Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Starting Crusaders Dry? Ouch?

N

nightstalker

Regular Contributor
I'm at the marina today sprucing up the craft for launch when I hear the vessel next to me crank the engines once or twice for a split second. I asked the owner why he did that and he said that he was checking the charge on the batteries. He said a split second turn on the starter won't hurt the cooling system. Is he correct? I know you could burn one out in 10 seconds.
Nightstalker
 
I bump my engines over every week all winter long. I just don't like the hardware sitting in the same spot for extended periods. I'd never run them for any length of time though. You're right, it doesn't take long to turn a dry impeller to dust. Having said that, I have seen some use green coolant to winterize their engines (big no no) so the impellers are pretty lubricated and can probably run for a little while. Why not just wait until it's in the water?
 
I bump the starters on mine for at least that long EVERY time I restart them after sitting a week (which is common for us). Why? To make sure water didn't get into a cylinder from the exhaust. My flappers weren't sealing off the pipes well enough last year and cups of water blew into one of the motors. Had I "crash started" it (as EFI does ever time) it would have wrecked the motor.

Jeff

PS: This is a gpracticetise to get into for anyone with an inboard.
 
nightstalker said:
......... He said a split second turn on the starter won't hurt the cooling system. Is he correct? I know you could burn one out in 10 seconds.
Click to expand...
Question: Unless he shut off his seacocks, and removed the sea water pump covers as to drain them, the impellers would be wet.... Yes/No?
But on that note..... I'd agree, even while turning the impellers for several seconds, it's certainly not a deal breaker.
They'll be turning dry for a few seconds anyway after a new impeller has been installed.
If concerned, use glycerin on the impeller and in the pump body.

Suggestion for any of us who can do this;
Each winter I remove my impellers and plastic bag and shelf them.
They're good for another season if I do this.

I then dry start my engines for the same reason that Jeff is doing this, but I have eliminated any incoming sea water by having the impellers removed.
A quick dry start does not hurt one thing, yet blows my exhaust free of any water.
At the same time, I do my engine fogging. Takes 8-10 seconds to properly fog a SBC.
Been doing this for years, and with no ill results.

.
 
I don't understand the reason he gave for cranking the engines for a few seconds...."he said that he was checking the charge on the batteries." How would he determine the charge on the batteries this way? Wouldn't a VOM make more sense?

Erich
 
erich said:
I don't understand the reason he gave for cranking the engines for a few seconds...."he said that he was checking the charge on the batteries." How would he determine the charge on the batteries this way? Wouldn't a VOM make more sense?
Click to expand...
Erich, he may be wanting to load the batteries, followed by charing and eventual voltage reading. Not sure!
Voltage readings are more valuable after a full charge, and after the battery has been at rest for a pre-determined duration.
Otherwise, we read the surface charge only.... which can be misleading.
But it can be a valuable reading if you know what to look for.

.
 
Last edited:
Poor man's load test...if he's happy with how fast the engine turns over, he'll pronounce the batteries 'charged' and go on to the next task.

If he kept them charged over the winter, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Cranking the engine won't hurt the impellers....that said, it's a different story if the engine fires up.
 
Thank you Rick and Mark for that explanation. I use a battery tester that puts a good load (a heat coil of some sort) on them to check the condition of my batteries but I can see how that Poor man's load test MAY be an indicator of a charged enough battery to at least start the engine.

Erich
 
A much better way to check a battery is with a hydrometer. I had a "mysterious" battery problem last year: a pair of batteries on one circuit that kept going flat on me. Turned out that one of them had a bad cell, which I determined SOLELY by use of the hydrometer. This device requires a battery that has removable caps (the only kind to buy since it allows water replenishment). It's now one of my favorite tools!

Jeff
 
Hydrometers will only work with a flooded cell battery, none of the newer types (usually "sealed" through various mechanisms). The only other shortcoming it has is that it won't verify the integrity of the internal current conducting conductor. A load tester will work with any battery chemistry and also verifies the performance of the battery in question.
 
When I lived in Vermont, I would do that just to see if I could get to work the next day while it was -40F below zero despite 5w - 20 oil. If it labored, I was in trouble
 
Back
Top