impeller change during the winter

[dpb185]

What's needed is a way to measure how much water the pump is pumping, this is ultimately all that matters. If it pumps out a 5 gallon bucket in 10 seconds with a brand new impeller, you can re-measure it each year and if it takes, say 20 seconds, change the impeller. You'd have to have a 'Y' set up on your water intake hose, though, and the only ones I've seen are those plastic things that I would not put on my boat. I don't want a plastic Y connector breaking in the middle of the lake and sinking my boat.

[Thrall]

I bow to your evidently superior but sarcastic knowledge. A joy!

No, just saying it doesn’t matter. Old wives tale or more likely a real issue in decades gone by. Like I said, I thought it was a real concern for a few years then realized it’s not.

[curver900]

it's to d*(n cold now... just go out and give it a nice big hug... and talk to it a little bit, then it will be happy for a month or so.. then go out with the vacuum and give it another hug... and so on.. soon it will be spring... well hopefully...

[EricB]

Bought the boat during the winter. It was winterized in the fall without impeller change. Is there any reason I can't change the impeller now while the boat is winterized? Opening the pump won't allow antifreeze to drain out or anything like that, right?

Yes, if it's filled w/AF, it will partially drain out (experience). As everybody else has suggested, do it in spring.

[HDAVIS]

I change mine every spring. I have been told that even new impellers can break. Cheap insurance

[Tookeymonster]

I wait and do my when I summarize it.

[MattsCraft]

Raw water Impellers are not really rubber, however Nitrile Rubber. (Which is a Synthetic) I have completed many schools of thought over this subject over the years. Mostly, I have changed it every fall after winterization, however some years waited until spring (mainly because it is kinda of a pain, and didn't feel like dealing with it


In every case, regardless of Fall or Spring change, every single time over 10 years the old Impeller is pristine (Which I now have a collection of old ones again... I have stored lubed up & not, & each I have (un-lubed) are just as playable as a new one. Think about this, purchasing new, how long have they been sitting on the shelf, how long ago where they manufactured etc... They don't come lubed up out of the package.


I have not changed my current one last year or this year really as a test - So we will see & I will report back - After the end of the upcoming season she will have maybe 100 hours on it & sat over 2 winters. (Yes I have a collection of spares & tools on the boat to swap it should it fail, while on the water ) Ilmor states replace Annually, however, as above I think it is over kill, others say 200 hours. I am all about ones personal conflict equilibrium, if changing in the fall, changing in the spring, lubing it, not lubing it, changing every outing, makes you sleep better at night - This is what you should do!!!


If you want to read about Nitrile:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/nitrile-rubber

[bturner2]

I think the whole procedure of pulling the impeller and leaving it out for the winter is something that came before materials for the impeller evolved. Since I began with inboards back in the 80s it was always common practice to pull the impeller then use some mechanic's wire to tie it to the steering wheel. The idea was that the impeller was out of the housing saving it from stress and on the steering wheel directly in front of you so you would remember to put it back in before starting the boat. It also wasn't uncommon to have impellers where the veins were worn, cracked or missing after just a short season. These days I just don't see these issues on any of the boats I work on.

After years of doing this, along with changing the impeller every year I amassed a collection of nearly perfect impellers. These days unless I've seen some kind of temp problem, I pull the impeller every other season, check it and if it looks good it goes right back in. After the third season it gets changed regardless. Then again, I'm only putting 40 hours on the boat a season in a very good year so it's not like some of you guys that are hitting 75 - 90 hours in a season.

All this said I'm comfortable with my schedule but for others that want to change out the impeller every year there is certainly nothing wrong with that either.....

[drx35]

I agree with waiting until spring right before you actually use the boat, and a little lube can only help...

[eurosysytem0]

It would be blade perfect even if you didn’t coat it in lube.
Do you remove it after every day as soon as you shut the boat off and put it in the impeller incubator until the next outing as well?

I bow to your evidently superior but sarcastic knowledge. A joy!

[Thrall]

It can be fitted but why would you not wait until just before season start? Doing it now jut buts the blades into a static bent position for months (especially bad for rubber if the weather is freezing) and after the winter the first turn of the impeller will be in a totally dry circumstance with probably "bent blades with risk of blade damage. I remove mine when winterizing, if blades undamaged , coat with vaseline and wrap in cling film and then store in warm place through winter. When De-winterizing Re-smear with vaseline and refit in pump minutes before first launch and then start engine immediately ensuring pump and waterways filled. My current impeller is blade perfect, fully flexible and on it fourth season this year.

Recommend you do not fit until pre-launch

It would be blade perfect even if you didn’t coat it in lube.
Do you remove it after every day as soon as you shut the boat off and put it in the impeller incubator until the next outing as well?

[Thrall]

When I first bought a boat, the bent impeller vanes thing sounded plausible. Until I thought about it for about, a day or so, and then realized they’re always bent all the time, and the season doesn’t make a difference.
20 years later I still believe that. Since every impeller I’ve removed and replaced after a year or 2 or even 3 a couple times looks just like the new one I put back in.
Have a collection of new looking used impellers that didn’t take a set from being in the impeller housing.
And yours will be fine too.

[MIskiboat]

Can be done anytime. Likely some antifreeze will come out but it should still be in the block since the thermostat is Likely higher than the block.

^^^. Agree to wait to spring. I do similar process, take out in fall and set inside over winter. Replace every 2-3 years based on inspection.

[eurosysytem0]

NO reason. This can be done anytime

It can be fitted but why would you not wait until just before season start? Doing it now jut buts the blades into a static bent position for months (especially bad for rubber if the weather is freezing) and after the winter the first turn of the impeller will be in a totally dry circumstance with probably "bent blades with risk of blade damage. I remove mine when winterizing, if blades undamaged , coat with vaseline and wrap in cling film and then store in warm place through winter. When De-winterizing Re-smear with vaseline and refit in pump minutes before first launch and then start engine immediately ensuring pump and waterways filled. My current impeller is blade perfect, fully flexible and on it fourth season this year.

Recommend you do not fit until pre-launch

[lakedrum03]

NO reason. This can be done anytime