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boatnut
06-04-2007, 12:00 PM
Hi guys, I want to run this by you and make sure I take advantage of your experience in case I am on the wrong path. (I did search the forum and found some related info.) I want to install a hose attachement in my raw water input so I can run the boat while the water pump is sucking water out of a 5 gal bucket (sitting in the engine compartment). The bucket will also have a hose feeding in water while the engine raw water pump sucks it out ( the hose supplying water is not hooked directly to the water pump). I have used this setup on other boats and it allows running the boat without any concern of putting the domestic water pressure on the pump input; you can see the water level in the bucket to ensure you have water available; and most important is that it allows me to put antifreeze in the bucket and run the engine with thermostats open until I see antifreeze coming out the exhaust. I don't have this antifreeze capability when I run the boat by putting the ear muffs on the drive. This method of putting antifreeze in the engine has worked for winterizing the boats at our winter temps (seldom under 20 Deg) and it is a lot easier than trying to drain the block and loosen hoses etc. when you have a BBC stuffed into a classic engine compartment.
In order to do this I plan to just install a couple of valves and a tee with a hose connection between the drive and the water pump input. The valves will allow selecting the hose input and blocking the path to the drive. I am assuming it will be ok to run the boat for short periods of time without water running through the drive pickup path. Will this work? Any comments? Thanks, Ed

MOP
06-04-2007, 12:14 PM
I has to be able to run long enough to have the Tsat open to cirulate through the block, one of the members posted a neat setup where it sucked the antifreeze from thre bucket when it came out the exhaust it was capured in a PVC Y pipe and back into the bucket that way it could run quite awhile. Though I am FWCed I am thinking about a similar setup, saves a lot of time ans bruises!

Phil

gcarter
06-04-2007, 01:39 PM
I've done that w/the engine on a stand, but not in the boat.....it seems it should be simple enough.
On another note, I had a friend use the raw water suction hose help empty an almost sinking boat. 35-40 GPM helps.

smoothie
06-04-2007, 02:00 PM
I would take a few extra minutes and take the thermostat out...then run the antifreeze thru...removes the "I wonder if factor" everything else sounds good!

BigGrizzly
06-04-2007, 06:42 PM
I am with smoothy.

Barry Eller
06-05-2007, 06:49 AM
Living in Florida, I don't have a winterizing problem...but I have seen this product for years in my Overtons Magazines. I wonder if it works, anyone tried this?
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Winter_Eze&cname=Winterizing-Products&r=view&i=26582&aID=24D
Looks simple enough. I think you fill the boot with antifreeze and run the engine.

BigGrizzly
06-05-2007, 08:47 AM
That product is messy. Put a T in the intake raw water line with a two way valve remove the T=Stat and stick it in a bucket. drain the block with the drains and crank the engine over, no need to run it. It will take about 2 gal of mix, maybe 3 with the exhaust included. this will be good to at least -12F.

mrfixxall
06-05-2007, 09:55 AM
You guys make it sound so hard:wink: i do many many many boats over the season,,i built me a 8'x6' x1' box that goes under the boat..first i warm the boat to operating temp,,then drain the water out of the block,risers,and coolers...then a have a 1600gph bilage pump in the pan with a set of ears hook to it..i set the pump in the big pan and add antifreeze, now the bilage will pump the antifreeze into the lower unit and thw big catch pan catches all the antifreeze coming out of the engine which the bilage pumps back in over and over etc..while thats going on i fogg...

boatnut
06-05-2007, 10:32 AM
On another note, I had a friend use the raw water suction hose help empty an almost sinking boat. 35-40 GPM helps.

Right on George, when I was a kid my dad saved our speedboat in SF bay by using the engine raw water pump to help handle a bad stuffing box leak. I just sold a 42' lobster yacht that had a huge 500hp diesel in it, I plumbed the capability to switch the raw water pickup from the thru hull to a bilge pickup screen into the boat when new ---- never needed it (which is the main reason to have a spare motor, you'll never need it).

boatnut
06-05-2007, 10:38 AM
Thanks for all the comments. I guess there is nothing tricky about plumbing in the tee/valves for this function --- does anyone know (haven't crawled into the boat yet this year) what the hose size is between the drive pickup and the raw water pump on a 1997 7.4L Bravo-1 (300hp) pkg?