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  Periodically Running Motor In Lieu of Winterizing

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Author Topic:   Periodically Running Motor In Lieu of Winterizing
TC posted 02-27-2011 03:37 PM ET (US)   Profile for TC   Send Email to TC  
I don't winterize my boat; I like the option of taking it out on a nice warm day. Here in Virginia, we will usually have at least one weekend a month that is [warm enough to go boating]. Unfortunately, my schedule usually doesn't line up with the warm days, so I run the boat on [a hose adaptor] while sitting on the trailer. I run it about 10 minutes at idle and make sure the water from the tell tale is warm but not too hot. The motor is a 1999 250 EFI Mercury. Is this a good interval or should I go longer or shorter and why?
contender posted 02-27-2011 05:33 PM ET (US)     Profile for contender  Send Email to contender     
I think you are just fine, you want the engine to heat up some, and get all the old gas out of the engine, 10 minutes is plenty. I would also check the forward and revers gears,(give it time to idle between gears changes prop will spine more out of the water) and test the trim, steering as well. I would also do is disconnect the battery if it is on the trailer when you are done. The only thing your engine is not really under a load starting it on the trailer but it better than not starting it at all. Take care
jimh posted 02-27-2011 10:21 PM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
If you are going to run the engine at all, it seems prudent to run the engine until it comes up to operating temperature, as you appear to be doing. You might want to keep a separate tank of fuel, perhaps just a three-gallon portable tank, and make a special fuel mixture in that tank which consists of extra oil and some fuel stabilizer.
osprey1 posted 02-28-2011 07:09 PM ET (US)     Profile for osprey1  Send Email to osprey1     
I was thinking about doing the same thing in Deleware. I have my Montauk on a lift and was thinking about not winterizing just go our and run the motor once every month and half. Will this plan work?
jimh posted 03-02-2011 08:16 AM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
The process of winterizing the motor is typically intended to accomplish:

--stabilizing of fuel for storage
--putting heavier than normal coating of oil on internal parts
--changing of certain components on annual replacement basis

If you periodically run the engine and allow it to reach normal operating temperature, the lubrication system of the engine should lubricate all the internal parts as it normally does. This should provide a coating of oil that will protect the parts until the next time the engine is run the following month.

You should treat the fuel with stabilizer. You should perform the normal annual maintenance.

TC posted 03-02-2011 02:45 PM ET (US)     Profile for TC  Send Email to TC     
Thank you for the replies, I will continue with my current procedure.
Tom W Clark posted 03-02-2011 03:07 PM ET (US)     Profile for Tom W Clark  Send Email to Tom W Clark     
The best thing you can do for an old two stroke outboard is run it. Like the rest of us, it will live longer and be healthier with a little exercise.

The [over] 20-year-old two-cycle outboards on my boat have never run so well as they have since I have been using my boat once a week, year round.

adlert posted 03-02-2011 03:33 PM ET (US)     Profile for adlert  Send Email to adlert     
I have always done what you are currently doing. It makes great sense for so many reasons, particularly for those of us in the middle climes. For me, the convenience of it all is right up there with having the boats ready to go at the drop of a hat. Currently we have 6 powered water craft. None of them have systems that draw battery current with the key switch off so I find no need to disconnect or remove batteries. I have "engine crank-up day" once ever month and a half or two if a boat hasn't been used. In very little time every boat needing it gets fired up and run for a few minutes, lubricating everything nicely.

I also always make a habit of flooding my engines to shut them down. All of mine operate on premixed fuel so this way as much fuel (and more importantly oil) gets left on the internal engine surfaces as possible. Often during engine crank-up day I'll run around and check/adjust tire pressures too. It's such a nice feeling knowing you're ready to go with any craft when the opportunity arises. Bundled up and went out the last 2 weekends.

bloller posted 03-02-2011 06:25 PM ET (US)     Profile for bloller  Send Email to bloller     
I live in Maryland and have not winterized my outboards ever. My motor would sit all winter for the first five years of boat ownership(98-03). All I ever did was change the gear oil. In 2003 my first outboard lost compression on its first trip out.

Since then I have always put the boat in the water and run it every three or four weeks year round. Much more often in warmer months.

This winter had been unusualy cold and I was not able to put the boat in the water from mid December to mid February. Mainly because the ramps were iced in or snow had been plowed in front of them. Usually most parts of the upper Chesapeake Bay are only iced in for a few weeks at a time. I did, though, run the outboard on the hose several times in between. I have yet to have a problem since.

jtms posted 03-03-2011 08:31 AM ET (US)     Profile for jtms  Send Email to jtms     
I have done what you are doing [i.e., keeping an outboard in periodic use over the winter,] for 10 years and never any [problems]. The only [concern] with this method is the handful of nights that it gets below freezing. I usually run down to my boat and lower the engine into the water to keep it from freezing, but I don't see anyone else at my marina doing this. Anyone else do this or am I being overly cautious?
Tohsgib posted 03-03-2011 10:39 AM ET (US)     Profile for Tohsgib  Send Email to Tohsgib     
We do the same thing in warmer climates when not using our boats so why not?

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