water impellor direction

[steplift20]

-I changed my water impellor today on my 150 mercury o.b. 1988, im not 100 percent sure its in the right direction, I started it and it pissed out good my question is this, if its in wrong how would you know? the ribs facing the wrong direction, how would you know, thanks

[spareparts]

don't worry, once you fire it up, it will flip them the correct direction, the large diameter water pumps can stay the wrong direction, but the small diameter mercs tend to flip in the correct direction

[Destroyer]

Not to hijack this thread, but I still wonder WHY we have these flexable impellers that we need to change all the time. (Aside from the obvious expense that equals profits for the makers).
I have 2 British Seagull outboard motors... both of them have solid impellers like those found in a pedestal sump pump. They work perfectly. So why do we put up with these rubber impellers? My pedestal pump has a 3/4 hp motor on it and it pumps to a 25 foot head. And thinking about it, a regular car water pump also has a solid impeller, and they do just fine circulating the water around the engine. So WHY do we have rubber impellers?????

[Blue_Runner]

Probably the same reason we don't have permanent light bulbs.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

Probably the same reason we don't have permanent light bulbs.

Did you know there's a light bulb that has been burning almost continiously since 1901 in a firehouse? It's in Livermore, Ohio and has been the subject of several researches, investigations, and documentations. It started out as a 60 watt bulb and now burns as a low (4) wattage bulb. It doesn't give out much light, but even still... 110 plus years......
(And I have a 6v high intensity night light on my night table that I put a 12v automobile bulb in...that bulb has been on continiously for the 27 years we've been living in the house. It's not a lot of light, but works just great as a night light). Obviously the trick to long life for a lightbulb is the burn it at a lower wattage than it was designed for.)

[Blue_Runner]

That's pretty cool. My point was there would be lots of lost revenue in the aftermarket parts industry if we had impellers that lasted for the life of the engine. Seems like everything these days is made to wear out after a certain amount of time. I don't think it is a coincidence and in a lot of cases I don't think it is just because it would be cost prohibitive to make stuff more durable.