How important is Flushing engine with Salt Away or like products?

[NewBoater]

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this. I boat in salt water pretty much 100% of the time and have hand the boat last summer and this will make the second summer in the water. Does Yamaha recommend using the salt away products or is it just something as a precautionary people do? Is it really needed? I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary wrong with the boat (everything still looks very new). Should I start using it or should I just keep flushing for 5 to 10 minutes after every use (like I normally do) with the freshwater on the hose and no Salt Away style products?

Are there others like me that never use these products or pretty much everyone use them?

 

[2nazt]

I use them religiously, if you wash your boat with just water you will still find salt left over. I spray it with salt away and it is all clear afterwards. When I do long trips away from home and don't have access to water to flush I don't worry, but when I get home I for sure flush with it. Other people also run and use a car wash soap then run and flush till the bubbles stop plus an additional 30 secs. I have saw what comes out of the engines when they are not maintained and it isn't pretty. For the small cost of the product I think it worth it since the motor is the most expensive part on the boat.

 

[NewBoater]

I found this post on a different site doing some searches which got me curious also:




I am going to disagree here!
I use salt away over the motor occasionally & inside the hull etc, but have never flushed it through the cooling passages. I really don't see the point. A two to three minute flush with water is fine.
These motors have sacrificial anodes in the water flow.........I have never heard of them needing to be changed. Have never heard of any damage /overheating caused by salt build up either.....you are more likely to get sand particals trapped in the thermostat housing to cause overheating.....salt away will not help with that.
Yamaha build their motors for salt water use....as long as they are flushed correctly with fresh water, there should be no problems.

 

[2nazt]

If the anodes inside the motor are magnesium like the ones on the back of the boat then they won't do much for salt water. That requires zinc to be correct for salt water use. The rear anodes should be swapped out for zinc if you do salt water boating to help protect it.

 

[Ilmmct]

@NewBoater I use Saltaway during the engine flush procedure after each use. I occasionally use it on the exterior of the boat as well. There are members on this site that understand the chemistry (or lack thereof) that may be involved with this product better than I, but it seems like reasonable and environmentally safe maintenance investment.

 

[NewBoater]

Surprisingly I called Yamaha and also my local dealer today and both of them said salt away products are not needed. Boggles my mind it seems like they would say sure you should use it.

 

[Wayloncle]

I never used saltaway to flush whe I was in salt water.
I squirted a little original dawn dish soap in the hose before I turned the water on and ran it until the bubbles were gone.
I read somewhere that a bunch of tests had been done and dawn worked better than any saltaway product...is it true or needed? I don't know, but for $2 a bottle that lasted over 2 years I figured it wouldn't hurt, and the kids got a kick out of seeing bubbles coming out of the back of the boat

 

[swatski]

Rinsing with fresh water with detergent will do. But Salt Away is good stuff, too! Basically, doubles up as a detergent/soap and rust/lime remover/inhibitor.

The MSDS on Salt Away lists the active ingredient as sulfamic acid. For those of us who home brew (I used to) - that is what you use as primary cleaner for all the equipment, tanks and hoses. There is nothing else there in Salt Away but dye, so if you want to make your own, you could save some money. I would use a 3% solution. Any home brewing supply type store will carry sulfamic acid, usually tablets.

Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

Sulfamic acid is used as an acidic cleaning agent, sometimes pure or as a component of proprietary mixtures, typically for metals and ceramics. It is frequently used for removing rust and limescale, replacing the more volatile and irritating hydrochloric acid, which is however cheaper. It is often a component of household descaling agents, for example, Lime-A-Way Thick Gel contains up to 8% sulfamic acid and pH 2 - 2.2,or detergents used for removal of limescale. When compared to most of the common strong mineral acids, Sulfamic acid has desirable water descaling properties, low volatility, low toxicity and is a water soluble solid forming soluble calcium and iron-III salts.

Some other brands, like Salt Terminator, use sodium nitrite. Also found in pickling/brine salts and meat cures (like Prague 2 - along with sodium nitrate).
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it in relation to corrosion:

Sodium Nitrite is an effective corrosion inhibitor and is used as an additive in industrial greases, as an aqueous solution in closed loop cooling systems, and in a molten state as a heat transfer medium

--

 

[Ilmmct]

@swatski thanks for the knowledge xfer. I appreciate knowing there is a DIY elixir recipe that can save me money. You think a Gaelic Ale and a salami slurry poured down the cleanout port will give me the amount of sulfuric acid and sodium nitrate needed?

 

[Hellacool]

My two cents, I boated in Savannah GA for 5 years with a Bayliner 175 (yikes). I used SaltAway after every outing. I had to little device that attaches to the hose. Fill the container once and run it through the engine. Fill it a second time and spray down the boat. I had zero corrosion in 5 years and when I sold the boat, the Marina was amazed at its condition for having survived 5 years on the ICW and barrier islands. Was it needed, I can not say since I never went in the salt without it but it is fairly cheap insurance and takes little effort.

 

[Wesley Cobb]

Appreciate all the information on Sat Away. I boat along the NW FL coast and am in salty water all the time. I am going to give Salt Away a go. It seems to be (relatively) cheap insurance against new engines.

 

[Elliott]

I have used my FSH 190 for just over a year exclusively in salt water, and I always flush it with West Marine Salt-Off (a little less for the same thing). I also spray the boat inside and out with Salt-Off using a hose-end garden sprayer. I do not have any corrosion issues. Essentially for the cost of an extra gallon of gas per outing, I can help protect everything metal. BTW, the boat looks brand new.

 

[NewBoater]

I’m at 2 and half years never used salt away and boat 100% salt water and boat still looks like the day I got it. Probably doesn’t hurt but I’m not convinced it’s needed. I do a full cleaning with soap after every outing and always flush for 5-10 min per engine on regular hose water.

 

[Georg]

That's my engine inside after 13 years. 2005 FX HO with 150 hours. Flushing NOT after every day on the salt water. Florida Pensacola salt or sweet 50/50.

 

[Jgorm]

I grew up with a dock in the back yard on salt water. I'd never even heard about salt a way until this forum. My boat is at the river, but i used to flush my salt engines until the water didn't taste salty. Vinegar and dish soap will do 90% the same as salt a way, but i just use water.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I use dish soap, but it is also important to attach ZINC anodes to your pump area for salt water use .
I just had to replace one after 4 years and 650 hours as it was corroded pretty badly AS IT SHOULD!
Last time I checked the factory anode is magnesium.

 

[Joshua Miller]

How do you know if you have zinc or magnesium anodes on your pumps? Different color/shape/texture?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

if you have the factory one it is magnesium but it is very easy to tell zinc is very heavy and magnesium is very light think of lead vs aluminum not hard to feel the difference.