Running OB's in tanks
 

On Feb 10, 1:43*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. *I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. *Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. *I have even shifted it into gears, just
not hit the gas. *Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

I've done it with my old 25HP and yes I was able to tune the engine in
the barrel and have it run the same in the water. You need to be able
to set the idle with the motor in gear with the prop on to get
accurate results. I wish I could do this with my 225HP but I don't
think that I could find a big enough barrell.

Running OB's in tanks
 

On 2/10/10 1:43 PM, Steve B wrote:
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears, just
not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve




My father had a welded steel outdoor tank for testing. It would hold
three large outboards side by side and was equipped with a lifting
crane. It was fine for many adjustments. My dealer has a drive in test
tank in which his mechanics test outboards on boats on trailers.

A 55-gallon plastic barrel for testing a 40-hp outboard
sounds...dangerous. Why not do your rough low speed testing with the
motor on the boat and the motor hooked up to the proper set of muffs?

Running OB's in tanks
 

"Steve B" wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...ard-motor.html

JT

Running OB's in tanks
 

Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears, just
not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Running OB's in tanks
 

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:43:59 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears, just
not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve


I've run my Yamaha 150 in one of the large tupperware tubs, with the
water a little higher than the intakes. Works fine, although I did
take my prop off first.

No, it's not the same as doing it in the lake, 'cause your house water
is probably a bit cleaner!
--

John H

Running OB's in tanks
 

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:33 -0800, "JT"
wrote:


"Steve B" wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...ard-motor.html

JT

For some reason, I couldn't get the muffs to work on my Yamaha. They
were the most expensive sold by West Marine, and they seemed to fit
fairly well, but even after about ten seconds of running, no water
came out the telltale. That's why I got out the tub.
--

John H

Running OB's in tanks
 

On 2/10/10 1:49 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:33 -0800, "JT"
wrote:


"Steve wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...ard-motor.html

JT

For some reason, I couldn't get the muffs to work on my Yamaha. They
were the most expensive sold by West Marine, and they seemed to fit
fairly well, but even after about ten seconds of running, no water
came out the telltale. That's why I got out the tub.



What? You didn't squirt in a container of WD-40 first? :)

You're supposed to put the muffs over the outboard's water inlets on the
lower unit, moron, not over your ears.

Running OB's in tanks
 

On Feb 10, 1:49*pm, John H wrote:
On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:33 -0800, "JT"





wrote:

"Steve B" wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. *I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. *Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. *I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. *Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...outboard-motor....

JT

For some reason, I couldn't get the muffs to work on my Yamaha. They
were the most expensive sold by West Marine, and they seemed to fit
fairly well, but even after about ten seconds of running, no water
came out the telltale. That's why I got out the tub.
--

John H- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That's a problem I have heard from other Yamaha owners, they just
don't cool right on muffs.

To tune a 2-stroke in a tub you need to put the prop on AND put the
motor in gear. You need to duplicate the exhaust back pressure and the
oad that the motor will see in the water as 2-strokes are very
sensitive to both at idle.

Running OB's in tanks
 

In article ,
says...

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:33 -0800, "JT"
wrote:


"Steve B" wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...ard-motor.html

JT

For some reason, I couldn't get the muffs to work on my Yamaha. They
were the most expensive sold by West Marine, and they seemed to fit
fairly well, but even after about ten seconds of running, no water
came out the telltale. That's why I got out the tub.

I don't know about your area but we have a "Barrels, Boxes, and More"
where I can pick up a 55 gallon plastic barrel for about 40 bucks. Cut
it down a bit and I am sure you could fit most OB legs and props in
there.

Scotty

Running OB's in tanks
 

On Feb 10, 2:17*pm, stp wrote:
On Feb 10, 1:49*pm, John H wrote:



On Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:33 -0800, "JT"

wrote:

"Steve B" wrote in message
...
Every once in a while, I want to run my 40 Merc OB to test it and look for
leaks, adjust carbs, etc, without taking it to the lake and doing it
dockside or bouncing around out there, and perhaps getting towed in.

I have a 55 gallon plastic barrel with the top out. *I can fill it to the
water mark on the engine, the same as if it were in the lake. *Is this an
advisable way to work on an engine. *I have even shifted it into gears,
just not hit the gas. *Duh .......

Is it the same as doing it at the lake?

Steve

Yes, I have ran many motors this way, it's not an issue.

You could possibly also run it with the following:
http://www.splashvision.com/Video/17...outboard-motor.....

JT

For some reason, I couldn't get the muffs to work on my Yamaha. They
were the most expensive sold by West Marine, and they seemed to fit
fairly well, but even after about ten seconds of running, no water
came out the telltale. That's why I got out the tub.
--

John H- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That's a problem I have heard from other Yamaha owners, they just
don't cool right on muffs.

To tune a 2-stroke in a tub you need to put the prop on AND put the
motor in gear. You need to duplicate the exhaust back pressure and the
oad that the motor will see in the water as 2-strokes are very
sensitive to both at idle.

I'm not qualified to tune up my Yamaha. I just wanted to flush and
winterize the engine. The dealer says it's OK to run it at idle using
the flushing attachment, but the book says otherwise. I think some of
these dealers aren't quite as careful as they ought to be.