Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

[Cricket Too]

Hey guys, yesterday was the second time this season I got eel grass stuck in my water pump intakes on my 115 Johnson and heated the engine. I didn't see a lot of grasss in the bay I go out in, in the begining of the year, but now it's everywhere and it's killing me, I can't keep heating the engine like that, and as hard as I try I can't avoid the friggin grass.

Does anyone else have this problem??? And is there any kind of guard you can put on your lower unit to prevent it? It's really ruining it for me out there, once that happens it makes me so mad, my day is killed. I pull back and shut the engine down instantly when it happens, clean the grass out and it's fine, but I still don't want it to happen again.

I have asked a couple of other people and I can't seem to find anyone having the same problem. I just got the boat, and it looks like the engine might be mounted one notch too high on the transom, but it performs really well where it is, so I figured I'd leave it alone.

If I drop it one hole, what is that about 1 1/2"? Could that make a difference with the weeds on the surface?

Thanks.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

We have weeds like that in Pleasant Bay, but putting the motor in reverse for a few seconds blows them off.

You can usually feel the drag, but you might want to add a water pressure gauge to your setup. You don't need electronics unless you want the light, just tap into the tell-tale hose.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

Ezeke.....Yeah a water pressure gauge isn't a bad idea, I was thinking about that, maybe I would see the pressure drop while I was going slow before I open it up and overheat, then I could just stop and pull them off, although that's not too easy the way these get stuck in there.

When I do stop to pull them out, they are completely pulled through the vents, not just covering them, and I have to pull them out with needle nose pliers, so I don't think reverse would do all that much.

I was wondering if there was some type of guard, but when I look at the L/U I don't see any way a guard would work, it would either have to block the intake screens from the front, which is obviously how they pull the water in, or else the gaurd would just get clogged and I'd have the same problem.

You think dropping he motor 1 set of holes work work, to get the L/U a little deeper? It seems a little high right now, but performs great, so I'm thinking it is where it is for a reason.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

stay out of the grass, learn what to look for. lowering the motor won't help. when moving slow try trimming up so it slides off instead of wrapping around.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

does your intake have the white screen,are the holes all you have,I find it hard to hbelieve the grass is getting by the screen that shoud be in place,perhaps the screen is missing and you didnt know it should be there,the only way to install is by removing the lowerunit,it drops inplace from inside,the screens breakdown over time and leave no protection

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

The screens are in place and have no holes in them and believe me it IS getting sucked into the screen holes. I am not making up that the engine overheats and when I pull the engine up, I have grass caked in the screens.

The grass is unavoidable, I'm not in a grassy area, the grass floats all over the bay and is the same color as the water. At 30mph when you see it at the last minute off the bow, there's nothing you can do. If I was driving around in an area with a bunch of grass on the bottom I would expect it to happen, but this stuff floats all over the bay on the surface and can be 6-8 inches deep.

I take it that nobody has encountered this and that nobody has heard of any kind of guard for the intake.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

I been slammin into Jellyfish a lot this time of year..what to do? Pay attenion to whats in front of you, as thats all ya can do...and do a lot of reverse IF ya think ya went into something...temp guage here would help

 

[F_R]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

And I thought we had the world's worst weeds problems here in FL. But nothing as bad as what you are describing the eel grass to be. Got plenty of water hyacinths, peppergrass, hydrilla, sea grass....and even some jellyfish and plastic bags though.

 

[_brad_]

Re: Weeds getting stuck in my water pump intake!!

A clogged water pump intake is a small problem! Here in MN I have almost taken off my lower unit countless times from rocks a foot below the surface in the middle of the lake!

Not so much for weeds here but plenty of rocks!