Big Dave Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I hated the sprayer that comes with Salt Off/Salt Away--seemed almost impossible to control the amount of product that was being sprayed, leading to a lot of waste (and that stuff is expensive!). The only options were "off", "rinse" and "Salt Off/Away". So, I found this little gem in the garden center at the local Home Depot. It's a "Chameleon Hose End Sprayer". I think it cost about $20. It is very easy to adjust the rate dilution with gradations from 1 tsp. to 8 oz. per gallon of water. You can also adjust the spray head for flow--shower, flat fan, stream. The best feature is the instant on/off trigger. This enables the user to sort of "spray paint" the boat with the Salt Off/Away product rather than blasting it and using much more than is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Dave, I've been using white distilled vinegar for years. Works great, cheap and will cut hard dried salt. I have not found any commercially available salt removing product that will dilute hard dried salt. Vinegar will not harm any surfaces of the boat or motor as long as you rinse it. Caution, vinegar will kill grass is not rinsed well. I presented this information on the Fla. Sportsman Forum years ago. Another member did several experiments using vinegar for various salt removing jobs. He presented his finding to THT and claimed to be the mastermind behind the idea. The information went viral on several boating forums. Anyway, I'm not looking for notoriety, just saying it works. Lets of guys have been injecting vinegar into their outboard flushing hoses. You might be able to use your hose-end sprayer to siphon vinegar into the flushing hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted December 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Thanks for that tip! I’ll give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 You ever leave your boat in saltwater for 2 or 3 days in the summer and find millions of tiny salt deposits on the hull. They resemble tiny fish scales. I tried all salt removing products, even used them straight (not diluting) and they would not dissolve those salt deposits. But, just a sponge and vinegar, they wiped right off. That's when I thought vinegar would be good to flush your outboard engine. If you could find a way to get the vinegar in the water ports and let it sit a while, it would dissolve all the salt deposits in the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 Dave, West Marine's Salt Off is made by Starbrite....they had it on sale, 2x1 and I bought two gallons....I use it in my engine every trip...should last about 1 year for 2 gallons...so, next time I see it, I"ll buy it again....the products have some type of protectorant in the solution....much like the starbrite deck cleaner that works well on the decks, once they are clean. Since I just bought a new AXEL and hubs...I bought a 2 gallon Home Depot sprayer and throw it in the truck...yesterday I sprayed the hubs on the trailer and torsion bar with some saltaway.... I also applied two coats of cold Galv on all the new parts....let's see how it might help to delay rusting..... I've done a good bit of reading on the "vinegar" solution....and from college chem, it should work...for me, it's just easier to use a standard product that is measured and tested.....but, maybe that's just me.....for as much money as I spend on my hobby, saving $10 on vinegar vs Salt-Away doesn't make sense....I use only OEM parts on my engine - only Yamalube, etc. etc. I figure why not.......you need to be a bit careful in your measuring of the vinegar and its use....but, not saying it's wrong....just saying, I'll stay with brand names for products that work for me. DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler1 Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 What ratio of distilled vinegar and water would be used in a pump sprayer? I also use salt away religiously and they are proud of it with that price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 I’ve used both. Vinegar is much more effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted December 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 9 hours ago, gambler1 said: What ratio of distilled vinegar and water would be used in a pump sprayer? I also use salt away religiously and they are proud of it with that price tag. I've read 50/50 mix of vinegar and water (i.e., 1/2 quart of vinegar, 1/2 quart of water, in a spray bottle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 This would be perfect for a boat washdown or running water and salt away in the engine washdown. Supplement injector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdemott Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 10 hours ago, rubble said: This would be perfect for a boat washdown or running water and salt away in the engine washdown. Supplement injector This looks like a great ides for motor flush. I use a sprinkler under my trailer to wash the salt and road dirt off whenever I use the trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 Found this as a possible vinegar/motor flush solution: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NNDSXA/ Same but different brand name here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019DO5FV2/ You might have to tinker with the garden hose pressure to get the correct flow rate, but it looks like a fairly bulletproof design. Might be worth a try for under $20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 A few years back, when I discovered that vinegar would dissolve dried salt deposits, I ran some through my motor. I bought a new plastic 40 gal. garbage can. Tilted the motor up and put the can under the lower unit and trimmed back down. Put 10 gal. of vinegar and 10 gal. of water. I ran the motor about 10 min, then shut if off because I was recirculating the same water and it was getting hot. Let it sit about 30 min. than ran the motor again. Did this a few cycles, then wrestled the can from under the motor. I slowly pored off the water and was amazed at what was in the bottom of the can. About two handfuls of stuff that looked like snot. I surmised that it was dissolved salt that had been in the water jackets because the can was new and clean. Anyway, I got 1,500 hours out of that motor, sold it to a friend and he is still running it. I'm sure there is a better method to run vinegar through the motor than wrestling a plastic can with 40 gal of liquid. But my idea was to trap and look at whatever came out of the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsusteve Posted December 31, 2017 Report Share Posted December 31, 2017 Years ago if we had an outboard with plugged up water jackets we would use either vinegar or muratic acid, whichever we had laying around, pull the thermostats and pour it into the housings with the motor tilted up and with the hose hooked up and running to the lower unit. Let it sit a few minutes then start the motor, all kinds of crap would blow out the housings, do this two or three times and all the jackets would be cleared out. Put it back together and run it on the hose for a few just to flush out any acid left in the head. It worked like a charm, never a problem afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdemott Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 20 hours ago, geeviam said: Found this as a possible vinegar/motor flush solution: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NNDSXA/ Same but different brand name here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019DO5FV2/ You might have to tinker with the garden hose pressure to get the correct flow rate, but it looks like a fairly bulletproof design. Might be worth a try for under $20 I like the idea that you can draw from a larger supply, (gallon container) as the Salt Away is small and with vinegar you can't tell when it is used up without smelling it. Thanks for the tip. Think I'll order one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted January 1, 2018 Report Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, mdemott said: I like the idea that you can draw from a larger supply, (gallon container) as the Salt Away is small and with vinegar you can't tell when it is used up without smelling it. Thanks for the tip. Think I'll order one. Cool! Please let us know how it works for you. Happy New Year!! Edit: Fyi, in case you were wondering... I run my boat in fresh water only, or I would try it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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