Help - High Altitude Impeller Questions

[USKBoater]

Hi. New to the forum and searched this topic a fair amount but couldn't find much information specific to my situation. Sorry if I missed it somewhere.

I have been looking to purchase my first Yamaha boat the last couple of months and finally found one we are interested in and are fairly deep into the process. Yesterday it came up that this boat has high altitude impellers whereas I am from Kansas and a fairly lower altitude. I have completely struck out finding OEM impellers through dealers for this boat (212X) as they are all showing as being back ordered indefinitely with no ship date. I was also told by a dealer that going aftermarket would likely void the warranty. So I'm in a bit of a situation.

So for my questions. What risks are involved with running the high altitude impellers at a lower altitude until I can somehow get some OEM replacements? I've read that cavitation could damage the impellers, but are there any other risks? If it's just a risk to the impellers it may be worth it as I'll replace them anyways. I'll probably only use the boat 1-2 more times this season to mainly test it and then it will be put away until May or June of next year. Trying to figure out what my best options are or if I just need to cut my losses and look for another one. Very interested in this one due to options and distance. Any help is greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post. Thanks.

 

[J-RAD]

I don't think there's any risk to running the "high altitude" impellers. The reality is they're most likely OEM impellers that have had the trailing edges pitched to allow then to reach higher RPM and performance lost at altitude. If they're safe to use at altitude, they're safe anywhere. I'm not sure what the performance impacts would be? Possibly a sluggish hole-shot or loss of top speed. Certainly not going to cause damage.

My advice, try it out. If you find it's lacking somewhere and would like to run a standard pitch, contact Impros. You can send them off when you're thru with your season and they can return them to factory specs.

Enjoy your new boat!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Hi. New to the forum and searched this topic a fair amount but couldn't find much information specific to my situation. Sorry if I missed it somewhere.

I have been looking to purchase my first Yamaha boat the last couple of months and finally found one we are interested in and are fairly deep into the process. Yesterday it came up that this boat has high altitude impellers whereas I am from Kansas and a fairly lower altitude. I have completely struck out finding OEM impellers through dealers for this boat (212X) as they are all showing as being back ordered indefinitely with no ship date. I was also told by a dealer that going aftermarket would likely void the warranty. So I'm in a bit of a situation.

So for my questions. What risks are involved with running the high altitude impellers at a lower altitude until I can somehow get some OEM replacements? I've read that cavitation could damage the impellers, but are there any other risks? If it's just a risk to the impellers it may be worth it as I'll replace them anyways. I'll probably only use the boat 1-2 more times this season to mainly test it and then it will be put away until May or June of next year. Trying to figure out what my best options are or if I just need to cut my losses and look for another one. Very interested in this one due to options and distance. Any help is greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post. Thanks.

So the first question I would ask is what altitude were the impellers pitched for? Are the high altitude impellers that are in the boat re pitched OEM impellers?

When the impellers are re pitched, they just pump less water than the original oem pitch at a given rpm. So in theory you could get some cavitation when taking off from a standstill or possibly applying full throttle from a cruising rpm. Once up to speed and running there shouldn’t be any cavitation at a given rpm setting as you would be running the same rpm as if it were at a higher altitude. Typically what one would expect from impellers with less pitch is stronger launching with a decrease in top speed not unlike using a lower gear in a car transmission.

There are dealers like the one in Loveland Colorado that offer their clients high altitude impellers from the showroom floor, it is as I understand it an exchange program. The dealer telling you that the warranty would be voided by going aftermarket is perhaps dubious, it is certainly not going to void the warranty on other un associated systems. I’m currently treating some aftermarket impellers with Skat Trak so far being the desirable one as there is a noticeable decrease in overall noise and they are smoother. I’ll be adding to a post that I started earlier this year when I’m done. I would call Yamaha Corporate and explain what you have going on and ask them what their opinion is. I would think that the oem warranty would not cover repairs that had to do with the impellers, wear rings etc if an aftermarket impeller were to fail and cause problems, but, assuming that the high altitude impellers are re pitched oem impellers, the warranty may already be an issue depending on who did the impeller work. Having said all of that, and after being on this site for over a year, I have only seen a post or two dealing with a failed impeller, and those were Solas impellers. During my research Skat Trak seems to be a company that stands behind their product and are American made. As @J-RAD said, call Impros and talk to Glen about aftermarket vs. oem impellers. It is possible that Glen may even have some oem impellers for you.

Impros - Impellers Repair and Parts (951) 737-2900

<div class="container"> <div class="inner-container"> <br/> {{block type="ultimo/product_list_featured" category_id="11110" product_count="16" show_items="5" is_responsive="1" is_random="0" block_name="Solas Products" hide_button="0" template="catalog/product/list_featured_slider.phtml"}}...

impros.com

Long story short, if you have found the boat for you and you are happy my advice would be to move forward with the purchase and take the boat out and use it as much as possible for what remains of your boating season. Changing the impellers is a pretty easy affair, there are several great threads on here, check the FAQ section, that will guide you on how to do it. I also recommend getting a service manual so that you know how to do other maintenance items or fix minor things yourself. You do not have to take your boat to the dealer for simple service items, just be sure you document that you bought parts like oil and filters, and document what you did. I checked with Yamaha corporate on this.

 

[USKBoater]

I don't think there's any risk to running the "high altitude" impellers. The reality is they're most likely OEM impellers that have had the trailing edges pitched to allow then to reach higher RPM and performance lost at altitude. If they're safe to use at altitude, they're safe anywhere. I'm not sure what the performance impacts would be? Possibly a sluggish hole-shot or loss of top speed. Certainly not going to cause damage.

My advice, try it out. If you find it's lacking somewhere and would like to run a standard pitch, contact Impros. You can send them off when you're thru with your season and they can return them to factory specs.

Enjoy your new boat!

So the first question I would ask is what altitude were the impellers pitched for? Are the high altitude impellers that are in the boat re pitched OEM impellers?

When the impellers are re pitched, they just pump less water than the original oem pitch at a given rpm. So in theory you could get some cavitation when taking off from a standstill or possibly applying full throttle from a cruising rpm. Once up to speed and running there shouldn’t be any cavitation at a given rpm setting as you would be running the same rpm as if it were at a higher altitude. Typically what one would expect from impellers with less pitch is stronger launching with a decrease in top speed not unlike using a lower gear in a car transmission.

There are dealers like the one in Loveland Colorado that offer their clients high altitude impellers from the showroom floor, it is as I understand it an exchange program. The dealer telling you that the warranty would be voided by going aftermarket is perhaps dubious, it is certainly not going to void the warranty on other un associated systems. I’m currently treating some aftermarket impellers with Skat Trak so far being the desirable one as there is a noticeable decrease in overall noise and they are smoother. I’ll be adding to a post that I started earlier this year when I’m done. I would call Yamaha Corporate and explain what you have going on and ask them what their opinion is. I would think that the oem warranty would not cover repairs that had to do with the impellers, wear rings etc if an aftermarket impeller were to fail and cause problems, but, assuming that the high altitude impellers are re pitched oem impellers, the warranty may already be an issue depending on who did the impeller work. Having said all of that, and after being on this site for over a year, I have only seen a post or two dealing with a failed impeller, and those were Solas impellers. During my research Skat Trak seems to be a company that stands behind their product and are American made. As @J-RAD said, call Impros and talk to Glen about aftermarket vs. oem impellers. It is possible that Glen may even have some oem impellers for you.

Impros - Impellers Repair and Parts (951) 737-2900

<div class="container"> <div class="inner-container"> <br/> {{block type="ultimo/product_list_featured" category_id="11110" product_count="16" show_items="5" is_responsive="1" is_random="0" block_name="Solas Products" hide_button="0" template="catalog/product/list_featured_slider.phtml"}}...

impros.com

Long story short, if you have found the boat for you and you are happy my advice would be to move forward with the purchase and take the boat out and use it as much as possible for what remains of your boating season. Changing the impellers is a pretty easy affair, there are several great threads on here, check the FAQ section, that will guide you on how to do it. I also recommend getting a service manual so that you know how to do other maintenance items or fix minor things yourself. You do not have to take your boat to the dealer for simple service items, just be sure you document that you bought parts like oil and filters, and document what you did. I checked with Yamaha corporate on this.

Sorry for the delay, been on the road traveling. Thank you to you both for your input. It was extremely helpful. Coincidentally, the person I’m buying the boat from purchased their boat new in Loveland and they’ve been the ones trying to help us figure this all out. I should have specified that when we were talking warranty, it was only in regards to things that could be affected by an impeller. Not the entire warranty. They’re going to try and get the impellers repitched back to OEM specs in very short order and are supposed to call me back today with a price. If all else fails, I will take your advice and use it the rest of the season and then send them off over the winter or go aftermarket. In this market, finding the right boat that isn’t 14hrs away has been challenging.

I called around to multiple dealers around the country and nobody had the OEM impellers. One in NY thought they might but never called me back. And I did call Impros in the very beginning after a dealer recommended them, but they never returned my call. Thankfully it’s seeming to work out but at least I have a backup. Again, appreciate the help.

 

[jacoviii]

look at this thread https://jetboaters.net/threads/impellers-other-than-factory-but-factory-pitch-which-to-buy.22509/
jcyamaharider is running the 6CW impellers on his 240 in central Missouri with good results. I too was going to use these.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Sorry for the delay, been on the road traveling. Thank you to you both for your input. It was extremely helpful. Coincidentally, the person I’m buying the boat from purchased their boat new in Loveland and they’ve been the ones trying to help us figure this all out. I should have specified that when we were talking warranty, it was only in regards to things that could be affected by an impeller. Not the entire warranty. They’re going to try and get the impellers repitched back to OEM specs in very short order and are supposed to call me back today with a price. If all else fails, I will take your advice and use it the rest of the season and then send them off over the winter or go aftermarket. In this market, finding the right boat that isn’t 14hrs away has been challenging.

I called around to multiple dealers around the country and nobody had the OEM impellers. One in NY thought they might but never called me back. And I did call Impros in the very beginning after a dealer recommended them, but they never returned my call. Thankfully it’s seeming to work out but at least I have a backup. Again, appreciate the help.

what was the final outcome?

 

[USKBoater]

what was the final outcome?

The dealership eventually pulled a new stock set off a boat they got in and installed on my boat. Then took my high altitude impellers and had them reworked to use in their core program. I paid for the labor and then to have mine restored to new. They repitch all the impellers on their new boats so it was just a matter of timing it right with all the back orders and delays.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The dealership eventually pulled a new stock set off a boat they got in and installed on my boat. Then took my high altitude impellers and had them reworked to use in their core program. I paid for the labor and then to have mine restored to new. They repitch all the impellers on their new boats so it was just a matter of timing it right with all the back orders and delays.

Thanks for the follow up! Hope it is running great!