Can you externally cool a motor using the garden hose flush fitting?

[Westcoast]

Out here on the west coast, we have lots of coastal kelp which wraps around the lower unit covering the water intake and causing the motor to overheat. As a suplemental method of cooling, I was thinking of plumbing the garden hose fitting for flushing the motor with an external bait pump to help cool the motor while driving through thick kelp.
Does anyone know if the water flow from the garden hose flush takes the same route as the water from the impeller in the lower unit?
Would it work?
Has it been done?
Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance...

[seaox230c]

It does work,MOSTLY, most manufacturers don't reccomend it because it doesn't properly lubricate the impeller, but thats when the engine is out of the water. It probably would not matter if the engine is still in the water. If the kelp is so thick, how do you keep it from wrapping and jamming the prop shaft and seal?

[seaox230c]

ALSO...how much pressure does this extra pump put out? Hook it up with the engine off...if you don't push a good stream out the pee hole then it is not enough pressure and will not work

[Westcoast]

Thanks for the reply... Kelp is not very strong and can be cut easily but the leaves are broad and cover the intake much like a plastic bag would.

I'm sure I could rig a bait pump with enough pressure to push water through the water jackets but my concern is that the water coming up from the impeller collides with the water flowing down from the hose bib cancelling each other out and not cooling the motor.

Question... when the motor is being flushed turned off and the thermostats are closed, does the hose bib water take a different route than the impeller water? Also, can the extra cooling water screw up the engineered operating tempratures or will the thermostats regulate that?

[seaox230c]

I think you would be hard pressed to find an external electrical pump that puts out the pressure and volume you require. A garden hose puts out almost 60 psi. Thats why I said try it first and see how it flows out the pee tube. . If the internal water pump puts out enough pressure to counteract the external pump then you are not blocked and will not overheat. The water, once it leaves the internal pump goes to the same places as the external flush port. I have a quick disconnect on mine and sometimes the check valve jamms and when I start the engine...water flows rapidly through the stuck flush port fitting. If you want to see how much water that pump puts out, take the cap off your flush port and start the engine(with the engine in the water like normal)..many gallons a minute flow out that hole. You will have a difficult time getting an external pump to do what you need, but the flush fitting flow will go to all the places that the regular cooling water goes

[Westcoast]

THanks Seaox, I think you are right about possibly not producing enough water flow. Do you suppose it could work as a supplimentary cooling while only operating at very slow speeds...like under 1000RPMs? I was thinking I could have a switch to turn on a water puppy type washdown pump only while driving in kelp. I figure some water is better than none.

[seaox230c]

Make up your rig, if it can push some water out the pee hole then it will be enough for supplemental cooling. If it doesn't work, you will be no worse off then before you tried it.