Very hot tell tale stream.

[Nandy]

I have a Evinrude 70hp 1975 and I did add the tell tale adapter to it using iwombat's faq (http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=222677). I did however placed the fitting on the cylinder head cover just in front of the thermostat. The water coming from this place is hot enough that I can see a bit of steam out of it. I can touch it with my nitrile gloves but it is not too comfortable with the bare skin. Anyway, I was planing in the future to add a water temp and pressure gauges and I was wondering if being the water this hot might cause an issue. I dont remember ever seeing one that hot but I never owned anything larger than a 50. Any inputs will be appreciated.

 

[iwombat]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

That's going to place the tell-tale at the very end of the cooling circuit and I'd expect a good 140-160-degree output - probably not the best place to put it, but it should work there. Not sure why you'd want to add a temperature gauge, but a pressure gauge is a good idea.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

Just to have a bunch of nice looking gauges! I will probably heed and just install the pressure gauge. I tested the overheat motor buzzer by shorting to ground the cable and it worked. The question now is if that sensor is working... Do you have an idea how it works? does it change resistance as the temp increases? If so I can use a multimeter to check for resistance change as the motor goes from cool to normal operation temperature.

BTW, thanks for your hard work putting that faq together. The only reason I did not put it where you did is that I did not wanted to pull the cylinder head cover out and I hated to just drill a hole and leave all that debris there. Probably wont do much, but im just....

Thanks!

 

[iwombat]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

Hey, no problems.

A temp gauge isn't a bad idea, but if you're on top of checking the thermostats every 50-100 or so hours (making sure the engine temp is good), and you have a working pressure gauge you're just never going to look at the thing.

And yes, the temp sensors ground out after a certain temperature is reached.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

I have a 150 Bombadier with a factory temp gauge in the dash. I'm not sure where it's reading, but mine runs 165 warmed up at idle and about 150 cruising @ 4200 RPM. The actual temp reading shouldn't matter as long as you know where the "norm" is for your engine. If it always reads 160, then at least when it hits 180, you'll know there's a problem before the warning buzzer sounds. I personally like to see a problem creeping up on me before it hits me in the back of the head.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

OH! I need a tach too... I dont have a speedo but my gps will do. I might end up getting that speedo for my fishfinder as my gps is not always on. Those pressure and temp gauges, do you have to install the sensors in the motor or route the water all the way up to the dash? I will think the sensors are located in the motor but just checking...

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

Not sure if your engine already has the sensors or not. There might just be a plug to remove and add it. The speedo tube will have to be routed to the dash, but it's not that difficult. Personally, I would turn on the GPS. It's going to be correct every time vs. a speedo that is mechanically driven. Mud, grass, etc. can block the pitot tube and render it useless. GPS won't do that.

 

[Nandy]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

What I meant is that I know you have to feed water to a sensor for the temperature gauge to work and you also have to tap in the motor for the pressure gauge to work. What I wonder is if the sensors for the pressure and water temp are in the gauge or you have to somehow secure them in the motor...

 

[iwombat]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

You might want to consider installing an engine temp gauge rather than the water temp gauge. Those have the sensor mounted right on the head. It's what you really want to measure anyway. Water temp may or may not give you a good idea of what engine temp is, especially if your deflectors have gone just as a for-instance.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Very hot tell tale stream.

I like water/head temp gauges also. And Fireman's comment is spot on, it doesn't matter what it reads, it's relative, you just need to know what the norm is for your engine and then note when/if it changes.