Is it possible to bucket flush engines when no hose spout present?

[Christopher M VIllier]

There is no hose spout provided at the boat storage I have and it is hard to face driving the distance to get to my house from storage to flush engine. Is it possible to use a 5-Gallon bucket to runs some water to flush? Can you just gravity feed the water or would you NEED a 12-volt pump?

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[djetok]

I would think 5 gallons would not last long at all, if you could get it in the motor fast enough. I have read that sometimes feel their hose does not supply enough psi.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I don't think there is any vacuum pressure in the fresh water cooling system to really draw any water through the engine so if there is no pressure behind the water other than gravity, I'm not sure much will make it's way through the engine and exhaust system. I believe the bulk of the water will just pour out of the normal fresh cooling water intake. I have in previous years ran RV Antifreeze through the engine this way when winterizing for piece of mind by using a funnel on a piece of garden hose. I am very careful not to run the engine very long.

 

[njmr2fan]

I have pretty good pressure, and I've noticed that sometime I get nothing through the pee holes. It only spills out the lower pump. My water fills at about 6 gallons a minute as well.

 

[haknslash]

There is no hose spout provided at the boat storage I have and it is hard to face driving the distance to get to my house from storage to flush engine. Is it possible to use a 5-Gallon bucket to runs some water to flush? Can you just gravity feed the water or would you NEED a 12-volt pump?

Any ideas or suggestions?

In short, no. You'll need to use a hose.

 

[Ilmmct]

I have my dock feed by a low yielding well that produces only about 2.5 gallons of water per minute (PSI of 38). Just some data points, if you find a method to store the required volume of water (10-12 gallon fuel caddy, 2-minute flush per engine ...) and can pump it at the appropriate GPM/PSI to insure enough cooling water is getting circulated.

 

[Julian]

Most salt water boaters I know want to flush their boats for like 5 minutes. I dont think 5 gallons would last 1 min.

 

[Christopher M VIllier]

Not in salt water, fresh water only. Just piece if mind to run some clean water through to remove any stuff left behind from lake water

 

[swatski]

I think Yamaha just started offering a new engine flush kits, check it out!
They call it "FlushBooster" (not to be confused with WakeBooster).


Also available as a package for twins:

--

 

[0627Devildog]

Do you have electricity there? You could use a sump pump and a 5 Gallon bucket with water.

 

[Jgorm]

Why bother flushing? I don't flush in fresh water. Gets flushed all day!

 

[njmr2fan]

I flush after being out on the fresh water lake... weird right?

 

[swatski]

I flush after being out on the fresh water lake... weird right?

No. I do, too. But it depends on water - in the river.
If water level is high due to lots of rain, water is usually "soft" with little or no scum staining the hull - I generally do not bother flushing. However, at times when water levels are low and I see a ton of mineral deposits I like to pull the boat out of the slip/lift and run a good flash of the engines and pumps with SaltAway every couple of weeks at least.

--

 

[vanmurray]

We boat in freshwater mostly but occassional long weekends/week at coast or now Bimini. When I get back from salt, I just drop it in the lake on the way home.

 

[Christopher M VIllier]

Think i will just pick up a 12 volt bilge and bucket

 

[Ilmmct]

@Christopher M VIllier if you only in fresh water, not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Remember in order to flush the engine you need enough water pressure to overcome the exhaust gas pressure being put in the entire cooling system as both are interconnected .
If you are in silt laden water yes you should flush it. but best to avoid that water totally, I have seen Yamaha engine blocks full of sand and dirt where the water can not cool the engine evenly or sufficiently.
If I see really dark silt content , like in a pass with strong currents I avoid it if possible as you are sucking sand and other debris into your water passages where it settles , that is true for most boats that use exterior water for cooling even 4 tec uses exterior water for the exhaust cooling.
In clean water I really doubt you need to rinse each time if at all.
The engine running a short time with no water hooked up will push out a lot of the water in the water box and it will clear out the engine also.
Needing to flush out the salt water is to prevent leaving salt in the engine and muffler etc. to keep it from causing corrosion.

 

[Christopher M VIllier]

This is what I saw and was curious if it would work... Look at the 55 second mark

 

[haknslash]

Not sure if 5 gallons would be enough to hydro lock but the manual specifically states not to run water (or coolant in that videos case) unless the engine is running first. I probably run way more than 5 gallons when flushing with salt away on the hose at 65-70 psi.

Correct flushing procedure: engine ON, water ON. To stop flushing you do the opposite: water OFF, engine OFF

 

[Christopher M VIllier]

Engine would be running...