blower questions

Stickers on my boat say that the blower should be ON when the boat is running below cruising speeds, so...

1) why don't boats have blowers that turn on automatically?
2) why not have an always on blower? Is the life of the blower really extended by turning it on and off?
3) would it make sense to have a back up blower?

I am tempted to just turn the blower ON before starting up the motor and leave it on for the duration of the trip.

Maz we run our blower all day when we ride, we just switch on at start of run and turn off when boat comes outta da water, had no probs yet..

When I first got my boat, that's what I did - turned the blower on at the launch, and turned it off at the launch at the end of the day. It died mid-way through the second summer.

The second blower lasted a few years longer - most likely because I didn't continuously run it all day long.

I'm on the third blower now (10 year old boat) and if you ran this blower all day long you'd go deaf - man is that thing loud.

There are continuous duty blowers on the market, but they are way more $$$ than the ones you'd typically find in a tournament boat.

Colin just crank the stereo louder and you wont go deaf from the blower!!!

Funny you should mention that...

We had a video camera with us last week and when playing the tape back that was the first thing everyone noticed - that the music was loud enough to drown out ALL engine / water noise! It was even causing the little mic and/or speaker in the video camera to distort... now what was I saying about going deaf??

(Message edited by colin_w on September 26, 2002)

I hate running the blower because of the noise. I always start the engine for the first time of the day with the cover up (check for fumes and any other problems like leaking hoses). I rarely use the blower after that unless I fill up with gas or sit for a long time, ie after lunch.

I probably should use it more, but I just don't think about it that much.

My dad watched a boat explode and burn up on the boat ramp this summer because the fumes weren't evacuated. Most of the time there wouldn't be that many fumes, but it only takes once.

I bought a good blower for my boat, it cost $90.00 and I'm glad I did, I use it all the time while the motor is running. Most of the blowers on new boats are the cheap ones, $15.00 or less, you get what you pay for.

Maz, how long have you had boats? Or is this a rhetorical question?

A boat at speed, or with a mild breeze will self ventilate. The blower is to insure gas fumes from a boat that has set for awhile are exhuasted prior to ignition.

That being said, why would you want to run the blower all day? Also, if you want, I'm sure you can pay an extra $5K for an automated blower. But then again, you could just flip the switch and let it run a couple minutes prior to starting the boat in the morning or after lunch.

As to the stickers? Well, we are the worlds capitol for court suits - even if it's user error.

I run ours if we're at idle for any length of time like stopping to pick up a rider or tooling around in the no wake zone. It is louder than the engine at idle but that's because it sits right next to the cover. I'd say when in doubt you probably ought to have it on. A blower is cheap compared to burning your boat to the water line and sending friends and family to the burn unit.

Fox

yah, make sure you always use marine quality starters, alternators, coils and distributers and that your fuel system is in top shape (no leaks!). Like someone else said, open up the engine compartment before you start to look for badness.

I think the big risk is when you have been shut down for a while (or are cruising too slow to self ventilate) and have a leak or just excess fumes from the throttle intake and the coldness of the water causes them to condense down in the bilge. Combine that with a cheap autozone starter and ......boom.

Yep, probably best to run that blower before you start it.

Not to get too long winded but make sure that you have two air ram air intakes and that the hoses go into the bilge one about the midheight of the engine and one down in the bilge. Then, make sure you have passive exhaust hoses opposite these at these levels. Finally, probably position your blower hose down around the starter. (A new boat should already be set up this way).

There's no reason to run the blower once the engine is running. I used to forget to turn it off all the time until I trained myself to automatically turn it off whe I hit the starter. You're just wearing it out by letting it run all day.

Hey Maz,
I was over in your neck off the woods on Saturday (Aquatic Park). I open the bonnet and check for any leaks before I tow the boat. I try to run the blower the first time I start it for the day or if it has been sitting in the sun for an hour or two and when filling at the gas dock. You have fuel injection that well save you from a lot of fumes. So unless you have a leak there will be minimal fumes anyway. If you are still worried I would put a whisper fan under one of the gunnels and wire it to your ignition switch. at 650 CFM that will be more then enough to push air threw there and it you will still be able to hear the stereo.

It's true that the blower is unnecessary while underway. The reason that I used to leave mine on all the time was so that I (or my friends) wouldn't forget to turn it on before starting after a break on the water. When at the launch it's easy to remember if you make it part of your launching ritual (I would associate it with the drain plug, i.e. plug in - blower on, plug out - blower off). I knew that this was overkill, but blowers are cheap.

When I was a kid, I worked at a marina. One day when I came in I saw the aftermath of a fuel vapor explosion (my friend saw it happen). Considering the amount of damage to the boat (total write-off) it was amazing that nobody was killed.

Keep in mind that it is not recommended to run your blower at the gas dock until after you are done filling (because the blower will potentially draw fumes into the bilge). It's also not a good idea to open any hatches/covers while filling because fumes are heavier than air and will settle into your bilge if allowed a path to get there.

Make sure any whisper fans are fully insulate and properly grounded - don't want a spark from an additional fan to perform ignition on you.

Good point most of them are brush less but it still could be a problem. And I did not know that about running the fan only after fueling. I have always run it all the time when at the gas dock. But that makes sense

My blower is pretty loud, do you think if i moved it closer to the floor (away from the engine cover), or wrapped the motor in sound insulator, would it keep it quieter? or would the insulation do just that? insulate it and overheat it?

hehe....kaboom!!!

I would insulate the engine cowling and anywhere else that is not already insulated. Also I would make sure that the blower is nice and tight. I have seen them when they are loose make a lot more noise then they need to. The other thing is just buy I new quite one.

when you say, make sure it's tight, what's tight?
the mounting? or somthing in the motor?

The mounting sorry

Hold on sorry I just looked at your boat you should not be having any problems with a boat that new. give the dealer a call.

I'm not having "problems" with it, it runs great, it's just a bit loud. Especially compared to my lexus motor at idle....