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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | So I’m looking for an explanation on motor hours. I get that they are like miles on a car, but I don’t know how they are measured, how to find them, and what to watch for when buying a boat with a used motor.
Thanks. |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | They are measured by the amount of time a motor is running - in tenths of hours. Once you start it up it keeps track total running time.
Some boats have an hour meter mounted in the dash, some don't and you'll need to take the motor into a shop where they can hook it up (similar to a car for engine code diagnostics) and download it from the motor, and the older motors you really have no way of knowing...
Almost all new motors (2 & 4 strokes) are fairly reliable & I wouldn't hesitate to buy one with 200+ hrs on it, saltwater guys regularly run 1000+ on them with no issues. It depends on how it was run, but a full check-down (compression, etc) at a shop will tell you more than just hours. Either way, have it taken it & looked at before buying used, especially private party. |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | Try and get a maintenance record if possible. The last boat I bought was a 2009 with 285 hours on the motor, a 250 Proxs. Had a paper trail of maintenance records and service. Full record print out of the exact amount of hours run at what RPMs. I was really confident in my purchase. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | Well, when I bought my new Honda motors last year, I asked my dealer the same questions. He told me that he does not sell boats with hour meters on them because they are obsolete....Hour meters are always off the motor and mounted somewhere else in the boat. All anyone would have to do is disconnect a wire for any time period and reconnect to, essentially, save time.
I think with the cost of these outboards today, it is the duty of manufacturers to start designing these motors with digital hour meters hard wired right into and on the motor itself. It would definitely benefit the consumer!
I do all of my own maintenance on my motor...sometimes I record, sometimes not...not reliable enough...
Edited by ShutUpNFish 9/10/2014 7:30 AM
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Posts: 5874
| Spend the $62 or $100 and get the data download from the dealer. I can bet that adding a digital hour meter on a motor will cost you a lot more than that!
Edited by Shep 9/18/2014 4:22 PM
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Motor hours