Weed Grate

[henryb]

I've had a 2000 Challenger 1800 for one summer now. Got lots of great use (once it got a healthy tune-up). However, just today I've had the 2nd episode where I've sucked up something into the impeller that has taken us out of the water, miles from the cottage ... and if it were not for good willed people who helped us, we would have been stranded.

Last month, I sucked up a burlap bag. Today it was about 3' of 1/4" rope. I've run a PWC in these same waters for 15 years and have never sucked up any debris that took the craft out of operation? I'm wondering is it the flexible weed grate that allows larger objects into the impeller chamber that is the reason for these incidents? Or is it just shear bad luck?

The burlap bag incident was removed, because we had a friend onboard who was a scuba diver and could hold his breathe for minutes at a time, water was nice and warm, the pliers we had could grab a part of the bag and about 15 mins of tugging and ripping it was out!

Today it was just me, my wife and son. The water was cold and I'm no scuba diver! So with the same pliers, I couldn't grab onto a tightly wound rope. We were fortunate to get picked up by a friendly passer-by and got towed to a marina. Even though it was closed, there was still an employee there who went way... I mean way out of his way to help us. He got a truck, borrowed a trailer, pulled us out of the water. I removed the rope, he put us back in the lake and we were on our way! Tired, cold, burned out, frazzled and concerned that we can take this craft in any long trips?

What other peoples experiences with getting debris caught on the driveshaft?

 

[Coastiejoe]

I have heard the argument go both ways with the weed grate..

Some love it some hate it. I would venture to guess it depends on the type of water you run on. I have read of some that have put chicken wire over the entire impeller/intake opening.

 

[henryb]

Yes our lake has a lot of weedy areas, including the bay were our cottage sits... this the reason we choose this particular drive system to to be able to navigate shallow water ways and creeks without worry of hitting stumps or rocks with a prop. Not to mention the absolute fun factor!!!

I'm sure that the weed grate has performed it's duty admirably on countless occasions, it just seemed a bit frustrating yesterday with the family onboard, in the wide open Rideau Canal that we caught something in the impeller! And it being the 2nd time it has occurred this year!

 

[Dr Honda]

It's just a bit of bad luck.

With a jet... you have to expect to get wet once in a while... while getting junk out of the pump.


I have a fixed grate... and the weed grate. The nice thing about the weed grate is... it will let the pump suck in weeds, and chop them up... and spit them out. BUT... if it's something like a rope... it goes into the pump, and then you go nowhere. With a fixed grate... if it gets a load of weeds... then you have to jump in, to clear them. BUT... it will keep out anything that could cause real damage.


BUT... on the other side of that coin.........


A prop can get fouled with weeds, or a rope too. AND... you can kill it by hitting a stump, rock, or other underwater thing.

So... they both have their downfalls.

 

[henryb]

Thanks to you both for reminding me of the things that I should have known, just hard to see what's right in front of me... When it's starring you right in the face!

Isn't bad luck a boat owners arch nemesis!!!

 

[seb brunet]

I got a wood chunk stuck in the impeller 3 weeks ago cost me 1500$ to repair all that because of the hydro grate .just change to a fix grate

 

[henryb]

I got a wood chunk stuck in the impeller 3 weeks ago cost me 1500$ to repair all that because of the hydro grate .just change to a fix grate

When you hear stories like that, it makes you quiver! After this week I will only get to drive one or two more times, then it comes out for the year! Maybe I will look around for a fixed grate and swap it over before putting it back in for next season.

 

[El Toro 33809]

One of the first times driving our Challenger 2000 with the hydro-surge grate we sucked up a beer can which got stuck on one of the impeller blades. Talk about an out of balance vibration...... After that we purchased and installed a fixed grate. At times I've had to jump in and clear some weeds out by hand, but the water typically is warm here in Florida.

 

[henryb]

I am certainly on the fence for which grate would be better. The water in our lake is typically quite cold (summertime temps range between 65-75F), unless we have an unusually hot summer (which happens every few years), and then it only lasts for 2 months, July and August.

Our lake is very weedy especially the bay where our cottage is, so virtually every time we take the boat out, I pick up a few weeds before I get out of our bay (with the weed grate they do clear fairly easily)... and later in the season when the water gets really cold and the water level drops, the weeds get closer to the surface! I certainly don't want to jump in the water that is 50F in October to clear weeds!

 

[RiverPro]

When in doubt, pull it out...the Hydrosurge that is. Fixed grate is by far the safest. Having said that, I run one (Hydrosurge) on rare occasions. As an extra precaution, I double up the grate spring.

And on that note, the spring (it is just high spring metal) should be checked and replaced if it feels weak.

 

[stdunagan]

I have a similar question about my 2005 speedster 200. One of my grates broke off and now needs to be replaced. I have had issues with the grate in the past and would like to replace it (and my other grate) with a fixed grate. I am not sure how I would attached the rear end of the new, fixed grate. If I go to a fixed grate the mounting brake will go onto the ride plates. Can I secure the fixed grate to the ride plates or will that cause problems? Also, does anyone know how hard it is to get to the nuts in the engine compartment holding the grate screws in place? I haven't attempted to find them yet but I figure they will be a pain. Any advice would be great! Thanks.

 

[El Toro 33809]

I have a similar question about my 2005 speedster 200. One of my grates broke off and now needs to be replaced. I have had issues with the grate in the past and would like to replace it (and my other grate) with a fixed grate. I am not sure how I would attached the rear end of the new, fixed grate. If I go to a fixed grate the mounting brake will go onto the ride plates. Can I secure the fixed grate to the ride plates or will that cause problems? Also, does anyone know how hard it is to get to the nuts in the engine compartment holding the grate screws in place? I haven't attempted to find them yet but I figure they will be a pain. Any advice would be great! Thanks.

The fixed grate does not mount any differently then the hydro-surge grate. In addition, there are not nuts in the hull that hold the grate in place. Whatever the screws go into are permanent fixtures in the hull or ride plate. I can't remember specifically what holds them in.

 

[biffdotorg]

I have a similar question about my 2005 speedster 200. One of my grates broke off and now needs to be replaced. I have had issues with the grate in the past and would like to replace it (and my other grate) with a fixed grate. I am not sure how I would attached the rear end of the new, fixed grate. If I go to a fixed grate the mounting brake will go onto the ride plates. Can I secure the fixed grate to the ride plates or will that cause problems? Also, does anyone know how hard it is to get to the nuts in the engine compartment holding the grate screws in place? I haven't attempted to find them yet but I figure they will be a pain. Any advice would be great! Thanks.

I think you will find that the grates for the Mercury SportJets are different than what you have in your Speedster 200. You may want to move that question over to the 4-stroke forum, or look at a parts breakdown to see how it is mounted. I do doubt you have nuts on the inside.

Good luck,

 

[stdunagan]

Thanks for the reply. I will move this over to the 4 Tec area and see what people say.

 

[M3Man03]

I'm working on building a new weed grate specifically for the types of lakes I run in. I've been having a problem where long stringy weeds get pulled in the grate creating like a U around the grate tines. I'm running the fixed 6 tine grate now.

What I'm doing is taking the hydrosurge grate and making it fixed by adding some length to the tines and then adding some extra metal so I can sharpen the tines to a knife edge. And then towards the back making the slope in sharp as well as adding some pieces that stick up.

So in theory, any weeds that hit that part of the grate will be cut and allowed to pass through the jet, while other more harmful stuff is still kept out.

 

[henryb]

Wow, that sounds exactly what I would like to have! Let me know how I could get one of your grates!

 

[El Toro 33809]

I'm working on building a new weed grate specifically for the types of lakes I run in. I've been having a problem where long stringy weeds get pulled in the grate creating like a U around the grate tines. I'm running the fixed 6 tine grate now.

What I'm doing is taking the hydrosurge grate and making it fixed by adding some length to the tines and then adding some extra metal so I can sharpen the tines to a knife edge. And then towards the back making the slope in sharp as well as adding some pieces that stick up.

So in theory, any weeds that hit that part of the grate will be cut and allowed to pass through the jet, while other more harmful stuff is still kept out.

Good luck in making the grate and let us know how it turns out. Sounds conceptually like a good idea.

 

[RiverPro]

I'm working on building a new weed grate specifically for the types of lakes I run in. I've been having a problem where long stringy weeds get pulled in the grate creating like a U around the grate tines. I'm running the fixed 6 tine grate now.

What I'm doing is taking the hydrosurge grate and making it fixed by adding some length to the tines and then adding some extra metal so I can sharpen the tines to a knife edge. And then towards the back making the slope in sharp as well as adding some pieces that stick up.

So in theory, any weeds that hit that part of the grate will be cut and allowed to pass through the jet, while other more harmful stuff is still kept out.

I hope I can share my past experiences w/o being a Debbie Downer, or know-it-all. I tried sharpening the alum grates, however they nick and gouge so easily, they tended to grab strings rather than allowing them to slide on through. I even attached razor knife blades in various locations hope to slice the weeds.

What worked "best", however still not very well...

Starting with a SS rock grate, I removed every other tine. Then, I rounded and buffed smooth the remaining tines. Lastly, I painted the tines with graphite paint. All in all it worked fairly well for leaves and some floating grass. But in no way was it a eureka moment.

 

[M3Man03]

I hope I can share my past experiences w/o being a Debbie Downer, or know-it-all. I tried sharpening the alum grates, however they nick and gouge so easily, they tended to grab strings rather than allowing them to slide on through. I even attached razor knife blades in various locations hope to slice the weeds.

What worked "best", however still not very well...

Starting with a SS rock grate, I removed every other tine. Then, I rounded and buffed smooth the remaining tines. Lastly, I painted the tines with graphite paint. All in all it worked fairly well for leaves and some floating grass. But in no way was it a eureka moment.

Well, I'm not using the aluminum as a starting point. I took the hydrosurge grate which is steel in the tines and welded pieces to them and will be sharpening them to a knife edge. They should hold up pretty well and work.

I thought if it does work well, to get the SS grate and do the same thing - weld some pieces to them and sharpen. Although SS is softer than steel, so what I'm doing may be the best bet. I'm also going to make it very smooth - where there isn't anything that can "catch" something.

 

[RiverPro]

Well, I'm not using the aluminum as a starting point. I took the hydrosurge grate which is steel in the tines and welded pieces to them and will be sharpening them to a knife edge. They should hold up pretty well and work.

I thought if it does work well, to get the SS grate and do the same thing - weld some pieces to them and sharpen. Although SS is softer than steel, so what I'm doing may be the best bet. I'm also going to make it very smooth - where there isn't anything that can "catch" something.

My bad; I mis-understood your post. Let us know how it works!