Sticks and wood in jet pump

[Herrington 39]

I have a Yamaha 190 sx. My problem is not weeds getting pulled in but small sticks and pieces of wood. Are there any intake grates I can buy with the purpose of keeping pieces of wood or rocks out.

 

[Scottintexas]

glad to have you on board,

update your location so we know where you're at,

we've not seen any aftermarket grates that actually work well,

are you boating in creeks/rivers or just by the shoreline where this happens ?


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[Herrington 39]

I am in an inland lake which was made by damming a river. It is Lake Herrington in Kentucky. Debris often get washed in when Lake level rises. When you say after market do not work well. What do you mean? Vegetation is NOT a problem but sticks and small pieces of wood are. I have 3.9 hours on a 2021 and I have had 3 incidents already and I am being careful.

 

[Sean R]

I've only needed to pull FOD (foreign object debris) out of my pump 3 or 4 times but it was always early spring when the water was high. And one time I sucked up a Kroger bag. I would also suggest wear a glove when you first stick your hand down in the hole, you don't want to grab a fish hook or worse a condom ?

 

[2kwik4u]

I am in an inland lake which was made by damming a river. It is Lake Herrington in Kentucky. Debris often get washed in when Lake level rises. When you say after market do not work well. What do you mean? Vegetation is NOT a problem but sticks and small pieces of wood are. I have 3.9 hours on a 2021 and I have had 3 incidents already and I am being careful.

Lived in Louisville my whole life. Never new Herrington existed. Interesting.

How are you "being very careful" about avoid the debris. Typically on plane, and above idle speed are the best for pushing floating debris out of the way. Even 2nd click on No Wake Mode will keep the floating stuff pushed aside and out of the pump.

I'm going into my 5th season. Been on Rough, Nolin, Green, Patoka, KY Lake, and a few other local-ish spots without many issues. The only clogs I get with little sticks/twigs/debris is when I anchor or dock on the Ohio, and the current carries debris into the pump while stationary. I'm not sure I've had a clog on an inland lake in the region.

To directly answer your question, I've not seen an aftermarket intake grate that would guard against small debris intake. I've seen some "small gap" grates for running in very shallow rocks, and I've seen one with a "wiper" or "cutter" to remove seaweed while underway. Otherwise it's all just variations of the stock grate either thinned for flow, or supplemented with scoops for loading. The stock grate is super easy to remove, just take 4-bolts. It's made of cheap chinese pot metal aluminum, but still welds acceptably. If you know what you're looking for you could consider taking it off, and approaching a local fab shop to have additional bars added and shaped in, or some form of "mesh" welded on the outside to prevent debris intake. Factory replacement cost is ~$68 if I remember right on mine.

Good luck!

 

[Babin Farms]

I've had a few times with small sticks or debris and it is usually when I am just taking off from a stop. While on plane or just cruising at any speed I've never sucked anything up.....yet. It's just part of having a jet boat.

 

[JimmyB]

I boat at Lake Cumberland and the lake can be pretty full of sticks and logs in the spring when the Corps allows the lake to come up for flood control. They also use a chipper in the spring which sometimes creates a field of floating quarter sized pieces of wood near Somerset I like to call the gauntlet. Generally all the junk is gone by mid June and stays pretty clear the rest of the summer. I agree with prior posters, a little bit of speed keeps most of it out.

 

[Julian]

I have a Yamaha 190 sx. My problem is not weeds getting pulled in but small sticks and pieces of wood. Are there any intake grates I can buy with the purpose of keeping pieces of wood or rocks out.

There are no products available to prevent your boat from sucking in sticks.

As others have said, this tends to be a problem mainly in the spring as the lake levels are messed with.