Running on the hard, without water

[Sailing Amok]

Hey folks, I've got a bit of work to do on the injectors, and it'll still be 1.5 months before we have access to running water at the club. I'm wondering about pulling the impeller and running the engine for a few minutes with no raw water. I suspect the engine itself will be fine, given that there is still coolant in the fresh water side, not to mention it's -10c here. My concern is melting the aqua lift muffler. Any thought or experience with this? I understand it's frp? How big a risk is say 5min of running with no water cooling the exhaust, on a cold early spring day? I'd like to get the work done now, rather than rushing right before launch.

[scgunner]

Aaron,

You'll probably be OK but that doesn't sound like a great idea, it'll a race against time to see if you can do the job before the temp gauge spikes. Why not rig up your own water supply, two hoses and three five gallon buckets. Lead the hoses from the intake/exhaust outlets to two buckets with the intake bucket full. As the motor runs it draws water from the intake bucket and fills the exhaust. When the exhaust is full slip the third bucket under the the exhaust and swap the intake bucket with the full bucket, repeat as necessary. Obviously you'll need someone to manage this setup while you work on the motor. A fourth full bucket might be a good idea to replace any losses during the process.

[Ron Hill]

Aaron : I don't understand why you'll need to run the engine for any length of time to "work" on the injectors??

I've replaced the injectors and then checked for leaks the next time I ran the engine.

You could just run the engine with a bucket of water to check for leaks! I'll guess that the raw water pump will take about 45- 50 seconds to empty a 3 gal. bucket - Enough time to check for leaks!!

a few thoughts

[Sailing Amok]

Thanks guys. Ron, that makes sense, I  guess there's really no need to run the engine longer than a minute or so. The injectors are either going to leak, or they're not eh? I've only worked on injectors once before, and instinctively ran the engine for a good 10min or so after to make sure all was well, but realistically, nothing changed over those 10min. I've removed the impeller for the winter, not to mention we're still below freezing here for another month or so, therefore using the bucket and water option isn't realistic. I'd have to winterize again after. But doing the injectors this weekend, running for a minute or so, and then running for longer seems like a reasonable option. I can't imagine 30 second or a minute of running without water would be enough to damage the muffler. Or could it?
Kevin, the three bucket two hose idea is great, definitely an option once the freezing risk has passed. Often our club doesn't put the water on until a week or two before launch, which is frustrating. The three bucket idea could be a great option come late April.

[Jim Hardesty]

Here's my 2 cents. 
Anytime working on the fuel system it needs to be blead and run a bit to make sure all is well.  So IMHO if you decide to change them on the hard, be prepared to run the engine some.  Also, depending on how soon you do it, you may need to winterize afterwards.  I don't know about running hot dry exhaust thru the exhaust system designed for wet exhaust.  The exhaust hot even from a cold engine. 

If you do decide to run it on the hard.  Some thoughts, a pump to the lake water(rent?), big plastic barrels called juice barrels around here, or lots of buckets at the ready. Also, should talk to the boatyard about running the engine, they may have some suggestions or valid objections.

Jim

[Ron Hill]

Aaron : The last time you worked on the injectors - did you have a leak?? probably NOT. The amount of pressure put out by the injection pump the VERY high so fuel will immediately leak or not just slowly leak!!

I'd do the work and check for minor leakage when you get back in the water!!

A few thoughts

[Stu Jackson]

Winterizing an Engine on the Hard (Thanks to Maine Sail) - NEVER connect a hose to your raw water pump inlet - NEVER!!!

https://youtu.be/PKky09u1fGU

[waughoo]

I used a fake a lake to run mine on the stands.  It is a sort of plunger with a hose attachment similar to what one would use to flush an outboard (ear muffs).  Worked great for me.

[Robert Mann]

Do what I do to winterize.  Pull off the intake from the engine cooling through hull and stuff it a bucket of RV anti freeze.  Keep a couple of extra gallons ready with the tops off and chuck them in, if needed to run a bit longer.  I wouldn't run without water or anti freeze running through the raw water side.