Water pressure gauge?

[Long Mike]

I have a water pressure gauge on my lately purchased 1990 Bass Tracker that seems to be connected to nothing more than a small rubber hose, which is, in turn, connected to a white plastic "pitot tube" device at the stern.  Can anyone tell me what this instrument is/was used for?  It seems to be prety much useles to me, but then, I'm ignorant.

[burleytog]

Should be reading water pressure inside the cooling system.

[Long Mike]

Burley tell me more ... PLEASE.

[Jig Man]

If it is working it will probably show around 20# of pressure.

[burleytog]

Burley tell me more ... PLEASE.

That is pretty much all I can tell you.  My boat doesn't have a WP gauge (wish it did, on my To Do list).

[Long Mike]

OK, I guess I'm playing Twenty Questions.  I found a white tube that runs to the Pee Hole on the motor, but it doesn't directly connect with the pressure meter or the pitot tube.  What, if any, useful information does that gauge provide.  What do I do if the pressure reads 50 lbs or alternatively, if it reads 5 lbs.  Does any boater pay any attention to it at all?  If so, why or why not?

I know I'm being a pest, but please bear with me.  This is my first time on the water with a real boat and I am woefully ignorant.  I have no owners manuals.  I have no knowledge of outboard engines.  If any of you do not want to take the time to answer my questions, could you, at the very least, point me to a web site?

[burleytog]

I'm not an expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

As I understand it, the gauge tells you if you have enough water pressure in the cooling system.  You don't want it too high, nor too low.  If it is low, the engine isn't getting enough water.

What brand of motor is it, year of manufacture, etc?  I'll see if I can dig up some info (manual, etc) for you.

[DEISWERTH]

Hopefully Way2slow sees your post and responds to it, cause I'm sure he'll be able to help you out.

[Cajun1977]

a  waterpressure gauge  and a tachometer  are the most important gauges on your boat   burley  you need to fix yours  i wouldnt run mine without it.   you want water running thru and cooling everything, if not  you could burn up your impeller  and then that can lead to all kinds of problems  ,some with the powerhead i was told,  i beleive different motors will give different readings.    on my opti it reads  around 5  psi  when at  idle  and up to 20 psi when wot.       dont forget its a very important peice of the puzzle  you wanna see water peeing out the motor.

[burleytog]

Oh, I'm very anal about having water coming out of the pee hole.  Just no pressure gauge.  Like I said, it is on my list.  Very limited space on the dash for gauges, but I should have enough room for a tach and WP gauge.

[jdw174]

Since you don't have the owner's manual, check with your local dealer and find out what the recommended water pressure is for your specific motor at idle and full throttle.  If it's not giving you the proper readings, have the water pump and/or gauge checked out.  You need it!

[Al Wolbach]

Long Mike- Outboards have water cooling ports just like automobile engines. The impeller pumps water from the foot of the motor thru the powerhead or engine block just like the water pump of your car. The water pressure gauge is connected to the powerhead to indicate the pressure inside the powerhead, the lake is the radiator. It is not a closed system like on your car. On the outboards I have owned, after the engine is warm( thermostat is open) the gauge reads 0-5 psi at idle. At wot the gauge reads 15-25 psi. The gauge is not connected to the pee hole, it is connected to the engine block. It is normal for the pressure to be higher when you first start the outboard( cold engine ) and for it to drop when the engine warms( thermostat opens ). The pressure during the time is normally below 10 psi.

I'm not an outboard mech but I hope this helps. When Way2slow reads this post I feel sure he can explain in far more detail. Hope this helps...............Al

[Long Mike]

Great info! Thanks guys!  In the daylight I was able to trace the tube from the water pressure gauge back to the motor.  It Y's into a tube coming from the engine block and a tube leading to the Pee Hole.  Thanks to Al's explanation it now make perfect sense to me.  Also, thanks to Burley and Cajun1977, I now understand the importance of the meter.  I think I'll replace it and find another place to install my fuel gauge.

[Cajun1977]

gauges you wanna have are

1  water pressure

2  tachometer

3 tilt trim

4fuel gauge

5battery meter       nice  but optional           all others are must haves

you do not need a speedo  if you have to make room for one of these  take out the speedo

[cart7t]

Actually, a trim gauge is another I'd put in the useless category along with a speedometer.  Since you're driving a boat by feel and the tachometer,  I'm not sure what use the trim gauge is other than to tell you what trim angle the engines at for Those too lazy to turn around and look.  

[Long Mike]

Cajun, I have the following gauges:

1. Tach

2. Voltmeter

3. Fuel Gauge (installed today)

4. Water Pressure (replacement installed today)

5. Speedometer (pretty much useless because I'll use my GPS if I want speed)

As for tilt/trim, I'm too new as a boat owner to gain anything meaningful from its display.  At this point in my learning curve, all I am interested in is whether or not the motor is up or down.  As opportunity permits, I plan on experimenting with the tilt, so as to maximize fuel efficiency.

[burleytog]

Mike, tilt/trim is more about performance than fuel efficiency.

If you need tips on t&t, send Muddy a message.  

[Long Mike]

Burley, thanks for the suggestion to contact Muddy, but I prefer to drive my boat on plane.  I know that he has perfected the bow-high maneuver, but his hole shot sucks - and besides, I would much rather see where I am going.   ;D

As for the fuel economy issue, here is my theory.  Let's say I want to cruise at 30 mph. I will get the boat up to that speed using my GPS (I don't trust the 17 year-old speedo on the console) Then I plan on adjusting the trim and/or the throttle so that the tach shows the least RPMs for the speed I want to maintain.  Fewer RPMs at a given speed = Fuel Economy.