Merc flushing port use and Salt-Away question

[wingtime]

I have a two pronged question here.

First is my Mercury 200 has a flush port on it with a quick disconnect fitting.  I have heard a few different schools of thought on the proper use of this for flushing the motor.  Can you run the motor while using this port?  I'm a little squeamish to run it since I don't see much water coming out from the lower unit near the water pump.  What I do after using the boat in salt water is connect the hose to the flush port and let it run for a few minutes to flush the power head.  Then I switch to the "muffs" and run the motor which I feel is flushing the pump and allowing the thermostats to open up.  I'd like to hear any experience anyone has had with this set up.

The second question is about the use of Salt Away and similar products.  I have used the salt away in the spray bottle and it seems to work OK.  I see they sell a mixer unit that allows you to mix the product directly with garden hose allowing you to flush your motor, boat, trailer, etc.  Is anyone using this set up?  The Salt away is kinda spendy.  I also see Starbrite has a similar product called SaltOff that has PTFE in it.  Another old trick i heard about is to use just plain old vinegar.  Once again I'd like to know what experience anyone has had using these after boating in salt water.

[fitz73222]

Hey Wingtime,

Do not run the engine when using the flush port. It is only meant to be used while the engine is off. You can fry the waterpump if you do. I recommend running her on the ear muffs to flush her out. You hit the nail on the head about letting the thermostats open up which does not occur when using the flush port. I tried the salt away years ago and felt it wasnt worth the money. The water passages in my  4 Mercs having nothing more than the typical brown scale that occurs and no salt that I can tell. They have always been flushed after salt use with muffs without any issues.

[DOCREED]

I have a two pronged question here.

First is my Mercury 200 has a flush port on it with a quick disconnect fitting.  I have heard a few different schools of thought on the proper use of this for flushing the motor.  Can you run the motor while using this port?  I'm a little squeamish to run it since I don't see much water coming out from the lower unit near the water pump.  What I do after using the boat in salt water is connect the hose to the flush port and let it run for a few minutes to flush the power head.  Then I switch to the "muffs" and run the motor which I feel is flushing the pump and allowing the thermostats to open up.  I'd like to hear any experience anyone has had with this set up.

The second question is about the use of Salt Away and similar products.  I have used the salt away in the spray bottle and it seems to work OK.  I see they sell a mixer unit that allows you to mix the product directly with garden hose allowing you to flush your motor, boat, trailer, etc.  Is anyone using this set up?  The Salt away is kinda spendy.  I also see Starbrite has a similar product called SaltOff that has PTFE in it.  Another old trick i heard about is to use just plain old vinegar.  Once again I'd like to know what experience anyone has had using these after boating in salt water.

Now those are questions i forgot to remember.  Thanks for bringing them up wingtime.

[flounderpounder225]

Lots of opinions on this type of preventative, sort of like "which 2-stroke oil is best" and which fuel additive (if any) should I use?  For me personally, I used to use "Salt Away", and yes it is a little pricey, but I think it helps clean the cooling passages, the last time I made a purchase I bought the West Marine "Salt Off" "Bio-degradeable... nature friendly... you can drink it if your thirsty stuff".  I will be going back to Salt Away, this nature stuff, seems diluted, does not foam nearly as much as salt away.  A gallon of this stuff lasts a long time unless your running every day, and if you are running a lot, I would skip treatments once in a while and just flush with Fresh water.  And always on the muffs, my Yammi has the flush port also, I use it once in a while with the salt remover stuff, and also in the winter if its going to freeze outside, and I have been running the motor, I'll let it drain from that fitting, to make sure no water is remaining in the powerhead.
Marc

[John Jones]

I have posted this before but here goes.

I have done a bunch of testing over the years.  I'm sure you have noticed that no matter how much and how hard you rinse your boat and motor that after it dries there are still salt crystals everywhere.

ZEP Citrus Degreaser works as good as Salt Away and is only $11/gallon.  I have only been able to find it at Home Depot.  Vinegar works just as well but does not do the foaming and is much cheaper.  You just need something slightly acidic.  Get the salt away dispenser or something similar.  A hose end fertilizer dispenser works, especially the ones that you can screw a hose on the nozzle.



http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... ogId=10053

A couple of years of plain water flushing


A couple of years of Citrus Degreaser flushing


Here is an email I got from a chemist acquaintance.  It makes my head hurt to read it but it makes sense.

Salts dissolved in water dissociate (split) into metallic ions (sodium, potassium, etc.) that are positively charged and halide ions (mostly chloride) that are negatively charged. The negative ions cling very tightly to surfaces that have a net positive charge (most metals, plastics). These negative ions hang on to some of the positive ions (sodium, potassium) and so you get salt crystals.

Detergents don't have much effect because they tend to be electrochemically neutral. They don't affect the attraction caused by different electrical charges.

Cleaners that include a mild acid (e.g. citric acid) release a lot of hydroxyl ions (H+) into solution (that's what it means to be acid). The hydroxyl ions are FAR more reactive than the positive charges on the steel of your trailer or the plastic cowling on your outboard and will bind to the halide ions. So...the citric acid cleaners will likely remove the salt much more effectively than water alone.

[wingtime]

 What I do after using the boat in salt water is connect the hose to the flush port and let it run for a few minutes to flush the power head.

I should clarify that better.   I let the WATER run through the power head flush port.  I do not run the motor until I have the muffs on it.   I had heard about the citrus cleaner but I wasn't sure which brand you were using.

[RickK]

The second question is about the use of Salt Away and similar products.  I have used the salt away in the spray bottle and it seems to work OK.  I see they sell a mixer unit that allows you to mix the product directly with garden hose allowing you to flush your motor, boat, trailer, etc.  Is anyone using this set up?

I bought the kit that included the mixer a few years ago and since I still have the Salt away (about a half gallon) and use it after every outing (about a half-cup full) it is obvious that I don't go out often enough  

Seems to work for me - I put only half the cup in the mixer (directions say to fill the cup, spray the boat down (which I don't do) and use about half for the engine), hook it to the muffs, and when the blue is gone I'm done flushing - usually only a few minutes.

[flounderpounder225]

I have posted this before but here goes.

I have done a bunch of testing over the years.  I'm sure you have noticed that no matter how much and how hard you rinse your boat and motor that after it dries there are still salt crystals everywhere.

ZEP Citrus Degreaser works as good as Salt Away and is only $11/gallon.  I have only been able to find it at Home Depot.  Vinegar works just as well but does not do the foaming and is much cheaper.  You just need something slightly acidic.  Get the salt away dispenser or something similar.  A hose end fertilizer dispenser works, especially the ones that you can screw a hose on the nozzle.



http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... ogId=10053

A couple of years of plain water flushing


A couple of years of Citrus Degreaser flushing


Here is an email I got from a chemist acquaintance.  It makes my head hurt to read it but it makes sense.

Salts dissolved in water dissociate (split) into metallic ions (sodium, potassium, etc.) that are positively charged and halide ions (mostly chloride) that are negatively charged. The negative ions cling very tightly to surfaces that have a net positive charge (most metals, plastics). These negative ions hang on to some of the positive ions (sodium, potassium) and so you get salt crystals.

Detergents don't have much effect because they tend to be electrochemically neutral. They don't affect the attraction caused by different electrical charges.

Cleaners that include a mild acid (e.g. citric acid) release a lot of hydroxyl ions (H+) into solution (that's what it means to be acid). The hydroxyl ions are FAR more reactive than the positive charges on the steel of your trailer or the plastic cowling on your outboard and will bind to the halide ions. So...the citric acid cleaners will likely remove the salt much more effectively than water alone.

JJ
That's fairly impressive, I am going to probably pull my T-stats soon, so I'll see what it looks like, I'm not one to usually squawk at the price of some of this boating stuff, because I have seen some of the products really work well, and their worth it, but at a 1/4 of the cost and the results I see in that T-stat housing, how can one argue the point?? Thanks
Marc

[John Jones]

[John Jones]

A good test is to put 3/4 gallon of water in a pump type garden sprayer then top it off with a quart of Zep Citrus.  The next time you take your boat out wet the hull and spray one side with the Zep mix, then rinse the whole boat.  When it's dry rub your hand down the sides and feel the difference.

[gran398]

JJ I'm onboard. Thanks for the great tip

[jdupree]

Nice tip JJ   My Home Depot just went out of business here :cry:   Guess I will have to look elsewhere.

[seagate]

Homedepot.com

[icemanbryan]

I have a question,
Do you let this sit in the motor then flush it or just run it through?
Do you flush it with just water after used?

Thanks Bryan

I have a two pronged question here.

First is my Mercury 200 has a flush port on it with a quick disconnect fitting.  I have heard a few different schools of thought on the proper use of this for flushing the motor.  Can you run the motor while using this port?  I'm a little squeamish to run it since I don't see much water coming out from the lower unit near the water pump.  What I do after using the boat in salt water is connect the hose to the flush port and let it run for a few minutes to flush the power head.  Then I switch to the "muffs" and run the motor which I feel is flushing the pump and allowing the thermostats to open up.  I'd like to hear any experience anyone has had with this set up.

The second question is about the use of Salt Away and similar products.  I have used the salt away in the spray bottle and it seems to work OK.  I see they sell a mixer unit that allows you to mix the product directly with garden hose allowing you to flush your motor, boat, trailer, etc.  Is anyone using this set up?  The Salt away is kinda spendy.  I also see Starbrite has a similar product called SaltOff that has PTFE in it.  Another old trick i heard about is to use just plain old vinegar.  Once again I'd like to know what experience anyone has had using these after boating in salt water.

[wingtime]

I use the included hose attachment mixer that comes with the salt away. ( or salt terminator or whatever brand)  The mixer adds the salt away to the water as you flush out the motor.  Here is a link to the web site:  http://www.saltawayproducts.com/index.htm

I personally use salt terminator since it's cheaper and CRC usually has very good products.  I use it to flush my motor, and I also keep it on the hose and rinse the boat and trailer with it too.  I can tell you that on my black Mercury I used to have to wash it three or four times until there were no salt spots on it.  With the salt away I wash it once and all the salt spots are gone.