (not to flush but to work on it) do I have to run water through the engine or only to the leg?

And could it cause problems if I run it from my hose instead of a bucket?

Thanks
 
You absolutely want to run water thru the engine when it's running. If not, it will overheat not to mention that you will very quickly ruin the water pump impeller.

As for hose or bucket, I use the hose all the time on my 130C without any problems. Don't use high water pressure though...you just want to use enough hose pressure to keep the engine at normal temperature once it warms up.
 
If your boat is out of the water, why not simply use the garden hose and appropriate flushing muffs?
Plug the drain hole in the drive!

This way you are not circumventing any portion of your sea water intake path.
Water Neck fittings are prone to causing suction leaks.
Loose suction hoses are another issue.
The so called "flushing system" itself is a potential for a suction leak!

Run the muffs/garden hose, and all should be OK providing that all else is.

Consider removing that flushing system.
With an inexperienced owner, these flushing systems can be misunderstood, IMO.
Unless you wish to flush while moored, and if you FULLY understand how your cooling system and exhaust works, I'd not suggest using this!

.
 
RicardoMarine said:
If your boat is out of the water, why not simply use the garden hose and appropriate flushing muffs?
Plug the drain hole in the drive!
Click to expand...

I've never been able to find flushing muffs that work well with my 270 leg otherwise I probably would use this method. Any specific recommendations?
 
RicardoMarine said:
With an inexperienced owner, these flushing systems can be misunderstood, IMO.
Unless you wish to flush while moored, and if you FULLY understand how your cooling system and exhaust works, I'd not suggest using this!

.
Click to expand...

I am definitely an inexperienced owner. So I put the muffs on the 270, turn the hose on and should be good to go. I will do that from now on. I do moor in salt water so the flush from a bucket might be a good idea, but I will read more about it first.

Thanks
 
I'm not a big fan of thru the leg water pickups in general and have converted all of my several Volvos to thru the hull pickips with strainers. My latest incarnation uses an external scoop/strainer. I use the bucket flush/winterise method.

Inside...
http://home.comcast.net/~rfierro/pwpimages/ThruHull_rawwaterinlet_internal_2266.JPG


Outside...
http://home.comcast.net/~rfierro/pwpimages/Thru_Hull_WaterInlet_2257.JPG

It should be noted that while not obvious in the photo that the scoop is "toed-in" a bit to more closely conform with the back and upwards(from the bottom) water flow on a "V" hull. Also not seen in the photo is the ground bonding lead for the scoop.
 
crabbie73 said:
I am definitely an inexperienced owner. So I put the muffs on the 270, turn the hose on and should be good to go. I will do that from now on. I do moor in salt water so the flush from a bucket might be a good idea, but I will read more about it first.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I'd not simply hook it up and assume all is good.

The Sea Water UP and Through the drive works extremely well if we keep up on the maintenance.
This includes the water neck fitting, lower Pivot Tube O-ring, suction hoses, etc.
One tiny suction leak, and the pump will not Pull Water!!!!!
Better to find this out while on the hard, than to learn of it while out on the water. This is the advantage of using the muffs, IMO!

Merc, OMC and Volvo Penta Engineers thought was a good idea to bring water up from the lower drive unit!
Water being used from beneath the surface often prevents floating debris from being pulled in.
Merc and OMC also cooled their upper units via this method.
 
It depends on where you float your boat... hull mounted scoops keep floating plastic bags from hanging on the drive and cutting water flow as well as keeping sand/mud/small shells and dirt from trashing your impeller during those close encounters of the bottom kind. Personally I think the preponderence of thru the drive inlets is driven by making it easier and cheaper for a boat manufacturer to install the engine/drive combo and in the case of early Mercs, that cooling water flow is critical to the health and well being of the drive itself.
 
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