Fogging Engines?

[psubill78]

I have 2x 8.1 HO's in my boat. I was looking at the previous owners receipts from the storage, they always did indoor heated (which I'm doing as well). I noticed every year that the shop fogged the engine. Is this required?

How is this done on a Merc 8.1 HO engine? I read about putting 2 cycle oil into the filter - can this be done dry? or should I do that right before they lift me out of the water so my impeller doesn't blow?

 

[JBFins22]

Do it right before the boat is hoisted, DO NOT do it dry.

I use remote tanks with the recommended mixture from Mercury....

When you set up remote tank with the recommended mixture, how do you do it? I bought a piece of 1/2" fuel hose with a barb but can't seem to find the right fitting. How and where did you hook up remote tank?

 

[tbirdvet]

When you set up remote tank with the recommended mixture, how do you do it? I bought a piece of 1/2" fuel hose with a barb but can't seem to find the right fitting. How and where did you hook up remote tank?

I disconnect the line at the tank and using a brass fitting (same as on tank) I connect the line to my portable tank and run off of that. I believe I found a matching hose fitting at ACE hardware or Home Depot.

 

[Madifonzo]

I have 2x 8.1 HO's in my boat. I was looking at the previous owners receipts from the storage, they always did indoor heated (which I'm doing as well). I noticed every year that the shop fogged the engine. Is this required?

How is this done on a Merc 8.1 HO engine? I read about putting 2 cycle oil into the filter - can this be done dry? or should I do that right before they lift me out of the water so my impeller doesn't blow?

When I went to local shop to purchase all the items for my winterization the counter person gave me a free quart of mercury 2 stroke oil. He said that once I have replaced all my fluids before running the coolant through the engine fill the fuel/water seperator half fuel with the 2 stroke oil. Then start engines with coolant running through. Wait a few minutes for the coolant to work its way through and then kill the motors. Obviously he said expect it to smoke. These guys are constantly referred to as the best around here in MA. So I am trusting what they are saying. I asked about the plugs and he said that was you complete spring commission the plugs should burn off residue left over.

 

[JimFromMD]

When I went to local shop to purchase all the items for my winterization the counter person gave me a free quart of mercury 2 stroke oil. He said that once I have replaced all my fluids before running the coolant through the engine fill the fuel/water seperator half fuel with the 2 stroke oil. Then start engines with coolant running through. Wait a few minutes for the coolant to work its way through and then kill the motors. Obviously he said expect it to smoke. These guys are constantly referred to as the best around here in MA. So I am trusting what they are saying. I asked about the plugs and he said that was you complete spring commission the plugs should burn off residue left over.

+1. Thats what my mechanic does too, except they use aviation fuel mixed with 2 cycle via the spin on filter method because the aviation fuel doesnt have ethanol in it.

My question is for a carbed engine (like a generator) is the 2-cycle mix method "just as good" as the fogging oil method or is truly fogging a carbed engine preferred? As far as I know, they do truly fog my generator.

 

[Molson]

It is my understanding that using the fogging oil (spray can) through the throat of a carbed engine is preferred rather than via a fuel mix. The idea is to coat the engine internals with oil, and not coat the carb passageways.

 

[CV-23]

Use to do this years ago but our layup of only 5 months....is it really needed? Sure it can't hurt. Less of a layup for the outboard that already uses two stroke oil, Mike.

 

[sbw1]

We boat on Lake Michigan and store in Grand Haven. We've not fogged an engine in years but did when we stored in cold storage. Never had an issue. Most of storage in our harbor is heated and people do not fog. I would if the boat was laid up for more than a year, but it is not needed for the short winter lay up.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

I've never worried about fogging while being stored indoor/heated with my 8.1s.

 

[rondds]

This month's BOATING magazine has an article that deal with "Winterizing." The section on "Fogging" recommends spraying fogging oil into the throttle body or carb until the engine stalls.

 

[Molson]

This month's BOATING magazine has an article that deal with "Winterizing." The section on "Fogging" recommends spraying fogging oil into the throttle body or carb until the engine stalls.

Yep, works good on carbs or TBI, but MPI or TPI it won't work, then you need to go with the cocktail.

 

[JBFins22]

I finished my 4.3's up yesterday. I was able to fit a half inch female barbed connector onto the elbow that goes into the fuel filter housing. Stuck a hose in the recommended mixture, (1 qt 2 stroke oil, 2,5 gal gas) and fire up. Ran for 10 minutes, got a little smoke as it worked its's way through. Shut down, switched to anitfreeze, fired up, sucking up antifreeze and shut down. After that changed oil and good to go until spring.:thumbsup:

 

[Lazy Daze]

I finished my 4.3's up yesterday. I was able to fit a half inch female barbed connector onto the elbow that goes into the fuel filter housing. Stuck a hose in the recommended mixture, (1 qt 2 stroke oil, 2,5 gal gas) and fire up. Ran for 10 minutes, got a little smoke as it worked its's way through. Shut down, switched to anitfreeze, fired up, sucking up antifreeze and shut down. After that changed oil and good to go until spring.:thumbsup:

Did you add the stabilizer to the cocktail mix, as well? That's VERY important for your injectors. When you switched to antifreeze, did you first drain the block and manifolds? If you didn't, you've ended up with some kind of "mix" of water and antifreeze. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the ratio and freeze protection is (without testing it). Also, you likely didn't get the water out of the intake manifold area.

 

[JBFins22]

Did you add the stabilizer to the cocktail mix, as well? That's VERY important for your injectors. When you switched to antifreeze, did you first drain the block and manifolds? If you didn't, you've ended up with some kind of "mix" of water and antifreeze. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the ratio and freeze protection is (without testing it). Also, you likely didn't get the water out of the intake manifold area.

I did actually, it had startron in the gas can as well. Also, I did drain the block prior to the antifreeze. I did just crack open the drain after to confirm I had the purple stuff in the engine. All seems well. I will take off some hoses today and add some that way too just to be sure.

 

[Lazy Daze]

There's always debates about whether or not to fog an engine if it's going to be a short time. And there are some that never do. But, just some words to think about... detrimental effects from interior engine corrosion are not always immediately seen, although occasionally they can be - such as rusted/frozen rings. But more often than not, it's a summative effect that can take years to manifest. Effects could be as small as slight decreases in power - just a tiny bit at time. Or, the effects could be greater. On the other hand, there's some that seemingly never have any ill effects. Personally, for small amount of time and negligible cost, I wouldn't gamble. But, everyone needs to make their own decisions and there's nothing wrong with that.

Here's something that I've wondered about... Assuming one doesn't fog... is it better to leave the engine in a heated environment or a cold environment? We (humans) feel better in heated environment, but a warm climate also holds more moisture, which leads to corrosion/rust. However, left outside will see temperature swings which can lead to condensation. But, does that temp swing happen too quickly to allow the condensation to work it's way into the interior of the engine?

 

[Lazy Daze]

I did actually, it had startron in the gas can as well. Also, I did drain the block prior to the antifreeze. I did just crack open the drain after to confirm I had the purple stuff in the engine. All seems well. I will take off some hoses today and add some that way too just to be sure.

OK, that's good. You can't really tell just by looking at what's draining out, but if you manually drained things you're 95% good. The only hose you'll need to add any AF to is the big one. Doing that one will fill the block in such a manner which will be sure to get the intake manifold side since you'll, in essence, be filling from behind the t-stat. It's possible you still pushed some AF through the t-stat, but that stat will close pretty quickly when the cooler AF hits it. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Westie]

I am with Dennis on this one, for the ease of fogging, there is really no reason not to do it. Just because a building is heated, doesn't mean it is climate controlled. A green house is heated too (albeit by solar energy), and it's humid as hell in there. While that example is rather extreme, warm air holds much more moisture than cold air, and unless the building is air-conditioned, I guarantee there will be more moisture in the heated building than there is in a ambient temperature one in the middle of winter.

Not only is there more moisture in the warm air, corrosion, being a chemical reaction, happens faster at higher temperatures. Fogging is more important in a warm humid environment than a cold dry one. If you look at the merc service manual they talk about fogging the engine in the section called "power package lay-up" which has no mention of the temperature which it is stored at. Those that don't fog their engines because they are in heated storage are asking for trouble down the road in my opinion.

 

[Newman]

This month's BOATING magazine has an article that deal with "Winterizing." The section on "Fogging" recommends spraying fogging oil into the throttle body or carb until the engine stalls.

This is what I did last winter. I didn't have any issues starting it in the spring. The plugs seemed to burn it off quickly and I only had a few wisps of smoke.

 

[JBFins22]

OK, that's good. You can't really tell just by looking at what's draining out, but if you manually drained things you're 95% good. The only hose you'll need to add any AF to is the big one. Doing that one will fill the block in such a manner which will be sure to get the intake manifold side since you'll, in essence, be filling from behind the t-stat. It's possible you still pushed some AF through the t-stat, but that stat will close pretty quickly when the cooler AF hits it. Better safe than sorry.

Does anybody know if the power steering cooler on the back of the 4.3 MPI drains with the one valve drain? I have replaces 2 water pressure sensors in this and noticed its a good size reservoir. I'm going to look for a drain hose today, but wondering if anybody knows for sure.

 

[rcknecht]

I have not fogged my MPIs... I store her in the water, and I winterize in early dec and run her again in April. I will change the oil and add plenty of Stabol.