Fresh Water Flush - Question

luvinlife

My 270 has a simple small hose connection with a cap on it on my raw water cooled Volvo 5.7 MPI engine.  I am in salt water for the 5 month New England season. The hose connection is located on the starboard side of the engine. It's a pain to open the engine hatch, climb in there and attach the hose to flush the engine. Honestly, my first two seasons I only flushed the engine occasionally. I am wondering if I could extend the flush connection and run it through the stern trunk so I could flush from there?  Kind of a blue sky idea but I should probably flush more often. Has anyone set up anything like this?  For those with raw water cooling, do you flush? I did have the risers and manifolds replaced two seasons ago. On my prior trailer boats I religiously fresh water flushed my engine in the driveway every time.

andyd

I have the Neutra Salt system on my '06 FV250 5.0GXi but never use it. Instead, I attached a PVC ball valve and a 5' RV-type drinking water hose to the blue fitting. The hose is long enough for me to attach the fresh water supply from the dock. Much easier. I flush my engine after every time it runs, plus I run some Salt Away through from time to time. The boats floats in a seaside slip year round, so corrosion is a big concern all around.

luvinlife

Andy, thanks for the feedback, that looks pretty easy to install.  I would still need to open the engine hatch to get to it but it's an improvement and a lot easier. It's an option.  Do most of you flush your engines?  My surveyor told me that flushing was okay but the best thing to do is to run the engine often.