Boat Essentials – Outboard Oil

There are a lot of big purchases people think about that they want to obtain in their lives. The top choice is usually a house, and a big or nice house at that. When you own your own house, you are the master of your kingdom and you get to make the rules. When you are the proud new owner of your own house, you can say you are an official adult. You don’t have to own something that big or permanent in order to be considered a “big kid”. You can also go out and buy a new car, or even your own new car. Being able to buy a car, whether it is used or new, is something that takes the same discipline and financial patience as buying a new house, just on a smaller scale. Owning your own car is like having a means of escaping or creating a world of possibilities. A car takes you anywhere you want to go, as well as your friends and family if it has enough seats. Some people think getting a horse, something a lot of children wish they could own, is like checking off their lifetime bucket list item. When you are an adult that is able to purchase the things you wish you had as a child, it doesn’t feel weird. Instead it will make your inner child so happy and excited. A boat is also an exciting purchase, but you don’t need to get a giant luxury yacht in order to check off that box. Instead, you can scale it back and get a boat with an outboard motor that is easy to operate yourself. However, you still need to take care of the boat on a regular basis. Getting outboard oil is great for that responsibility.

Sure, there are lots of different motor oils out there. Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of brands and different types of oil that it is enough to make your head spin. However, it is easy to do the research or ask up those you trust that also have outboard motor boats to learn which brands to lean on and which ones to avoid.

Outboard oil is great for making your motor last forever.

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Choose Certified Outboard Oil for Your Boat

When it comes to taking great care of your boat, it’s often easy to overlook the health of your engine. Things like your hull and your interior are easy to see at a moment’s glance; you can tell whether they are in need of care and attention or if they’re holding up well to the demands you place on them throughout the season. The engine, however, is conveniently encased in a plastic cover that can often conceal serious problems. Once you get your engine open, you may also find that there are parts of it you don’t know how to maintenance yourself. Obviously, consulting a professional is the best way to keep your motor in great shape. On a daily basis, though, the outboard oil that you choose is going to make a huge difference in the overall performance and general and health and wellness of your motor. Not sure what kind to invest in? We recommend using Yamaha, Mercury or Evinrude oil, but no matter what brand you choose it should match the needs of your engine and be certified by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

What does being certified mean? The National marine Manufacturers Association, or NMMA, decided years ago that boat motors, like car engines, needed a high standard of oil lubrication in order to run well and that boat owners deserved to know which brands and types of oils were meeting those standards. Now, boat owners can look for the certification of TC-W3 for 2-cylinder motor oil and FC-W for 4-stroke and buy with confidence knowing that the oil will meet their needs. The NMMA has two objectives when determining their standards for certification. First, they want to make sure that the oil meets you needs, meaning that the oil has all the qualities that will help your engine last longer with less maintenance. And second, they want to ensure that they are helping to reduce the emissions that your motor and motors like it are putting into the atmosphere.

So if you like the idea of only putting quality oil into your motor, look for the certification! Not only will you be extending the life of your engine and saving yourself time and money with costly repairs and overhauls, you will be contributing to the lowering of emissions on the water. That means that the air you breathe with be less smoky and more delightful to breath while you’re enjoying your time on your boat.

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Before You Buy: Outboard Oil For Long-Lasting Engine

Choosing premium outboard oil is choosing to give your outboard motor a long-lasting run. The best outboard oil for your boat is one that’s formulated to ensure your engine runs clean at varying temperatures. Using the right outboard oil and with regular service checks, your engine will last you a long time.

Outboard engines require higher revs for long periods of time, thus needing extra lubrication. Outboard oil provides this for your engine components. The best outboard oils feature improved viscosity and keeps the engine running smoothly. It also protects your motor from rust caused by constant exposure to salt and freshwater. Using quality oil for your outboard engine minimizes smoke, if not eliminate it completely. While others prefer cheaper, lesser quality oils for their engine, you will suffer higher financial damages in the future as most manufacturers do not honor warranty claims where incorrect outboard oil caused the engine failure.

Some people tend to use the same oil for both their car and boat engines, but it’s important to note that compared to your land vehicles, boats can sit for long periods of time and likely at damp environments. This means that while car engine might seem like the more convenient option, it could do considerable damage to your outboard motor overtime.

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First Time Out with Snowmobile Oil

article-2206817-151F88ED000005DC-444_634x404When I started dating my boyfriend, he was perplexed that I had never tried out any sort of winter time sports. I’m originally from the east coast, where snowboarding is definitely a thing, but not nearly as required as the northwest. I spent my winters inside my Jersey home, never trying to venture into the snow covered wilderness.

I was a bit nervous to try out snowboarding, so we started out with snowmobiles (him driving, of course). I helped him put in the snowmobile oil and get the vehicle ready to go. It was actually quite a bit of fun, so I have agreed to try out skiing next week. He’s convinced I’ll be on the big slopes by the end of the weekend; I think I’ll stick with the other snow bunnies.

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Store and Dispose of Optimax Oil

PaintoilcollectionProper care of a Direct Fuel Injection engine starts at the beginning. While proper maintenance is essential during the entire lifespan of the engine, what you do during the first two hours of use will dictate how high of a performance value you get out of the investment. This can also help keep your engine alive longer, with the right few steps.

In general, the first two hours are critical. During this time, it’s recommended that owners avoid extended periods of time spend idling and wide-open throttle. It’s also a good rule of thumb to vary your speeds. New two-stroke engines will require more oil during this break-in period so it’s important to have enough OptiMax oil to get a jumpstart to a great engine experience.

 

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Mixing Yamalube 2M with Other Brands?

caremaint-maintmat-lubeOne thing that I’ve learned from my boating experiences is to not mix and match oils from different brands. Usually, mixing oils from the same brand is not a problem at all, but there are plenty of bad things that can occur from mixing two different oils together, which is why it is generally not recommended. This is something that didn’t happen to me, but did happen to a friend of mine.

My friend usually used Yamalube 2M, but ran out while filling up his boat and decided to mix it with another brand of oil. The dyes and additives in these oils were not compatible and it clogged up the fuel injections system, which was an expensive thing that had to be fixed. Due to his own mistake, I try to make sure to burn or drain out all the oil if I ever change brands.

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Mercury Premium Plus for Relaxing Boat Rides

lifestyle 2_0My house is frequently full of kids. I’ve got three kids myself, between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, and our house has become the go-to ‘hangout spot’ for them and all of their friends. Because of this, there is rarely a time where I am able to have any quiet time to myself. I’m fine with my kids having their friends over, but I need to have some ‘me time.’

My favorite way of getting some time to myself is just by filling my boat up with Mercury Premium Plus and taking it out on the water. Sometimes I’ll go fishing and sometimes I’ll just use it as a nice way to get myself isolated so I can do something like read or listen to the radio, without any kids running around all over the place.

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Having a Mercury Oil 55 Gallon Drum Just in Case

image13One trick that I’ve always stood by is having an extra supply of something and pretending it’s not there except for in case you need it in a pinch. For instance, I have a savings account that I never touch unless I’m looking to make a particularly big purchase. I try to make certain that it never gets any lower than a certain amount, so I always have a safety cushion.

I do the same thing with supplies that need to be replenished. For my boat, I keep a Mercury oil 55 gallon drum in my garage as an extra amount that doesn’t need to be touched unless I’m going on a boating trip on short notice and I don’t have the time to pick up more oil. I rarely have to take oil from it, but it’s really nice having the oil drum as a safety cushion, just like my savings account.

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Snowmobile Oil for a Winter Lover

symNivopage77_7I loathe hot weather; I have always been the only one of my friends who complains his way all the way through the summer. I get sunburned too easily, I sweat a lot, and I just get overheated very quickly. Even as a kid who would get time off from school, I tended to dread summer vacation because I knew all of my friends would want to spend time out in the blistering heat.

Winter has always been more my style and there’s so many things I love to do in the winter. I love skiing and snowboarding and I’m always stocking up on snowmobile oil so that I can go snowmobiling at the first sign of snow. Cold weather is something I’m much more accustomed to because I enjoy wearing layers and trudging around in the snow.

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Making Tough Decisions about Laptops and Boat Motor Oil

P1110830loIt took me forever to pick out my new laptop because I’m always doing comparisons and quality checks and reading reviews. Whenever I make a big purchase, I look at every single aspect that could possibly influence my decision, and it often leads to me taking a longer time to pick something out than it would take most people. However, this usually leads to me using quality products.

I even do this sort of research with smaller purchases, though it doesn’t typically take me the same amount of time. For instance, after the painstaking research I did when it came to buying my own boat, I still had to do even more research and read more information when it came to picking the best possible boat motor oil to go along with it.

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Mercury Oil Leads to Major Life Moments

ar125561248540391Some of the best moments of my life have been out on a boat. I can think back on so many amazing memories that have involved boating over the course of my life, all the way back to when I was a little kid going out on boats with my parents. I spent tons of time with my friends in high school and college out on a boat as well.

The most recent major memory that involved boating was when I proposed to my fiancée, which I did while we were on a romantic boat ride together. Without boats and Mercury oil, I’d never have had all those great times. I’m very thankful that my parents introduced me to boating and that I met so many people with similar boat-related interests in my life.

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Consistently Using the Best Outboard Motor Oil

about-optimaxWhen you’ve done a lot of work with boats, you start to get a feel for what are the best tools to work with. This can be anything from the physical tools required to do serious maintenance to something as simple as the motor oil used on the boat. I’ve definitely found a few favorites when it comes to the top brands in the motor oil industry.

I haven’t thought too hard about what specifically the best outboard motor oil might be though. I think what’s most important is that there’s a level of consistency. For instance, it is always best to use the oil that the engineers that designed your outboard motor had formulated especially for that particular motor.

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