Mercury Intake Grates

[thundercomm]

Does any know what other type of intake grates are available for the Mercury M2 drives? I have the Hydro Surge that is hinged at the front and lets all kinds of large rocks and debris into the pump. I sucked up a plastic bag and two branches last weekend going through the locks in Minneapolis:boxing_smiley:. Didn't do any damage, but the water was way to cold to jump in and clear it out. I had to basically idle home 10 miles. I have also heard of allot of problems with tines breaking on them. I would love to know if there are any other options and where to get them. :cheers:

 

[seadoosnipe]

Grates?

I have the same type grate as you on my Challenger. It hinges in the front and I can pull a lever to open it and allow access to the impellor side for inspection and cleaning. Addvantage or disadvantage?.....I'm mixed on that because like you, I sucked up a plastic coke bottle and ended up going over the side to remove it.
I have done some research on these grates and although I've seen some modifications for other boats, I saw none for the Seadoo. What's even funnier is all the pictures I saw of these upgrades, were'nt much different from the grate we currently use.
If I lived and frequently used my boat in an area that had a large area of floating debris or somewhere that caused me to catch a lot of junk in my suction grate, I'd almost want to make my own improvised solution.
I'd take a piece of stainless expanded metal or other stainless mesh, that I could cut and form to fit over the existing grate and clamp it on to help keep the trash out of it. The only downfall to this solution would be that you'd lose efficiency of the water inlet due to restriction of flow.
So I don't know if there really is a good solution. The grates we use now are only to protect the impellor, stator and casing from large things, like huge tree branches and big fish (I just threw the fish thing in there..:rofl.
I did do a quick search on the internet, but if you find some useful information on this topic, I'd love to hear back from you. The river I ride in has all kinds a junk floatin in it, so I'd love to find a good solution to this.

 

[thundercomm]

I have found out that Mercury makes two other type of grates for the M2. A rock grate with 11 tines and a 6 tine grate. Both of these are fixed grates. In theory you lose the Surge Grate self clearing ability, which I am fairly certain does work at all. I am going to switch to an 11 tine rock grate next season and get a weed rake. I am also going to remove the Surge Grate and look into some custom mods over the winter. I think it may be as simple as adding a screen to the grate. I will be experimenting with it all season next year and will post any good solutions I find. I don't know about any options for the Rotax engines, but I imagine you must be able to get a fixed grate for them.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Swing gate!

Cool, keep me informed as to what your able to do.
My Challenger with the 787 Rotax uses the 3 prong swing gate. There is a latch under the dash that you pull to swing it out of the way.
What I'm wondering in attaching anything different to the suction chest, is whether or not it will limit the flow rate of water that is capable of passing through the screen. And will it create a vortex, swirling motion, as it's trying to enter the impellor creating a possible cavitation effect? I'm not a design engineer, so I have no idea. Just something I was thinking about.

 

[shorox]

foreign objects fixed with chicken wire

I have a similar problem. the water inflow sucks in objects small sticks, floating peices of wood etc... I think I am going to make a grill from chicken fence wire to put over the grill. to act as a filter. by the power of the engine Suction I would expect to clean the grill chicken wire quite often, but its easier than sticking hands through the grills and water inlet to release these foreign objects from the impella.
dont think outboards have this problem. mmmm....