Need Help

[Ghostshad]

I've had back surgery & i'm really not up to putting my boat on the water, my question is will running my boat at home help ? If so how do You suggest i do it .  GodBless & Thanks a Million. 

[slonezp]

Have it winterized, charge the batteries and disconnect them, and heal up

[Robeng]

Agreed.  do as above and Wait till spring.  Heal properly.

Best wishes.

[Way2slow]

If properly prepared, they can sit for a long time. 

I've got motors I may not run for several years that I have no problems dragging out,  throwing on a boat and run them.  For instance, my 4hp Merc has not been run in six years, but I have faith in it running when I want to use it.  My 25hp Merc hasn't been run it three years because I mainly use my 9.9 on my 14ft jon but it's never failed to go when needed.  Naturally I throw them in the tank and check them out before I go to river/lake with them, but it's rare I have a problem. 

Now, my 225 Ficht, I run it every couple of months for about 15 minutes in the tank but  I don't winterize it and it's stored outdoors under a boat cover.  The reason for this is, the injectors in the early ficht's are very problematic and don't deal with aged gas very well at all.   They will melt  a piston it a heartbeat with stale gas.  So, if my boat is going to sit more than a few weeks, I pump all the gas out of the tank and use a gallon jug at the primer bulb with fresh gas and a double dose of SeaFoam to run it every couple of months to keep my injectors happy.  Been doing that for nine years and have never had a problem with it. 

So, if you can completely drain a purge your fuel system, they do fine not being run.  If you can't completely purge your fuel system, make sure it's stored with one ounce of SeaFoam per gallon and it's been run with that so it's in the fuel system and not just the tank and it should do fine for at least six months.  SeaFoam and the military claim a year, but I've never like doing that to my outboards.

Now,  the draining a purging the fuel system is a double edge sword, especially with older motors that have not had the fuel system redone, carbs, fuel pump, fuel lines, gaskets etc, with materials compatible with this junk we have for methanol gasoline now.   Cork floats fall apart, rubber gaskets and hoses dry, become brittle and crack/break etc.  A lot of materials in older motors, even metal parts don't deal with alcohol very well so if you let them dry out, bad things happen.   

[Ghostshad]

 Way2Slow You told me about SeaFoam before when i got my boat out of the shop last spring they added stuff to the gas to clean the motor & fuel system , i think it was Mercury Something & i added the sea foam so both are in the gas & the whole system.. Ive been talking to You about how hard my boat is to start , Johnson 225 HO ,what You told me to try didn't work , Trim the motor level is the best i can do if that matters. I'm gonna drag it to a Marine dealer & have them try to start it, cranking on it gets old i've been running it at home about a week, same thing everyday.  GodBless & Thanks

[YUT18]

On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 8:22 AM, Ghostshad said:

I've had back surgery & i'm really not up to putting my boat on the water, my question is will running my boat at home help ? If so how do You suggest i do it .  GodBless & Thanks a Million. 

If you can get someone to help you out I would suggest winterizing your engine by doing the following

1.  Lower the engine to ensure no water remains in the foot.

2.  Spray fogging oil into each cylinder.

3.  Put Sta-bil or Seafoam in the tank.

4.  Get a battery tender on the batteries.

5.  Put under a cover to prevent damage to carpet, seats, etc.

6.  Recover and get back on the water soon.