Use your blower!!

Hey All,
Just a quick note, remember to use your blower!!


This is from another forum that I read...

The boat had just launched, there were several kids on board some were sitting on the engine cover, and 6 or 7 people on the dock not with thier party. When he started the engine there was a loud pop, the kids started yelling and panicking that got the attention of every one around, then the fire became visible some of the kids started to try to put the fire out. The bystanders started to yell throw the kids out throw the kids out. Some jumped and some were tossed and the people ( strangers ) on the dock started to jump in and help the kids. By now every one was off the boat, and it started to drift against the dock and they pushed it back out it was fully involved now, and the light north breeze started to push it in the best direction it could have gone to the south.

The report said that the fire boat got there in 10 min. The fire truck was there before the fire boat. But it never sprayed any water. When the fire boat did get there the boat was in shallow water and almost at the shore line one big squirt and the fire was knocked down.

Man! This is one thing I'm bad at I use it probably half the time and virtually never when I first launch. BLOWER, BLOWER, BLOWER!!!

i always start my blower but for around 30 seconds max is it enough ?

I run mine constantly. When the motor's running, so is the blower...

think our owners man says to run at least thirty seconds before start up. Run at no wake speeds and idle but at speed the compartment is self evacuating.

That's wild. I've never actually heard of that happening. I never used to run it, but I've gotten really anal about it this year, especially since Supra's hate to start when you're idling around and shut down the engine.

Ive never worried about that. I guess I better start

I run my blower and leave my engine cover open before starting. Especially off the trailer or if I have just gassed up.

I always run it before the first start in the morning. This happened to Josh Sanders family a few years back and I believe some of them were injured pretty badly.

Requirement in Canada is 5 minutes. 30 seconds is not enough. You've got to clear out a large volume of air with a fan not rated for many CFM.
I don't think I ever wait 5 minutes but I always run it. I put it on for long 'No Wake' zones too.

I like to run mine when wakesurfing and changing riders too. I have always had that habit.

Art, USCG has the same requirement. Though I would agree with you as this might be a little excessive. Always start mine at the top of the ramp when removing the transom straps and getting the boat ready that way by the time we get down the ramp the engine compartment is clear.

Ever since I bought this style of boat, I have always used the fan. When I am getting the boat ready for the water, I lift up the engine cover and keep it open until I am in the water. Hopefully, that way, there is no problems like stated at the begging of this thread.

If you have a direct drive, you probably will also want to check the hose attached to the blower.

I pulled the floor and looked at mine this year, and the hose had disintegrated. So it was just moving the fumes around, not actually blowing them out of the aft vent.

Since the hose sits down in the bilge, the constant water and heat can really do a job on it.

Like the others, I open the cover when I pull to the ramp and start the blower. By the time I'm in the water, a few minutes have passed. I start it with the cover and blower still open. When I idle, I also run it.

I use my blower for probably 30 sec tops before starting and usually idling out into fast water, however wouldn't trailering the boat for a drive of 10 minutes down the road evacuate alot of air and fumes??

The other thing I don't get is if all your vent fill and fuel lines and tank are in good shape how would any fumes be in and around the engine? My vent is on the port side up by the windshield so it would be hard for gas fumes which are heavier than air to climb back up into the boat.

I'm not trying to advocate not using your blower, and personally I will run it longer than I do now. Safety is no accident

If you smell fuel, DO NOT start the blower. The spark could ignite a fire from the fumes. I had an issue a few years ago. I was driving along and I noticed a strong smell of fuel. I stopped, shut off the engine and opened the hatch to inspect - the fuel line had developed a leak and fuel was leaking in the engine compartment. I kept everything off and had a friend tow me in. You should inspect your fuel hoses, connections and fuel system periodically to make sure you don't have leaks. I was in the habit of opening the engine hatch before I started the engine and backed off the trailer to make sure there were no fuel or water leaks. You might think only old junkers have fuel leaks, but that boat was fairly new. For you guys with carb engines, they can leak fuel off the float housing that is held on with four bolts. Also, I had a friend with a carb engine and when he pumped the throttle hard to start it, fuel would leak from the throttle plate shaft onto in intake manifold.

Dave, factory blowers are ignition protected so there should be no issue running them if fumes are present. It would kind of defeat the purpose if not.

Those folks are really lucky it didn't explode like what usually happens when bilge fumes ignite. Probably would have been several casualties. There was a 18 y/o kid who died as a result from a bilge explosion on a houseboat here just a year or so ago. Explosion blew him clear off the dock and they recovered his body a day later.

I turn ours on first thing in the staging lane so it has several minutes before first crank. I usually run it constantly when boarding since we fall often.

Most of the times this happens when service on the boat has been neglected, so running the blower is not the solution, but having the boat checked and serviced correctly is.

I'm not saying that anyone should not run the blower before starting, just saying that it's not the solution for a negligent boat owner.
I think that opening the engine hatch while lauching the boat is also a good idea, plus the blower.

Should show this to my flatmate who always starts the boat without running the blower, even though I ask him to every time, according to him the worst that can happen is the hatch blows off. Apparently burning the whole boat down to the waterline is not as bad as the hatch blowing off.

This exact same thing happened on Lake Lanier in GA last year. The boat didn't go up slow though, it exploded and there were some injuries.

I run mine all the time.

About 30 years ago we were skiing in an old CC Mustang. It blew up, throwing the hatch cover 30 feet in the air. Boat burned to the water line.

I wouldn't count on anything being self evacuating. especially on an old boat.

Gas fumes are heavier than air. Opening the hatch probably does not help that much and can lead to a false sense of security. Also, I've heard that keeping the hatch closed may actually help the blower evacuated the fumes better.

I replaced my steering cable two weekends ago and in the process discovered that my rear vent tube had a gaping hole in it. Also, the tube had become so fragile that simply moving it around caused more tears.

Check those vent tubes!

I turn on the blower after taking the cover off so that it is running for a good few minutes before launching. I didn't used to even use it until I heard of a fire caused by it, now it's just habit. Just kick it on in the parking lot before you pull out of the parking space to launch the boat or when you are taking the cover off, not a bad habit to get into!

My blower hasnt been working last 2 seasons. Guess I need to get it fixed

As a new boater and owner these treads are great! So the blower is ok to run with boat out of water and or all the time?

Jason all the blower is is a fan that blows the fuel vapors out of the engine compartment.. vapor lock causes the explosion.. the blower is just an electric motor.. you can run it anytime.. the recommend is anytime at idle speed.. I personally just do it at launch