Quote:
Originally Posted by Da'Newf
GMM - I test the outboard each season before I even look at my 12.5' inflatable. A Seabright Marine similar to the zebec and other models sold in these parts. And so far have replaced the impeller at least 3 times now that I can recall. Didn't have the boat out at all last year - spent too much time at the plant during turnaround.
But two summers ago everything was testing good including the impeller, and I thought I was done. Was just about to shut the outboard off when the water stream just tapered right off then stopped. Yep. Swap the impeller and all good again. Would really ruin a trip to get out on the lake or river only to have that happen there.
For the $20 or so on Amazon.ca for the impeller, and the bit of time it will take, I'll follow the manual which also says every 12 months.
I'll look into that wrench. Might be worth having. Thanks for the suggstion.
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I’ve ran small outboards for the last 35 years in a combination of salt and fresh water and I’ve only had one impeller go bad in that time and that was from a plastic bag covering the intake and causing the impeller to overheat before I noticed that water had become restricted. I’d say there is something up if you’ve had 3 go bad in a short period of time. I’d switch to OEM impellers instead of the cheap Amazon ones as that could be your issue. Or, check which way you are rotating your prop when installing the cap on the impeller or impeller in the housing depending on model. I flush my motors after every use and while impellers do occasionally go bad you shouldn’t need to change them every year and I’ve never read that in any of the manuals that I’ve had.
Something that I’ve seen done lots of times but should also never be done is using a set of muffs to hook a garden hose up to your motor to run it in the driveway. A barrel is the only way to go if a person wants to be sure the impeller is pumping sufficient water. Line pressure from a garden hose will make it appear the impeller is fine when in fact it might not be and water is just being pushed past a bad impeller.