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View Full Version : when to change the impeller?



laveydayz
05-24-2006, 11:48 AM
How often do most of you change your impellers? I have heard so many different opinions on this. We are going out this weekend and have not had the chance to get this done. The boat has been in storage since November. The boat was completed in June 05' and only has 30hrs. I am concerned as peeps have been telling me that I should have had this done?? What are my chances of having a problem?? Thanks in advance!

Tom Brown
05-24-2006, 11:51 AM
You can get years out of an impellor if you never start the engine dry.
... or about 30 seconds of dry running.
... so if you're one of these people who doesn't mind starting the engine with no muffs and hose if it's "only for a few seconds", the odds of having a problem are quite real. If you never start it dry, I have little doubt you could get 100 hours out of it without giving it the first thought.

Gilligan
05-24-2006, 11:57 AM
I change mine every 4 years. I do not run it dry either. :)

laveydayz
05-24-2006, 11:58 AM
You can get years out of an impellor if you never start the engine dry.
... or about 30 seconds of dry running.
... so if you're one of these people who doesn't mind starting the engine with no muffs and hose if it's "only for a few seconds", the odds of having a problem are quite real. If you never start it dry, I have little doubt you could get 100 hours out of it without giving it the first thought.
Thats what I was thinking...we have never started the boat dry. My buddy was saying that it should be changed every spring after winter storage. He had me worried!

Jetdriver
05-24-2006, 11:59 AM
I would say that if your in So cal where it can be 30 degress one day and 100 the next you might want to change it once a year. I believe thats what my buddies do with theres. Cheap insurance really!

OutCole'd
05-24-2006, 12:01 PM
I change mine before every season. And I don't run my motor dry either. I did try to do it every other season on my last boat and the first season that I did not change it, it broke up on the 3rd time out. Thanks to Savage Marine, I was back in the water in a couple of hours.

Quality Time
05-24-2006, 12:01 PM
How often you suck up sand or run in silty water will weigh heavely on the life of an impeller as well.

Gilligan
05-24-2006, 12:02 PM
I would say that if your in So cal where it can be 30 degress one day and 100 the next you might want to change it once a year. I believe thats what my buddies do with theres. Cheap insurance really!
Temp change should not matter. I gets well below Zero here in the winter. :)

Jbb
05-24-2006, 12:03 PM
Ignore Brown.....every spring....

Big Kahunaa
05-24-2006, 12:03 PM
alot of times during storage the rubber sticks to the case and when you start them up they will rip the fins off of them

scarabrick2
05-24-2006, 12:03 PM
Every year maybe two but thats it. Dry rot happens really fast out here in the desert. I always have a spare one with me. You can change it in the parking lot if you have to. Alpha drive or Bravo? Bravo all you need is a few tools but alpha you need oil and a little more tools. either way, carry a spare as you can always find someone to help change it but sometimes no one will be OPEN or have one on the shelf.

Gilligan
05-24-2006, 12:03 PM
How often you suck up sand or run in silty water will weigh heavely on the life of an impeller as well.
You have a good point there. Everyone seems to beach their boats. I am sure sand gets sucked in there.

Jetdriver
05-24-2006, 12:03 PM
Temp change should not matter. I gets well below Zero here in the winter. :)
Temp change makes plastic brittle, thats all.

Gilligan
05-24-2006, 12:05 PM
Temp change makes plastic brittle, thats all.
Temp changes affect some plastics like PVC. But not rubber. THe Sun is the worst enemy.

sorry dog
05-24-2006, 12:08 PM
Ignore Brown.....every spring....
Fertilize my friend...and then run the sprinklers til gutters are full.

havasurat27
05-24-2006, 12:40 PM
Put a set of muffs on it before you go to the ramp just to make sure that the housing itself has water in it. Backing off the sand and silty area are hard on them as well.

unleashed
05-24-2006, 12:44 PM
I change mine at least twice maybe 3 times a year. I use my boat alot though. I went up to Tahoe last year and kept sucking up kelp and other crap. I forgot to check the impellers when I brought i back to Havasu. 10 minutes off the trailer and 18k later is a tough lesson to be learned. OUCH!!!!!!!!!!! Check them frequently especially if you like to beach your boat alot!
Deano
Unleashedclothing (http://www.unleashedclothing.com) :crossx:

Tom Brown
05-24-2006, 12:47 PM
I change mine at least twice maybe 3 times a year.
You could save a lot of time and money by investing in a water pressure gauge.

SummerBreeze
05-24-2006, 12:55 PM
I just got back from a 6 week stay in Havasu and I took the boat out 10 times and smoked 2 impellers. It's always a good idea to have a spares

laveydayz
05-24-2006, 01:03 PM
How often you suck up sand or run in silty water will weigh heavely on the life of an impeller as well. That was what ive heard as well. Im always very careful not to suck up mud/sand etc. I will definetly have this changed shortly but I was just stresen about this weekend!

Big Warlock
05-24-2006, 01:08 PM
Every other year

Kahuna
05-24-2006, 01:08 PM
Mine went at 50 hours. It is a great sound it makes when it goes, nice high pitch whine. And after breaks apart you hear nothing, but of course your temp just keeps rising. It was great getting back when it happened, run for a bit and watch the water temp. Lucky I was real close to where I launched.

unleashed
05-24-2006, 01:09 PM
I have sea strainers, water pressure gauges...my problem is I didnt take the time to check out the water gauges and temp...I was to busy hot dogging it! OUCH...bonehead move on my part and focking expensive! An idiot light would have been nice to have! :cry:
Deano
Unleashedclothing (http://www.unleashedclothing.com) :crossx:

slink
05-24-2006, 01:15 PM
I have sea strainers, water pressure gauges...my problem is I didnt take the time to check out the water gauges and temp...I was to busy hot dogging it! OUCH...bonehead move on my part and focking expensive! An idiot light would have been nice to have! :cry:
Deano
Unleashedclothing (http://www.unleashedclothing.com) :crossx:
Fried two on my old boat, none yet on the SW (knock on wood) I'm so paronoid about the h20 temp, I keep one eye on the gauge and one on the horizon.

unleashed
05-24-2006, 01:38 PM
Worst part about it is I used to make fun of idiot lights....thinking why the hell do they need those for...just keep an eye on your sh*t. I guess the laughs on me! :cry:
melted off all my hoses...so much heat the motors wouldnt turn off...Fock...Im an idiot!
Deano
Unleashedclothing (http://www.unleashedclothing.com) :crossx:

Rock-A-Bye-Baby
05-24-2006, 01:39 PM
i've gone thru 2 of them in 2 seasons. both times i was lucky to be in the marina. but it still sux.
if you do blow one, be sure to do a reverse flush. i pushed out a ton of rubber that would have clogged some tubes!!!!

HALLETT240
05-24-2006, 01:44 PM
Change mine every year without fail. I have cooked two of them and almost lost the motor. Never start a season without a new one. Will never take that chance again.

J540
05-24-2006, 02:14 PM
You can get years out of an impellor if you never start the engine dry.
... or about 30 seconds of dry running.
... so if you're one of these people who doesn't mind starting the engine with no muffs and hose if it's "only for a few seconds", the odds of having a problem are quite real. If you never start it dry, I have little doubt you could get 100 hours out of it without giving it the first thought.
Why would you even think of going more than one season on one. They are $30 to $40 bucks
I get 150 hours on one in one year but over the winter they go bad, I cant tell you how many people last weekend in Havasu lost one and I always here the same story "I just change it last year"
And as far as them going bad in 30sec, That is way off if it is dry it only takes 9 to 12 sec, to melt. and if you have the stock plastic pump body it will scar it up as well then when you put a new one in it starts to take it out as well.
I see this all the time and have tested them on the water pumps that i make.
Last thing you want to do is get cheep on a new impellor. some may get way lucky and thats what it is LUCKY, and last longer but chang it in the beginning of every season and check it at least once during.
I just fix one this weekend with a friend on his boat and it was new last year and he only ran it 3 hours when it was new his wife had a baby and they didn't go out but the 3 hr, all year.

Froggystyle
05-24-2006, 02:27 PM
It took me like eight or nine posts into this to realize we weren't talking about jet boat impellers...
I was like... What? What a load of crap... every season? I have gotten 15 years out of them with no signs of wear...
My bad... ;)

dicudmore
05-24-2006, 02:28 PM
It took me like eight or nine posts into this to realize we weren't talking about jet boat impellers...
I was like... What? What a load of crap... every season? I have gotten 15 years out of them with no signs of wear...
My bad... ;)
yeah you and your jet boats :wink:

Havasu47
05-24-2006, 02:37 PM
Why would you even think of going more than one season on one. They are $30 to $40 bucks
I get 150 hours on one in one year but over the winter they go bad, I cant tell you how many people last weekend in Havasu lost one and I always here the same story "I just change it last year"
And as far as them going bad in 30sec, That is way off if it is dry it only takes 9 to 12 sec, to melt. and if you have the stock plastic pump body it will scar it up as well then when you put a new one in it starts to take it out as well.
I see this all the time and have tested them on the water pumps that i make.
Last thing you want to do is get cheep on a new impellor. some may get way lucky and thats what it is LUCKY, and last longer but chang it in the beginning of every season and check it at least once during.
I just fix one this weekend with a friend on his boat and it was new last year and he only ran it 3 hours when it was new his wife had a baby and they didn't go out but the 3 hr, all year.
The best response in this thread!
I see you've started using punctuation :D :D

Flying Tiger
05-24-2006, 02:50 PM
100 hrs with never dry starting.

Biglue
05-24-2006, 03:02 PM
The best response in this thread!
I see you've started using punctuation :D :D
Have you actually seen him type? That must have taken days. We dont call him chicken pecker typist for nothing. :D
And my mechanic has said it's recommended to change the impeller out every season. Maybe every other season if you dont use your boat much. Beyind that the rubber gets week and one heat up will cause you trouble.

Tom Brown
05-24-2006, 03:28 PM
Why would you even think of going more than one season on one. They are $30 to $40 bucks
I get 150 hours on one in one year but over the winter they go bad, I cant tell you how many people last weekend in Havasu lost one and I always here the same story "I just change it last year"
It's all about the dry starts.
And as far as them going bad in 30sec, That is way off if it is dry it only takes 9 to 12 sec, to melt. and if you have the stock plastic pump body it will scar it up as well then when you put a new one in it starts to take it out as well.
No, it's not. In fact, you can get a lot more than that, just not all at once.
There are tons of guys who will tell you they never start their engine dry and they will make a big fuss about it but when you watch them, they crank it up dry on the ramp every time before putting it in the water. Maybe those are the same guys who are avid about not smoking but light up when they're drinking beer. Those guys still seem to get a season out of an impeller.
My point is that if the impeller is in good shape, it will still work for him this weekend. I'm not advocating not changing them (although I don't, as long as the water pressure is good).
I've had more problems with new impellers than old ones.

Nord
05-24-2006, 03:39 PM
To answer the original question..........
Every other year.........!!!!!!