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One mild irritant is the single cylinder trim/tilt system. I've established that it is either unable or unwilling to operate UP at speeds over 45 MPH or so. I'm assuming that its simply not powerful enough to overcome the thrust at that pace, as I can't imagine any sort of electronic override is preventing further trim. This only affects me on WOT speed runs, wherein I need to attempt to find optimal trim at a lower speed before kicking in the last 600 RPM or so. Ideally, to find WOT and max MPH, one can work the trim UP until blow-out, then tuck it back in slightly until it catches. I'm unable to do this......
prj wrote:
Following up on my post regarding the trim limitations at or near WOT, I have the following:
Mechanic who did the 3 year service on the motor says that the engine's design includes a computer programmed trim limiter that kicks in at 3000 RPM (if I recall correctly). .....
PRJ,
Thanks for the follow-up on your Merc 150. It's curious to read your earlier comment and latest report back-to-back. Funny how in hindsight your earlier comment now comes across as very intuitive -- you had a theory but were doubting yourself.
So tell us how you are liking the engine overall, in the long term? Still happy with the pairing to your Outrage 18/19?
Funny reading those lines adjacent to each other, suppose my imagination fell a bit short of reality on this topic. Curiously, I haven't found anything in the Owner's Manual referencing trim limiting, although there is one reference under Shallow Water Operation that states engine will auto lower if RPMs exceed 2000. I'll have to check / test some of these parameters.
And I'm definitely excited to see if I can trim up to the point of blowout at top speeds, perhaps I can squeeze another MPH or so out of this beast.
Finally, in answer to your last question JRP, I remain very pleased and fully satisfied with the now three year old purchase of the engine. My biggest benefit is higher speed cruise with markedly lower noise levels than my previous boat. Gas milage gains have been substantial, but due to the 63 gallon tank, those gains only benefit rarely on multi-day to week long trips. Trolling noise and exhaust reduction are another significant benefit.
Weight, as evidenced by a slightly lowered stern and awash splashwell is the sole negative, though not unexpected of course. This occasionally leads to porpoising, but that can quickly be eliminated by speed or trim changes.
Given what I know about the engine and its performance, I would certainly make the same decision were I repowering today.
PRJ: As you know I have 600# of engines on my 18, plus two batteries in the splashwell.
I plugged the splashwell 1-1/4" drains and installed a simple direct wired 500 GPH pump with separate float switch in the lower area, and it works well to get rid of any water that rarely splashes in. My splashwell is always completely dry.
Finnegan attached the following image:
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Edited by Finnegan on 03/08/17 - 11:21 AM
Keep in mind everything looks bigger when a boat is on a trailer (as opposed to in the water.) To my eye, the Merc 150 doesn't appear any more bulky than my 2-stroke V6 Yamaha 150. The weight of the Merc 150 (25" = 465 lbs) is only about 10 lbs more than the old Yamaha (when the 2-stroke oil tank w/ 3 gallons of oil is included.)
But it sure would be interesting to see a side-by-side comparison.
I will be interested to see if the trim limiter adjustment makes a difference to your experience. I am scratching my head as to why such a feature would be implemented - doesn't everybody trim out for maximum speed, if conditions allow? My single-ram F70 allows you to trim at any speed, so it's not just some issue with the single-ram design. I wonder if there was some liability issue that influenced the design.
I have that motor on my 20' Outrage. Love love it. As far as the trim at full throttle, I'm 99% sure it does trim. I'll get back to you in a few months but I have the eco gauge and that requires trimming to get optimal fuel economy.
Good luck with your decision. I have zero regrets buying mine.
Sjoconnor wrote:
I have that motor on my 20' Outrage. Love love it. As far as the trim at full throttle, I'm 99% sure it does trim. I'll get back to you in a few months but I have the eco gauge and that requires trimming to get optimal fuel economy.
Good luck with your decision. I have zero regrets buying mine.
Stephen.
I'd be curious to hear what kind of performance you are getting from that Merc 150 Fourstroke on your 1989 Outrage 20?
tedious wrote:
I will be interested to see if the trim limiter adjustment makes a difference to your experience. I am scratching my head as to why such a feature would be implemented - doesn't everybody trim out for maximum speed, if conditions allow? My single-ram F70 allows you to trim at any speed, so it's not just some issue with the single-ram design. I wonder if there was some liability issue that influenced the design.
Re-reading this thread and my question, this is starting to make more sense to me. I'd been thinking that over the limit RPM, the motor could not be trimmed at all - but a more sensible approach would be to limit the trim angle once RPMs are over a certain value. Maybe that's the way Mercury implemented it - in which case, adjusting the "high speed trim angle limit" should resolve the issue.
You are correct Tedious. The motor can be tucked back down, aka trimmed in at speed, it just could not be trimmed out. And while I was told the triggering RPM was 3000 RPM, I only came across the limiting trim height up around 4500-5000 RPM. Quite likely, this is because the sweet trim spot for speeds below that 45-5000 was also below the set trim limit.
I expect this trim limiter was introduced by Mercury to protect water cooling and ensure pickups are covered at higher speeds. One could certainly argue, and my experience mirrors this, that trimming down too low at higher speeds is much more dangerous for the boat and driver than blowing out. So, engine damage protection, not necessarily liability to operator protection.
When I am able to get out this spring, I'll run tests to determine:
A. If the re-established "factory trim limit" is higher than, and thus effective for high speed runs.
B. If I can find the RPM at which the limiter kicks in by trimming out inordinantly high at lower speeds.
C. Check if engine auto-lowers from high trim to trim limit level at some RPM.
Unrelated, but creeping into this article, I think this engine would be an excellent selection for both the original 21 foot Outrages and an 80s 20 foot Outrage.
Following up, I was able to get the Outrage on Milwaukee Harbor last week for a quick test run and checkup prior to the Wisconsin gamefish opener this past weekend.
Unfortunately, conditions were a bit too lumpy and the harbor had debris from recent heavy rains washing out the river system, so I was unable to run much higher than 4500 RPM and low 40s in MPH.
To recap, my goal was to determine if:
A. The new "factory setting" on the trim limiter allowed higher trim angle at high RPM than my previous trim limiter, which was apparently not at the "factory setting".
and
B. There was a fixed RPM that initiated the trim limiter, or even lowered the engine automatically were the specified RPM exceeded while trimmed out further than the limiter.
Despite my inability to get the boat up to WOT due to conditions, my impression is that the new trim limiter height is HIGHER than the previous setting. At 4500 RPM or so, the boat was kicking one hell of a rooster tail off the stern. Max RPM with my prop is about 5600-5700 RPM. My sense is the limit is higher than previous.
As to the second goal, I'm not certain I have any clarity there. I tried trimming up high at just below 3000 RPM and the stern dug deep with prop blowout and no auto trim change. I tried the same above 3000 RPM and again, stern dug deep, bow flew high and the prop blew out with no auto trim change. It was an odd exercise with very uncomfortable boat performance, I'll confess. Can't imagine the thoughts of a boating-aware observer.
So, I will follow up again with a report after a run in ideal high-speed conditions to advise on trim limiter impact, but I'm not certain I'll be able to discern whether or not there is an auto trim return at a fixed RPM.
