Replacing a prop for a three bladed one. ?
 

Went fishing last week and bent a blade on my small Mercury 4.5hp
motor ( 2 bladed prop)
Would this damage the motor if I would replace it with a three (3)
bladed prop ?
Would this affect the engine or performance ?

Thanks again

Replacing a prop for a three bladed one. ?
 

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:33:27 -0700, quizno mouse
wrote:

Went fishing last week and bent a blade on my small Mercury 4.5hp
motor ( 2 bladed prop)
Would this damage the motor if I would replace it with a three (3)
bladed prop ?
Would this affect the engine or performance ?

======================================

It depends.

A 3 bladed prop will deliver more thrust than a 2 but there's more to
it than that. The most important thing is correct pitch allowing the
engine to operate near its peak in the power/RPM curve. Otherwise you
risk lugging the engine.

Replacing a prop for a three bladed one. ?
 

All else being equal, it won't be quite as efficient, but will run
with less vibration. It'll cost more too. I'd stick with the two
blades.

Replacing a prop for a three bladed one. ?
 

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:33:27 -0700, quizno mouse
wrote:

Went fishing last week and bent a blade on my small Mercury 4.5hp
motor ( 2 bladed prop)
Would this damage the motor if I would replace it with a three (3)
bladed prop ?
Would this affect the engine or performance ?

A three blade prop will give you more bite for the same size and
pitch.

However, with an engine that small, I would stick with the two blade
as you might not have the horsepower to overcome the extra lift
provided by a three blade. An extra blade, it will affect the
engine's performance.