Do I Need a Drive Shower to Cool My Drive?

Do I Need a Drive Shower to Cool My Drive?

Published in HOT BOAT, May 2000

Pleasure boats and performance boats alike: Published test results show that some stern drives operate in excess of 350 degrees. The white chalky deposit means that the outside casing of your drive is running hot enough to boil off the water that splashes onto it. This boiling process turns the water into steam and leaves the mineral deposits behind to bake onto the drive. The hotter the drive, the more deposits are collected, and the harder they are to remove. Keep in mind that however hot the casing is, the oil and the components inside, are much hotter. Other signs that your drive may be running too hot, is a discoloration of the paint, or a cloud of steam appearing from the transom area every time your boat comes off plane. Unless you have through hull exhaust, what you are seeing is not exhaust, it is steam that is generated when a hot drive is plunged into cool water. This process of heating and rapid cooling is known as thermal shock and can be detrimental to metal components, especially aluminum, if the range is extreme enough. 

Others claim to be the best - independent tests proves otherwise

The Multiport Drive Shower®
This unique design differs from other drive cooling systems by utilizing two intake ports for a greater water volume, and either seven or eleven dump ports, strategically placed for a more uniform distribution. All components are made of 316 stainless steel, carry a full year warranty, and are guaranteed to fit your application. 

Testing done by The U.S. Customs Service on a 42' Fountain, found that the Summit Multiport Drive Shower® lowered the drive operating temperature by 50 degrees. Similar tests were conducted by John Barr of Dockside Magazine on a 300 Sea Ray. He published the same results in the 08/99 issue. He also learned that the Halo had provided an additional 8 degrees of cooling over the Summit. Jim Wilkes, a technical writer for Hot Boat Magazine, performed extensive testing and published similar findings in an article in the 02/00 issue. He also discovered that a tunnel hull, or any boat with a high "X' dimension, will lift the drive, along with the pick-up ports of the drive cooler, out of the water at higher speeds. To solve this problem, Simrek is now offering longer pick-up ports for these types of boats. Members of Team Lazzara conducted a side by side comparison of an lmco Power Shower and a Halo Multiport Drive Shower® on their F2 race boat. They found the Multiport system had cooled the drive oil by an additional 15 to 20 degrees.

WHY PICK-UP PORTS CAN FAIL
WHY PICK-UP PORTS CAN FAIL
In an attempt to minimize costs, drive cooling system manufacturers simply cut the end of the pick-up tube at a 45-degree angle. These systems might supply sufficient cooling water for pleasure boating, but not performance boating. As you trim the drive outwardly, water contacts the back wall of these 45-degree pick-up ports and is deflected up the tube at a decreasing rate. Independent testing has proven that boats requiring the drive to be trimmed to near or past vertical in order to achieve maximum performance, will cause the drive cooling system to eventually fail. Propeller spray alone did not provide the water volumes necessary to cool the drive. 

New Optional Pick-up Ports
To alleviate this problem, Simrek has designed, tested, and patented a new 90-degree pick-up port that forces the water to enter the tube at any trim level. These new patented tips are now being offered exclusively to Multiport Drive Shower® customers as an option, in sets of two. They come in two lengths, a standard length for V-hulls and a longer length for stepped V-hulls and tunnel hulls.
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