Use of blower

dmac91 · **Joined:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:54 am **Posts:** 10

When is the right time to use the blower, I Have a Horizon 180.
thank you, I'm as green as you get...

230 Mike · **Posted:** Fri Feb 08, 2013 4:17 pm

The purpose of the blower is to pull any explosive fumes out of the engine compartment. Turn it on before you start the engine, and let it run for at least 30 seconds before starting. If it's the first start of the day or it's been several hours, it's really best to open the compartment and sniff with your own nose to be sure. Once the engine is running you can turn the blower off, though it's not a bad idea to keep it on when you're idling or at no-wake speed.

Lots of people don't bother with it. Some of them have died as a result, when they hit the key and their boat exploded. No joke.

Many think the only way they can have fumes in the engine compartment is by having a leak, and since they're positive that they don't have any leaks, they believe they're safe. First, leaks can start at any time without warning. Second, there are components in the engine compartment (primarily the fuel tank fill hose) that gradually degrade and will allow fumes to permeate through the rubber. (Depending on the age of your boat you might want to check that.)

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:55 pm

Always open the engine hatch and sniff for fumes first if you smell gas don't even turn the blower on just get it to a mechanic. I run the blower just about all the time EXCEPT when fueling because it can pull in fumes from the gas dock. Keep in mind that gas fumes are heavier than air and will drop to the bottom of the bilge. If you want to be really cautious, smell the air the blower is sucking out. It should NOT smell like gas. I am putting in a gas vapor detector as part of a general electronics upgrade this spring.

Something to check is the vents. If you have directional ones, the one hooked up to the blower should face aft, that helps pull the fumes OUT. The one hooked up to the fresh air inlet hose should face FWD to force in fresh air.

Gas inboards are cheaper than outboards or diesels, but the fuel fume issue is a significant safety issue. I have seen many many people at the gas dock not sniff after they fuel up their boat. Big mistake.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:07 am

Take a U.S.C.G. course. Its worth every penny and i bet it will save you money in the long run!

ric · **Posted:** Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:55 am

The real point of the blower is that it's a safety item for poor owner maintenance. Which happens on about 99% of boats. It's there to evacuate gasoline fumes that would collect from a faulty fuel system related part, mainly on carb'd boats that people never take care of. Floats stick, etc and dump tons of fuel when they sit off. On a fuel injected boat the only use of the blower would be if a fuel line is leaking.

Technically, on a perfectly working boat the blower isn't needed, but unless you inspect the engine fully before you start the boat, every time you start the boat... run the blower for a few minutes. It could safe your life.

Surface Interval · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:22 am

The Four Winns manuals I am familiar with recommend opening the engine compartment and doing the "sniff test", then running the blower for at least 4 minutes prior to engine start to ventilate and remove any hazardous fumes from the engine compartment. The manuals also recommend using the blower while operating at "no wake" speeds. This is to provide the ventilation at slow speeds that the boat gets by ram air ventilation at cruising speeds. As others have indicated, this is another owners manual recommendation that isn't always followed.......

I have also used the blower to help minimize the potential for vapor lock. For those raised eyebrows, yes, I have had vapor lock on carbureted and fuel injected boats on 90+ degree days in Minnesota. This vapor lock is most likely to occur after retrieving a water skier, tube rider, etc on one of those hot days. The boat has been at operating temp for a while, then shut down for at least 5 to maybe 30 minutes, and the engine compartment is "heat soaked" which has warmed up the carburetor or fuel injection system fuel passages or fuel lines enough to vaporize some fuel in these lines or passages. The engine cranks over but either won't start, won't keep running, or won't accelerate without missing or dying. Time and blower use will correct this, but it may take 15-30 minutes. The boats were '95 and '99 190 Horizons. The one carbureted boat was near new with less than 50 hours on it. The '95 EFI boat would do it maybe once or twice a year under the above conditions since new and throughout the 2 thousand hours we had it. We had a lot of fun with that boat over a lot of years!

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:28 pm

Yes, yes, and yes to all the above. Another thing I do when heading to the ramp is remove the mooring cover and the engine cover. The short (1 mile) drive from my house to the ramp airs out the engine compartment really well. Even doing that, I still turn on the blower once at the ramp before starting the engine. I don't wanna be on the 6 o'clock news.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:47 pm

to piggyback on this general idea, another thing that I'd advise is a yearly fuel system inspection. If you have a hatch over the fuel tank, remove it and check the fuel hoses and make sure the hose clamps are tight. Even if there is no hatch (all boats should have one though) there will be an inspection cover for the fuel gauge sending unit. Sniff all around the gas tank and the sending unit gasket. Do the same thing in the engine compartment, inspect the hoses with a mirror and bright flashlight. Look for cracks, bulges, etc. Look at the lines running from the tank to the fuel filter, and then from the filter to the fuel pump/carb or FI unit. Every year these things should be checked.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I saw a boat go boom at the fuel pumps after filling up...at lake Travis in Austin..1986...what went wrong I don't know, but the results weren't nice.....scary as hell and I was a good 50 yards away.

I leave the blower on when we are doing watersports. Reason being the many stops and starts of the boat and engine lends itself to forgetting to run it. Solution is I leave is going. I did this ten years on last boat and blower kept on doing its thing.

I also run it at slow speeds and open hatch after fueling. I open hatch several times during the boat trip just to check things out.

waterboy · **Joined:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:59 pm **Posts:** 15

One more instance. Canadian regulations require that the engine be shut down but blower be left on while passing thru locks. I agree with all of the preceding recommendations. Cost of a new blower - $30.00, cost of a new boat $$$$$. Not to mention the safety of the boat occupants.

deafwish · **Posted:** Wed Feb 13, 2013 3:21 am

From a performance perspective, having the blower running during slow speed and water skiing activities can reduce engine heat-soak...

gregs · **Posted:** Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:01 pm

Ric of course has a different take.

ric · **Posted:** Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:55 pm

gregs wrote:

Ric of course has a different take.

Well, yes. The blower is to vent gasoline fumes to prevent an explosion. The only way to get said fumes is to have a gas leak. The only way to get an explosion is to have something that creates spark (you installed a non-spark arrested device in the bilge).

It's there as a backup device. If the boat is in piss poor mechanical condition never taken care of and the owner installed things in the bilge or has loose wiring that could spark.... Then yes the blower will save the boat. That describes most of the boats I see at the ramp

230 Mike · **Posted:** Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:56 pm

ric wrote:

The only way to get said fumes is to have a gas leak.

Wrong. And even if it were right, it's possible to have a gas leak even with impeccable maintenance.

ric wrote:

The real point of the blower is that it's a safety item for poor owner maintenance.

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:02 pm

I think the point is even if you maintain your boat, leaks can happen suddenly. I had a carb leak that was rebuilt about 6 years earlier, and on boats with aluminum tanks, a leak can develop over time. Same idea behind a fume detector.

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Use of blower

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