Carver Owners Forum

So, having had a boat for many years, I am constantly watching gauges, especially temp. If temp moves up, I see it immediately. All alarms work great! That is why I am OK with testing the Run Dry impellers, if you all have any interest in knowing how they perform on my Crusaders. My engines run at exactly 160, although the manual says they should run at 143. Someone put 160 thermostats in at some point, and that works for me with the variants in gas octanes available. Thoughts?
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Are you in salt or fresh water, closed cooled or raw water cooled?

Raw water cooled. Fresh water, and very clean. Considered hard water when measuring metal content. Never in shallow depths, so very little opportunity for sand ingestion. Riskiest thing with regard to water source is plastic bags floating in bay. Are you inquiring about engine temp? If you think I would be better served by lower temp thermostat, I can switch out those 160's to 142. The big reason I keep the 160's in there is occasionally I may need to refuel at marina that only has ethynol gas. At that point I only pump enough to get me to non-ethynol source. Thoughts? Always value your opinion. er

I am always confused on engine temp in relation to fuel burn. The engines run like they just came off the assembly line, smooth, never any issues with idle speed. Have friends who have issues with losing engine at idle when cruising down alley at marina. Always happens when they are right around their dock. er

If you're in fresh water, I would stick with the 160* stats.

Cooler wrote:Qr Bbpost I am always confused on engine temp in relation to fuel burn. The engines run like they just came off the assembly line, smooth, never any issues with idle speed. Have friends who have issues with losing engine at idle when cruising down alley at marina. Always happens when they are right around their dock. er

The following basics refer to engines that have raw water ( water from the surrounding water body ) running thru their blocks for cooling.My opinions.

The higher you can get the head temps the better and more efficient the engine will run to a point ( street engines run over 200 ). The 160 stats have zero to do with the fuel and everything to do with deposits from the water you are in, bonding to the engine block cooling passages above a certain temp. The lower temp stats are installed in engines that are running in salt and brackish ( the manufacturer doesn't know where the engine will end up so errs on the safety side) and instals the lower temp.

There is no reason not to run 160's in fresh, has always worked for me......even running for hours on plane.

Chances are your friends need a tune up or adjustment....etc...again my opinions.

Your engine will run much better at higher temps, hence the preference to run a hotter stat. The only reason for the 140* degree stat is in case the raw water cooled build ends up in salt water in which running higher temps would be a problem for cooling passages over time. The 20 degrees hotter makes a difference, your engine will be happier, otherwise why bother putting 160 degree stats in a closed cooled system at all. It would be better to go even hotter but you start running into other issues at those temps in a marine application.

I replace my impellers every year for both engines and the Genset. I accomplish this task each Spring after hibernation.
However, over the last couple of years I have been clocking around 150 hrs/season on the 6.0's and when they come out - they look like they wanna be replaced.
I try not to 'skimp' on the important stuff.

Thanks again guys. They are happy engines! Den - you are one lucky guy to be able to get 150 hrs/season. With the Covid thing and the weather issues we have had here, I am fortunate to get 50 hrs/season. I am not trying to skimp at all. Just would like to do less work each spring, these brittle bones don't bend like they used to. 89 days to go! er

I hear ya brother!