Thread: Freezing weather and the outboard

And possibly score the impellor to boot, not a big fan of dry turnovers regardless of how little you crank it, just my opinion and experience. Check / change lower unit lube, purge bilge, livewell / pumps / hoses of water, if any doubt or low spots in hoses fill with biodegradable antifreeze. Keep batteries temp controlled if possible or bare minimum frequently charged. Stabilize fuel before final trip and most important,,,,,,go fishing in the winter keep everything in tip top shape.

I dont bother cranking my motor over after I fish, becaue my boat sits in my garage. but I don't think a couple of cranks will hurt anything if you do it immiatly after you pull your boat out. it won't hurt the impeller because there is already water in there that you are trying to get rid of. I'd think that would cause much less damage than if you let that water freeze, then on the next trip out when you crank her over and that frozen impeller has to tear loose. I don't ever crank a dry motor over though. that will hurt things.
I just make sure to raise and lower the motor a couple of times and pull the plug. and I remove my electronics when its cold out. dunno why, but I do.
one other thing regarding outboards and cold weather, particularly 2-stroke's with a carb. on cold dry days the air is denser, slightly leaning out your fuel/oil:air mixture. this condition allows for more rpms with less fuel, therefore less oil. I have ruined many a dirtbike motors on cold, winter days from overrevving. just don't run her wide-open and things will be fine.

Originally Posted by kazualobzerver

And possibly score the impellor to boot, not a big fan of dry turnovers regardless of how little you crank it, just my opinion and experience. Check / change lower unit lube, purge bilge, livewell / pumps / hoses of water, if any doubt or low spots in hoses fill with biodegradable antifreeze. Keep batteries temp controlled if possible or bare minimum frequently charged. Stabilize fuel before final trip and most important,,,,,,go fishing in the winter keep everything in tip top shape.

Gotta agree with Kaz here.If you have ever replaced an impeller you will notice how the housing is made it will drain dry as soon as the lower unit leaves the water and is trimmed down. Wouldn't take but one spin and the fins would dry it completely like a squeegy and then possibly score the impeller.Maybe not but i wouldnt advise it

Originally Posted by south point

one other thing regarding outboards and cold weather, particularly 2-stroke's with a carb. on cold dry days the air is denser, slightly leaning out your fuel/oil:air mixture. this condition allows for more rpms with less fuel, therefore less oil. I have ruined many a dirtbike motors on cold, winter days from overrevving. just don't run her wide-open and things will be fine.

Don't the newer 2 strokes compensate for the cold air? I thought the ratio of gas to oil was adjusted all the time and the air quality was one of the considerations.

Originally Posted by vic n

Don't the newer 2 strokes compensate for the cold air? I thought the ratio of gas to oil was adjusted all the time and the air quality was one of the considerations.

with fuel injected models, absolutly. with older carburated models cold, dense air will slightly lean an engine. as long as you see a little smoke when you start it you should be fine, just not god to run em full throttle for an extended period of time.

Originally Posted by Hogster1

Gotta agree with Kaz here.If you have ever replaced an impeller you will notice how the housing is made it will drain dry as soon as the lower unit leaves the water and is trimmed down. Wouldn't take but one spin and the fins would dry it completely like a squeegy and then possibly score the impeller.Maybe not but i wouldnt advise it

Thank you for pointing out that water pumps are made to drain out. I reckon I didn't consider that. I have replaced my impeller on my 07 yamaha 90, and didn't notice where the intake and outlet were located, but this makes sense.
so here's my question, if all the water drains out of the pump, the damn thing is dry EVERY time you start up. does it stand to reason that when you first crank the motor, it would take a few turns before water reaches the pump? If memory serves me right, the impeller in my yammer is a good 2-3 inches above the water level when my boat is afloat, and probably 9-10 inches above the water pickup on the lower unit. it usually takes 2-3 seconds after my motor is started for it to start peeing. I wonder how many times the impeller turns before it picks up water? especially one that hasn't been changed in years?
I'm for sure not trying to start any arguments here. I have always been told not to ever crank an outboard dry, and for the most part I see why. but then again, I know a guy that will crank his old eveinrude 50 until it fires before they ever leave home. completly dry. and he does this every time they take the boat out just to be sure its gonna start. to make matters worse, hes one of these guys who cranks it again at the boat ramp until it starts, then dead revvs the thing real good to "warm it up". he has had the boat for about 25 years and bought it new and not had a lick of trouble with it other than a broken sparkplug wire. (he does replace the impeller every few years) I am not saying I agree with this, just that this is how he does it and his old boat still runs right along side of my new one.

A couple of other items always leave your live wells in the open position in the winter. Trust me on this one it is cold and the fish will be fine while you are moving spots or on the ride home. This way any water in there will drain as soon as you pull the boat out of the water.

Always let your motor warm up to 120 degree's before taking off each time you start it. Always let the motor run when you get to your fishing spot until the temperature stablizes. Could take a minute or two but is a must do to protect it. This should be done all year long.

Pull your plug at the ramp to make sure no water is in the bildge area.

Store the motor in the trimmed down position.

Be safe! Winter fishing is fun.